Does rim tape brand/type matter?

[LuckyLuke]

Rapide.co.za sells big blue rolls different widths for cheap, work great for mtb, 1 layer is enough, the yellow stans rim tape is probably the best overall, specialy if you have very tight road tubeless tyres, 2 layer and its fit and forget, I find the tight road tyres damages other rim tape like the blue rapide tape when the tyre has to be mounted, where the stans yellow tape is stronger, , always clean a rim with spirits before aplying tape and when you pull old tape of use a hair dryer, doesn't leave as much glue on your rims

My 2c

[Ivan Bergman]

Finally got around to test the different approaches, here are my findings:

The tape I used was Ryder's silver tape, Mavic Clear tape and standard electrical insulation tape from my local hardware shop. The tyres used were Maxxis Ardent-Race 2.35. The sealant used was some off brand I found at my local bike shop.

Wheelsets I'll be using the tests for

Alu wheelset 1 - Silverback Surface Asymmetrical Alloys

Alu wheelset 2 - Specialized Roval Control Alloys

Carbon wheelset - Light Bicycle Recon 29

My only objective was to measure if the wheels set easier/quicker. Not longevity.

Carbon Wheels - fitted with and without insulation tape on both front and rear. No notable difference.

Alu wheelset 1 - fitted with and without insulation tape on both front and rear, this made a difference. Without the insulation tape, I couldn't get the bead to set at all with both the Ryder and Mavic rim tape.

Alu wheelset 2 - fitted with and without the insulation tape on both front and rear. No notable difference.

Some other observations:

The rim's profile and overall shape matters. All 3 pairs are 24mm width (IIRC), but the shape on the inside and outside differs slightly. The carbon and alu wheelset 2 are similair in shape but not identical, alu wheelset 1 differs.

On alu wheelset 1 the tyre fit was a fair bit looser than the other 2 wheelsets.

In terms of applying rim tape, I favour the Mavic clear tape, because it's a bit more elastic than the Ryder tape. This elasticity made it a lot easier to evenly distribute the tape accross the face of the rim's inner.

In terms of longevity, well, we'll see. But my bet is on the thicker more beefy looking Ryder tape.

 

Just a last note, these tests were by no means scientific, thus the conclusion above is merely an opinion observed by some bloke in his backyard.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Ivan Bergman
Noted the wheels I used.

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

Well it seems you've done the legwork. I'm surprised by people saying it makes no difference - in my limited experience there is a massive difference in how adhesive different tapes are, as well as stretchy and easy to remove. The cheaper tapes have dropped me more than once before after a few months. 

[M L]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:20 PM, DieselnDust said:

Polyurethane tape with polyurethane adhesive (Stans, American Classic, Dt Swiss) work very well and provide penetration resistance. Duct tape works but is poor when you hit a porcupine…

gorilla is also good. 
3M fibre tape is still a good option too as is fibreglass reinforced tape

My experience:

(3) Duct tape doesn't last with sealant and removing and installing tires every now and again.

(2) Gorilla is 2nd best, lasts a lot longer than duct tape but I find my rim widths rarely gel well with the narrower roll - and I'm not going to cut the wider one.

(1) Stans tape when well installed will last a long time and takes a beating ito removing and installing tires.

So what Diesel said made sense - go for a Polyurethane tape. Then the biggest concern is the quality of adhesive that they use.

[MTBRIDER1234]

1 hour ago, Ivan Bergman said:

Finally got around to test the different approaches, here are my findings:

The tape I used was Ryder's silver tape, Mavic Clear tape and standard electrical insulation tape from my local hardware shop. The tyres used were Maxxis Ardent-Race 2.35. The sealant used was some off brand I found at my local bike shop.

My only objective was to measure if the wheels set easier/quicker. Not longevity.

Carbon Wheels - fitted with and without insulation tape on both front and rear. No notable difference.

Alu wheelset 1 - fitted with and without insulation tape on both front and rear, this made a difference. Without the insulation tape, I couldn't get the bead to set at all with both the Ryder and Mavic rim tape.

Alu wheelset 2 - fitted with and without the insulation tape on both front and rear. No notable difference.

Some other observations:

The rim's profile and overall shape matters. All 3 pairs are 24mm width, but the shape on the inside and outside differs slightly. The carbon and alu wheelset 2 are similair in shape but not identical, alu wheelset 1 differs.

On alu wheelset 1 the tyre fit was a fair bit looser than the other 2 wheelsets.

In terms of applying rim tape, I favour the Mavic clear tape, because it's a bit more elastic than the Ryder tape. This elasticity made it a lot easier to evenly distribute the tape accross the face of the rim's inner.

In terms of longevity, well, we'll see. But my bet is on the thicker more beefy looking Ryder tape.

 

Just a last note, these tests were by no means scientific, thus the conclusion above is merely an opinion observed by some bloke in his backyard.

Really cool tests, thanks Ivan. I have noticed insulation tape definitely does help with some rims. So I do it on all rims that come through, just to be sure.  Definitely quality differences between cheap and expensive rim tape that are noticeable. Out of ineterest, what was alu rim 1 and alu rim 2? Just curious to see which rim profile the insulation tape helped with.

Edited May 25, 2022 by MTBRIDER1234

[Ivan Bergman]

1 hour ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said:

Well it seems you've done the legwork. I'm surprised by people saying it makes no difference - in my limited experience there is a massive difference in how adhesive different tapes are, as well as stretchy and easy to remove. The cheaper tapes have dropped me more than once before after a few months. 

Adhesive strength and tape elasticity makes all the difference when applying and removing. Not too sure, but it would make sense that longevity gets affected on a sliding scale in relation to this.

I'm still keen on giving the Stans tape a try, if I can get my hands on a roll, but for now I'm naer after repeating this exercise 18 times.

45 minutes ago, MTBRIDER1234 said:

Out of ineterest, what was alu rim 1 and alu rim 2? Just curious to see which rim profile the insulation tape helped with.

I completely forgot to disclose this.

Alu wheelset 1 - Silverback Surface Assymetrical Alloys

Alu wheelset 2 - Specialized Roval Control Alloys

Carbon wheelset - Light Bicycle Recon 29

 

I think a fair conclusion to this would be that brand does not matter, it's the type that does. So anything with good adhesion properties, some elasticity and has some sort of puncture resistance to it would be the best option for most.

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

I'd love to weigh in.

For me, as a wheel builder, it's important that the tape goes on easily and comes off without leaving any yucky residue.

I've found that tape like Stan's yellow tape is best, and some other fibre-based tapes are ok, if the glue is nice and thin.

For road tubeless, and other carbon rims, very thin tape is required to prevent the tyre from compressing the rim and affecting spoke tensions. This is why South Industries has a certain requirement to use thin smooth tape.

Duct tape and gorilla tape are a definite no from me, as well as the other silver rim tapes sold under various brands. It's thick and leaves a horrible residue behind when removed. One way around this is to lay a layer of electrical tape on the rim first, which will prevent the sticky glue from the duct tape sticking to the rim.

Electrical tape is thin enough not to make a meaningful difference on alloy MTB rims.