refthimos wrote:
Check out this video. Rim was taped with Silca tubeless tape. Can you guess how the rim was destroyed?
8 Seconds of Destroyed Enve 7.8 on Vimeo Hint #1: The tire did NOT exert outward pressure and damage the rim; in fact, the rim track is intact on the rim and the tire is seated even after the destruction.
Hint #2: Rim was taped with Silca tubeless tape, and not ENVE tape.
BTW at some point Enve uploaded a
video to their website, which, if you watch it, specifies that you must use ENVE tape, but I'm not sure when the video was uploaded and I can't find anywhere else on their website specifying this requirement, so basically unless you find and click on the video you have no way to know that using other tubeless tape, even tape that perfectly seals the spoke holes, is a potentially fatal mistake.
Now... can you guess how exactly the rim got destroyed?
There is surprisingly little information out on the web about this issue with their wheels. I had this same explosion happen to a pair of my SES tubeless wheels and it shocked me. Mine had tape that ran the full width in the rim. Same Schwable Pro One tire model as you. Mine were 28c at about 70psi. I used to worry about latex tubes failing in overheated carbon clinchers, but seeing one of these rims blow apart is a lot more worrisome:(
Around the time mine failed Enve had just sent out that list of "approved" tubeless tires and the pressure tables. This wasn't around previously. I have to think there are incidents out there driving the multiple revisions to their recommendations. I haven't seen the Enve-only rim tape reference you mention.
Your new crash replacement build probably came with their new Red rim tape. I worked extra hard to be sure the new rims were completely clean and that the tape went down smooth and with wrap up the inner walls of the rim. It is hard not to think about it when really moving along with this wheelset.
FWIW. I have been using Silca tape in place of nylon rim strips on Zipp wheels with inner tubes for several years with good success. This past summer I used Silca tape for a set of Edco carbon tubeless aero wheels that I mounted up with Schwable Pro Ones. With fairly low mileage this combo went to Hawaii for a month of training and the tape failed about two weeks into the trip on a very hot day while stopped for a fluid refill. The result was just a leak down vs. any catastrophic rim failure. The tape adhesive failed and even at full width the tire bead didn't provide enough bite to keep air/sealant from pushing under the edge of the tape. These were 23c tires and run at more like 80psi. Had to take it to Bikeworks because minimal tools/supplies around. They said they'd seen this with a number of tubeless rims and used thicker Spec 2Bliss rim strips in place of the Silca tape for the Edcos. No problems at all after this switch. Though we haven't had to pull the tires so the thicker rim strip could make that harder.