very very bad. Use Velox cloth strips. I had the unfornunate event of using elec tape on my mtb wheelset and getting multiple flats before I found out that the tape had been cut by the spoke hole. If you want to go lighter look at Ritchey strips.



But ...... why even bother? Are you in the stone ages ... you need to go tubeless. Look at www.notubes.com, you can convert to tubeless, save huge amounts of weight and probably never get a flat again ... really, cheap too. I used UST for a year then converted to notubes. There is also a european version called eclipse. You can read more at the notubes site or mtbr.com weight message board.

Dont use electrical tape on your road rim, the high pressures will cut the pae into the spoke hole in no time flat ... pardon the pun.

Gary pretty much said it. Homeade tubeless tires have been made for mtbs using the fiber reinforced packing tape as a rimstrip with electrical tape covering that to seal off the spoke holes and any gaps that might develop in the packing tape. You then use a special valve stem (or one cut out of a tube), diluted liquid latex (3-1 H20-latex), and lots of patience and fortitude to create the tubeless wheelset.

I've used notubes and it works very nicely. I'd recommend the michelin rimstrips below the notubes system though as you will need a rimstrip if you ever flat and need to replace the notubes liner with an actual tube.

With a road bike however, the higher pressures necessitate the use of a real rim strip. I personally like the velox or pedros cloth strips. I've head that the fiber reinforced packing tape will work for this too, and save a few grams, but I've not tried it.

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

mark. electriacl tape is a horrible idea. do not do that. fiber strapping tape will work. cloth tape is better , tho. better to just stay with the trend here. even the ritchey tape will tear - you need to replace it frequently. if you could ever tell a wheel with velox from one with ritchey or other tape i would give you 100 bucks ( provided you could do so consistantly over 50% of the time).

as for that do it yerself tubeless business. . . . . .uhhhh yeah. go ahead. some people really have way too much time on their hands. . . . .

Cannondale/ TEAM SoBe race with the notubes sysem, as does Alison Dunlap (world champion MTB).

DO NOT do this. Very bad idea.

When you put air in the tube, it expands to fill every nook and cranny it can in the rim - the higher the pressure, the more it wants to expand.

Rim tape should stop the tube from expanding in to the spoke holes which can/will cause a classic blowout. It needs to be very rigid - which is why they are typically fabric or plastic.

Electrical tape is simply not designed to deal with the pressure of the tube trying to get in to the spoke holes - it is much too flexible and the adhesive is not strong enough.

This is precisely why I asked the forum. (thanks to all who responded) I've learned enough in the life the hard way (just ask my dad), so I figure from here on out, I'll just learn from everyone else's mistakes.

Oh, the NOTUBES set-up looks pretty sick, I'm gonna five it a shot. Adios.

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"The more you sweat today, the less you bleed tomorrow"

DO NOT DO IT. I lost the overall title at the Leon's QEM National Age Group championship back in the late 80s by putting electrical tape on my J-Disc & front aero wheel the night before the race trying to be a weight weenie. Double flat while leading at mile 18 & then again at mile 20. Infuriating. You can't win if you don't finish, and mechanical issues in a race are 99% of the time due to idiotic decisions rather than true equipment problems.

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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers