Does anyone have suggestions on how to A. get water out of the rim and B. keep water out of the rim from wet rides or baths?
Thank you.
Getting the water out is easy; remove the tire and tube, position the valve hole at 6:00, use a paper towel to suck up any water that doesn’t just drain out.
The nipples should seal against the interior of the rim enough to prevent water getting in, so water is probably coming in through the valve hole. the easiest way to fix this is with 33+ Super electrical tape applied as such:
http://cdn0.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/2011/08/23/2/tom_danielson_cervelo_r5ca_valve_600.jpg
I appreciate your response, but would prefer not to have a piece of electrical tape on the inner rim surface. Being aluminum and having less adhesion area when compared to your Mavics (I have Carbone SLR’s for reference), I am not sure it would stay in place. Additionally, the water is only intruding into the rear wheel. The front wheel is water tight.
We typically do this tape trick with deep-V wheels to keep the valve stems from rattling. Super 33+ tape has much better stretch, temp. resistance, and adhesion than regular electrical tape; even for anodized Alum. You could also use some silicone to seal the interface (cleaner looking than tape, but more work to replace each time you change a flat).
Hopefully the water is leaking in through the valve hole, and not through the rim seam. You could test in a tub for bubbles.
The Zipp 30s shouldn’t be different than most Al hoops with regards to water penetration.
Duct tape would be more hardcore.
Piece of chewing gum would be more rebel.
Silicon caulk would work great till you got a flat.
Hi FLTerp,
Known issue. Just drill some drain holes, as described here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=4555394#4555394
Many wheels come stock with drain holes:
Cheers,
Since the Z30 is an aluminium rim, I wouldn’t drill a hole like that article mentions. I personally wouldn’t drill a hole on any structural (alu or carbon rim) sidewall (a non structural faring would be different). Just my 2 cents.
I agree. Drilling into a non-structural carbon fairing makes sense, but drilling into the structural aluminum does not. I believe Zipp would have put this into their build protocol if appropriate.
I am leaning towards the heavier duty tape and hoping it can hang on to the painted surface.
Thanks
Hi Karl,
Thanks for your response. I understand your position, working for Zipp, not to drill holes in Zipp rims.
We went through the same worry when I was a wheel engineer at Trek.
However, fatigue testing showed us that drain holes, even in structural carbon or aluminum rims, were okay. The first points of failure were other areas: spoke holes, side walls, etc., exactly the same points of failure (and after the same number of cycles) as un-drilled rims. Basically, the drain holes didn’t affect the wheel’s structure in any measurable way. So Bontrager rims are drilled, just as are Campy, Fulcrum, HED, etc.
Obviously we tested Bontrager rims, but my engineering experience suggests it should also apply to nearly any aluminum or structural carbon rim.
For my personal wheels, I drill holes whenever I find water in a rim.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
First, from my experience the OP shouldn’t have issue with a good tape sticking to that surface.
And Damon, thanks for sharing your experience. I think it’s great we can both share our experiences and insights for readers on here, often in the forms of “I would do x or wouldn’t do y” influenced and educated by our experiences with testing various products.
As to your point, I had assumed you were relying on testing you had done previously when you supported the drilling idea. Having also tested and evaluated rims in what is most likely a similar way, my personal view is that I personally wouldn’t risk it on a high stressed structural surface like a wheel side wall without knowing an awful lot about the design intent for that rim… And for me it isn’t just test results it’s the risk v reward in the sketchy “1 in a 1,000,000” riding situations that I seem to find myself in every once in a while on the road. But I’ve seen people do much crazier stuff than little holes with little issue, so I’m not gonna pretend that your wheel will blow up!
And for the thing that I feel like I gotta say… And I’m sure everyone gets it… drilling extra holes in your rims would effect your ability to claim against your warranty. That is compelling to some folks when looking at the price tag on products like wheels, I’ve found.
Cheers! And thanks for the chance to add a bit more contour to my initial response.
Karl