Kool Stop Rim Strip Replacement?

That the Velox absorbs water is not an issue to most of the world. They
seem to last forever. Go with 'em!

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

David Ornee, Western Springs, IL

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

3M filament reinforced strapping tape.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth

dianne_1234 said:

Is Velox made from a fiber that absorbs moisture? Or does the water
accumulate in the fiber interstices (sp?)?

Maybe but it doesn't seem to matter.

Matt O.

Use the green ones, they're rated for high pressure and have never had one
split like the yellow always did. They're still a [censored] to remove once
installed, but work best that I've tried. . . even better than Velox. . .

"Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A Muzi said:

Michelin rim liners are quite thin ( we like that) and don't hold water

Are those the yellow plastic ones? I used those years ago and they always
split at the spoke holes from the pressure. Have they improved?

Art Harris

Quoted message said:

A Muzi said:

Michelin rim liners are quite thin ( we like that) and don't hold water

Arthur Harris said:

Are those the yellow plastic ones? I used those years ago and they always
split at the spoke holes from the pressure. Have they improved?

Yes. They are green now.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more. Velox absorbs
water, but seems to be most available. What is a high quality rim
strip/tape that is available to replace Kool Stop?

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman said:

3M filament reinforced strapping tape.

Quoted message said:

This type of tape may have great tensile strength but it has two major
flaws that make it unsuitable for this service. It has practically no
transverse strength allowing it to split lengthwise easily, and its
adhesive and backing oxidize relatively rapidly so that it degrades
into a mess of parallel fibers. Brake heating of the rim accelerates
this deterioration.

Yes, any bicycle mechanic will affirm that the stuff
degrades rapidly.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoted message said:

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

dianne_1234 said:

Is Velox made from a fiber that absorbs moisture? Or does the water
accumulate in the fiber interstices (sp?)?

Velox are cotton

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

daveornee said:

What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace
Kool Stop?

I think Kool Stop was a non-adhesive polyurethane tape, no?

Schwalbe make something similar in various diameters and widths. It's more
pliable than the Michelin tape, and doesn't have its tendency to split.

Panaracer Polylite is another.

Nashbar list a polyurethane rim strip.

Bike Ribbon make a woven, non-adhesive plastic rim strip that's thin,
tough, and non-absorbent:

http://www.bikeribbon.com/product_detail.php?product=d&subprod=a

I'll leave you to investigate US availability.

James Thomson

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

David Ornee, Western Springs, IL

Try http://www.salsacycles.com/comps_tubes.html

Robin Hubert

When without I use pvc tape,3 or so times around the rim
works out just fine.

Tom Sherman said:

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

3M filament reinforced strapping tape.

<slashdot>

+5 informative

</slashdot>

--
BMO

Tom Sherman said:

daveornee said:

Kool Stop is not making Rim Strip/Tape any more.
Velox absorbs water, but seems to be most available.
What is a high quality rim strip/tape that is available to replace Kool
Stop?

3M filament reinforced strapping tape.

Also, fold it in half lengthwise, instead of using the adhesive to bond
it to the rim. Use a hole punch on each end (overlap) for the valve
stem and use a half inch of adhesive back to tack it to the rim at the
overlap.

--
BMO

I agree, but if a layer of electrical tape is put down first, then the
filament tape, it works.

Thin rim liners (especially durable ones) can make fitting many of
today's high pressure clinchers an easier task, especially as a shop
who repeats the process constantly. I once measured a very thin nylon
rim strip (Rox), and a thick Velox cotton rim strip around their
respective circumferences. I came up with a 1/4 inch difference in
length. While this makes little difference once the tire is installed,
going to a thinner durable strip may ease installation. It's too bad
that most modern clincher tires are hard enough to fit, but then have
had a semi-recent streak of blowing off of rims, and max pressures are
sinking down into the 100psi range for racing tires. Didn't seem to be
a problem pre-silica rubber compound. Mike Knudsen

Tom Sherman said:

Matt O'Toole wrote:
If you have a small wheel bike (particularly with caliper brakes) the
number of suitable tires available can be counted on the fingers of one
hand (especially if it is something like the ISO 355-mm "Birdy" or ISO
369-mm "Moulton" size).
--
Tom Sherman - Earth

Gaffers tape works O.K. and won't disintegrate like packing tape, but
it won't work as well and you'll need to replace it more frequently
than a proper rim strip such as Velox. It will drift in the rim bed
with time and repeated heat, but it's quite thin and makes easier
mounting and unmounting tight-fitting tires.

I find gaffers tape at the local OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) in
black, or in other colors at a local theater equipment dealer. This
stuff works well in other applications where you need a sturdy sticky
tape (like duct tape) but without the clean-up mess.

--
Bill Bushnell
http://pobox.com/~bushnell/

Bill Bushnell said:

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Matt O'Toole wrote:
If you have a small wheel bike (particularly with caliper brakes) the
number of suitable tires available can be counted on the fingers of
one hand (especially if it is something like the ISO 355-mm "Birdy"
or ISO 369-mm "Moulton" size).

Quoted message said:

Gaffers tape works O.K. and won't disintegrate like packing tape, but
it won't work as well and you'll need to replace it more frequently
than a proper rim strip such as Velox. It will drift in the rim bed
with time and repeated heat, but it's quite thin and makes easier
mounting and unmounting tight-fitting tires.

I find gaffers tape at the local OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) in
black, or in other colors at a local theater equipment dealer. This
stuff works well in other applications where you need a sturdy sticky
tape (like duct tape) but without the clean-up mess.

You can find Velox at any bike shop. Enough to do two rims costs less than a
roll of gaffers' tape from OSH, and it lasts practically forever. If you need
gaffers' tape for other things and have it laying around then fine, use it until
you can get some Velox.

I've had luck with heavy duty sail repair tape, but the usual stuff is too thin
and fragile, and creeps away from the holes too. This is what Ritchey rim tape
is, and it sucks. The heavy duty stuff is very expensive, I just happened to
have a bunch laying around.

Another nice thing about Velox is that it conforms to the shape of the rim bed.
This allows a healthy overlap up the sides of the rim a little, so the spoke
holes never become exposed.

I understand wanting a thinner rim tape if your tires have a marginal fit, being
too tight to get on/off easily. But obsessing over rim tape is barking up the
wrong tree. Just get some tires that fit -- there are plenty available. Being
able to fix tires easily on the road can be an important safety factor. Heading
out with marginal equipment is foolhardy.

Matt O.