Rim/Strip Coverage

iplayhockey said:

Should the rim strip/tape completely cover the hole that the valve stem goes through ?
Every flat I have on my new bike is always at the base of the valve. I noticed that the rim strip on both wheels does not cover the edge of the valve hole. Is it possible that the edge of the hole is cutting into the base of the valve stem ?

Since it's a new bike, I want to ask the shop to redo the strips if the tape is supposed to cover the entire opening.

Since it is a new bike and assuming new wheels, there might be a bur or two in the hole. Take a small file or fine sandpaper and touch up the hole edges. If you are using rim tape such as Velox the pre-punched hole should line up with your stem hole. The other thing you could do is put a small strip of electrical tape on first and poke a small hole in it. Then when you stick the stem through there will be sort of a collar around the stem.