A while ago my tubeless set up started leaking and since my tires were coming up on needing replacement soon I figured I’d replace them and retape my rim. I assumed the tape had failed somewhere leading to the leak.
After removing my tape I noticed this damage. Is that normal for a seam? Is that likely too bent to be able to seal properly and most likely where my leak was coming from? What would you do in this case, try to bend it back and see if it’ll seal, let it be, or just use tubes?
Thanks for the advice!
by sam_the_dog78
6 Comments
Lol no its fucked 🥺
Rim tape damaged by tyre lever. just replace it lol
Bend it back and re tape it. If it doesn’t hold air then it is fucked.
The correct answer is that if this is a front wheel, either get a new one or get a new rim and have someone relace it into the wheelset. Luckily, it looks like a rear wheel.
The incorrect answer that I would attempt follows below. Try gently bending it back, slowly. Aluminum really hates being bent and will be weaker in that area.
I’d venture a guess that its tubeless days are over, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Make sure that area is a smooth transition at the seam so as not to tear the sidewall, or a tube of tubeless setup fails.
Best of luck.
Were they tubeless rims to start with even? It doesn’t look like the rim joint was welded and there doesn’t appear to be a channel for the tyre bead.
It’s fine. That’s where the rim gets put together, and there are two solid pins inside the other part of the rim doing the heavy lifting and keeping everything together. It’d be a bad braking surface, but there’s no big strength concern. Try bending it back, and it may not work for tubeless, but it would be fine for tube use.