I just put new tires on my MTB, and I have a leak at my rim seam. My LBS said to replace the rim tape. The new rim tape did not help. Any suggestions?
Tubeless setup leaking at rim seam
byu/crudestmass inbikewrench
by crudestmass
I just put new tires on my MTB, and I have a leak at my rim seam. My LBS said to replace the rim tape. The new rim tape did not help. Any suggestions?
Tubeless setup leaking at rim seam
byu/crudestmass inbikewrench
by crudestmass
9 Comments
How wide is the tubeless tape? Should be inner width+2mm.
Somewhere it is leaking inside the rim. Therefore it must be the rimtape or the tubeless valve.
The Stans tape is the same width as the original DT Swiss tapt that I removed. The DT Swiss tape that I replaced seemed to be in like new condition.
Funnily enough I just bought DT Swiss wheels and there was a leak on both wheels at the seam. Maybe there is a common defect there?
In my case it did eventually seal without too much trouble, just had to encourage the sealant to pool there until it stopped bubbling.
Remove tape, clean the rim with alcohol, tape again. No creases in the tape, some bubbles on the 2nd layer are fine but try to avoid them. Double wrap the tape in one continuous strip. The other comment about tape size is correct, it should be slightly wider than the id of your rim. Air it up with no sealant first to see if it’s leaking. Inject sealant through the valve when you’re sure it’s not leaking.
It can be tape, but it’s also commonly valve stem. The sealant slips through and finds the only exit point. Make sure you crank your valve stem super tight. This is why a lot of stem nuts have wrench flats on them.
Is it rude to say that while Stans may be an OG, it’s completely outdated & outclassed by nearly every one of its competitors? Try Orange Seal, Silca, or Bontrager; they will seal faster (they are thicker & often include larger particles), especially small imperfections like this, and they won’t corrode certain parts like Stans will.
Looks like your rim tape isn’t wide enough , basically the tire is slipping over the rim tape allowing the sealant to squirt out.
Go for a very wide rim tape that cups up the sidewalls of the rim.
Check your valve stem is tight.
Use orange seal tubeless sealant. It’ll create more of a cake as it dries inside the tire and hold the tire on better.
Classic DT Swiss punched rims BS. You can fix this with some rim tape humming horizontally across the seam prior to running the rim tape around the full rim