Notes about tubeless tape
We install tubeless tape on all our Wheelworks wheels so they are ready to be set up with tubeless tyres when you receive them. You can read our tips about tubeless setup here.
The tubeless tape forms an essential component in the tubeless system, so we have gone to great lengths to choose a tape which does its job extremely well. It is thin enough to conform well to the rim bed, but stiff enough to hold shape well when under pressure inside the inflated system.
We have designed a controlled pneumatic rim taping jig to ensure we get an even, secure wrapping of tape around our rims, and we finish them off with a custom sticker to secure the loose end.
The tape adheres very well to the rim bed, but like all tapes it is deliberately designed to adhere less well to itself (so that it won’t stick too firmly to itself while still on the roll).. As a consequence, the last part of our tubeless wrap, where it overlaps the start of the wrap, will sometimes bubble up a little after it leaves our workshop on its way to you. We’ve seen this most frequently on wheels we ship internationally, where the wheels have undergone temperature, pressure and humidity changes and the tape has lifted off itself a little.
Unfortunately this is an unavoidable characteristic of the tape. Fortunately, it does not present any practical issues. Remember this is only the part of the tape where it overlaps more tape - there is still a complete wrap of tape firmly adhered to the rim bed underneath.
There are a number of ways you can deal with this if your tape has bubbled up:
- Do nothing - the tape will naturally settle down when you mount your tyres and inflate them. The pressure will compress the tape and remove the bubbles.
- Run your thumb over the bubbles and towards the edge of the tape, to squeeze the excess air out from under them and smoothing out the tape.
- Carefully remove the red sticker, peel the tape back as far as the overlap, and then stick it back down again with an even pressure while running your thumb over it. Reapply the red sticker.
You only really need to do 2 or 3 if the bubbles are interfering with you mounting your tyre.
If you have any questions or concerns about anything to do with your wheels, we’re always here to help.