The very first time I ever pulled a tire and tube off of a rim it made an impression on me and it still does. I’m not sure I expected to find anything other than the tube between the rim and tire but there it was, some sort of tape. The French words, “Fond de Jante” and latin “Velox”, written in blue, lightly stamped upon woven adhesive-backed cotton-canvas. It had at once both a timelessness and a retro look. Running my forefinger over it as it covered the eyelets of my rims I imagined a French bicycle mechanic of old masterfully building wheels that pro teams from the 60’s and 70’s might use.
We can still look at our machines and see flares of tradition that remain from technology which has trudged on. Round drop-bars and gleaming bits are remaining vestiges of the classic machines of our sport. These throwbacks are often obscured by contemporary things like modern materials, ergo shapes and compact geometry. But hidden between layers of rubber and aluminum, like a business suit belies fine lingerie, adheres Le Fond de Jante, literally the “base of the rim”. The true story of Fond de Jante can be found here.
You might say all this pradling on about rim tape may be much ado about nothing. However, no detail is too small nor can it be overlooked by the Velominatus. I’ve heard other companies manufacture and sell rim tape but when you’re given Rochefort 8 for your first beer there’s no use in even considering anything else. So chapeau to our friends at Velox for making the finest rim tape that’s ever protected a tube from puncture.
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Ironically, the illustration used to head this post shows the downside to Velox tape - that if you get the wrong width the nipple beds/eyelets can be exposed, causing cuts in the tube. Plus the adhesive often fails, causing the tape to slide around and bunch up. I like the Ritchey tapes as they are much more consistent and reliable, albeit not so old-school cool.
When I got my Open Pros last Spring, they were driving me completely nuts with this little squeak it would let out on every wheel revolution. Tire seated correctly? Check. Apply nipple lube? Check. Tighten all spokes? Check. Nothing helped. Pulled out the shitty Mavic rim tape that came with them and chucked in some good ol' Velox and problem solved.
My issue with the stuff, though, is they do a sloppy job cutting the hole and it leves a lot of the hole exposed. My trick from that, which I learned from @Tim on the Whidbey Island Cogal, was to put a stip of electrical tape over it and it fixes the problem. In fact, that little trick solves all manner of problems; stopes valve rattling, etc. Handy.
@Steve Wilson
+1
@Oli
Re: width - Funny, I noticed the same thing, though to be fair - all rim tape has that problem.
@G'rilla
Favorite cycling book. Period.
@frank
No it doesn't! There are different width rim tapes - Velox has at least two, and between brands you can find almost any width going. I stock several different brands for exactly this reason. Matching the rim tape to the rim is vital.
@Oli
Unless you fail to notice that the blue Ritchey tape, which has a tiny, tiny dot on the back with a pin prick in it, is made for a 26 inch wheel. And it won't stretch to a 700c wheel, no matter how much you can't be stuffed going back to the shop.
@minion
Ritchey do the yellow for 700c. I like the Ritchey 'tape' too, reusable, snaps on, doesn't creep to the side of the rim which Velox can do, and has done to me in the past.
@Oli
@frank
The pic was taken today as I was swapping out Gatorskins for retired slicks to ride bike #3 on the rollers. The rim pictured is an Open Pro and I can't remember if that's the tape that came on the rim or if it's what I had in the shop when I purchased the wheels. At any rate, I thought about the coverage issue but it's been a non-issue thus far. I hypothesize that while the entire eyelet is ideally covered, covering the hole is the most critical as it backs the tube and keeps it from dimpling in the eyelet as it's inflated. Nevertheless, I have yet to puncture or see any slits from these rims. Probably just luck or Fond de Jante is just that good that it'll make up for the mechanic's shortcomings.
@Steve Wilson
Indeed. The wheels pictured have such an inscription. (builder, not race)
Very timely as the truing stand I needed showed up yesterday and that wheel I ventured to build is mostly true. I realized while truing it today, I don't have any rim tape. Now I know what to buy.!
Any Stan's users out there? I converted the mtb to tubeless this fall, to stunningly great effect. Thinking about doing Bike #1 next.
@Oli
I'm with Oly, the Ritchey is tops though I do love the old Velox, it eventually got really sticky.
@sgt
I have Ultegra 6700 hoops, and ran them tubeless all summer with hutchinson 25mms on and stans sealant. I was really impressed with the ride quality and the grip. The road tubeless set up has a lot of nice features, but the rubber is expensive!