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Written by Alan Starrett (Big Al)
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Wednesday, 23 February 2005 |
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Page 2 of 2  | | (Pic 4) Start at the Valve |
To start the tape process I pressed the end of the tape with the exposed adhesive onto the rim at the center of the valve hole. (see Pic 4)
I pulled on the tape gently to create a little tension as I pressed it onto the rim to eliminate air pockets. I worked my way around the rim applying a small section of tape at a time and only removed just enough of the foil to cover the section I was working on. (see Pic 5) I didn't really want the whole length of adhesive exposed at once and risk my cat getting tangled up in it.  | | (Pic 5) Press Firmly |
 | | (Pic 6) Trim and Connect |
I stopped laying down the tape when I got back to the valve hole.
Next I trimmed the tape back to butt up with the other end already stuck down over the valve hole. After trimming, I butted up the loose end over the valve hole. (see Pic 6)
Cutting around the valve hole I had to be a little delicate to trim out the tape around the hole and not destroy the tape completly. (see Pic 7) With this step done I went back over the entire rim pressing the tape down firmly making sure it was stuck and free of air pockets. | | (Pic 7) Precision Cut |
The tire of choice is a new Challenge Grifo 32mm, also the tire of choice for the 2004 Bikeman Cyclocross Team. Super supple and very grippy it is also the choice of many Pros. This process will work with any of the Tubular Cross Tires on the market. As with the rim I couldn't resist just a thin layer of glue to wet out the base tape. As I explained before the tape is meant to eliminate the need for glue but I want these babies indestructible. Again, I waited about 10 minutes for the glue to set up.
 | | (Pic 8) Glue for the Tire |
Always a neglected area when gluing is the valve hole. Mom always said, 'Don't forget behind your ears' right, well the same applies here. (see Pic 8) Making sure the valve stem area is properly glued will keep your tire on the rim and reduce the chance of a hump in the tire after inflation.
Fold It Back (see Pic 9): I peeled back both ends of the protective foil covering the tire side of the tape to expose about 2 inches of the adhesive. Check out the mysterious 'activated strip.' Then I then bent the foil at 90 degrees to hang over the edge of the rim.
 | | (Pic 9) Fold it Back |
 | | (Pic 10) Start the Tire |
Now on to the tire. With the tire inflated slightly to hold it's shape, I centered the valve stem over the valve hole and seated the tire firmly on the exposed tape. Make sure the valve stem is square here becuase once you are done you have to live with where it is. I worked my way around the rim pulling the tire tight and mounting it. (see Pic 10) Remember here that the tire is mounting on top of the protective foil not on the adhesive.
After the tire was completly on the rim I deflated it a little and cenetered it. This is where the real beauty of the tape and the protective foil comes into play.  | | (Pic 11) Pulling the Tape |
Unlike a regular glue job this is where panic would set in as you are running out of time trying to center the tire before the glue takes hold and won't let go. Of course that is also the same time that you are spreading glue all over the sidewall, the braking surface and yourself. Even with the glue on the tire I was able to move it around until I was satisfied. When I was ready I just pulled the foil out from between the tire and the rim to expose the adhesive. Once the foil was completely removed, I inflated to normal pressure, put the wheel on the bike and rolled it for a few revolutions with my weight on the bike to seat the tire down on the tape. Voila! (see Pic 11)
So what are my first impressions? I like the setup. Even with my extra step of adding some glue to try and create the extreme cross glue job, the whole process was very quick. If I were to do it again now that I have a little practice I could probablly do a wheelset in less than an hour even with adding glue to the rim and the tire. With no glue I could probablly do a wheelset in under a half hour. The real beauty is being able to center the tire to your heart's content before exposing the adhesive. No panic, no mess. Even with the glue that I added there was no mess. At first glance after installation the bond appears to be strong, very strong. This set has already been raced once and hasn't given a hint of trouble. The real test will be to see how it holds up after a whole season of racing but so far indications are that this will be the go to setup.
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 Start at the Valve',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 4) Start at the Valve")
 Press Firmly',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 5) Press Firmly")
 Trim and Connect',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 6) Trim and Connect")
 Precision Cut',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 7) Precision Cut")
 Glue for the Tire',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 8) Glue for the Tire")
 Fold it Back',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 9) Fold it Back")
 Start the Tire',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 10) Start the Tire")
 Pulling the Tape',300,350,0,0); "(Pic 11) Pulling the Tape")
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