Making rim strips

[yoothgeye]

This one is a no-brainer and I'm sure it has been done and everyone knows about and there's probably already write-ups about it, but I'll just pretend that this is something new.

Inevitably I'll be changing a tire and find a busted rim strip. I try to keep good ones around, but usually I just grab the electric tape, and that works even though I've never really liked the results.

I had thought about making rim strips out of old tubes, so the other day I tried it. I needed a rim strip for a 26" mountain bike wheel for a bike I was giving away. I grabbed a 20" tube and got some scissors (get the good one's out of your wife's sewing kit). Most tubes have seams around them, so I started my first cut and followed the seam around, then I split the distance between that cut and the next seam for my next cut. Once I had the strip I folded it over on itself and cut a half circle making the hole for the valve stem.

The 20" tube rim strip fit the 26" rim perfectly, I thought it would be very tight, but it was just right. I have also found now that a 16" tube is right for a 20" rim strip. You can get 2 to 3 strips out of each tube.

Like I said, probably done before, but it's always going to be new to someone else, and I thought the sizes might help other people.

 

[aka_locojoe]

New to me.
Like you I would use electrical tape as a last resort. I'll have to give this a try.
Thanks.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Same here, I'd grab the electrical tape or duct tape. :mrgreen: Duct tape stays stuck better but can be messy when it comes time to take it back off.

 

[Jpromo]

Hockey tape! It makes a sort of padding and it's tearable.

 

[yoothgeye]

I like how real rim strips can be removed, so that's why from now on if I don't have any I'm making my own, plus you can make them wide or thin, etc... Glad this is new to some people.

 

[user 135]

Thanks for the info. Adding to the HOW TO MANUAL.

 

[schwinnmesa]

That's a great discovery!

 

[axsepul]

Nice idea.

 

[yoothgeye]

Thanks guys, didn't seem like a huge jump to go from busted tube to rim strip. The strips from the same tube will turn out differing sizes based on whether the strip is cut from the outside or side or closer to the valve stem of the tube, but the way they stretch shouldn't make it a huge deal. Since a 16" makes a 20" strip and a 20" makes a 26" strip, I'd imagine a 24" tube would be good for a 700c or 29er or the like.

 

[ozzmonaut]

I take a strip of duct tape that will easily fit around the inside of the rim. Then I tear a notch in it like pictured. Fold it over in half along the length. Then stretch it around the inside of the rim and use the little adhesive tab you have created to secure it. This uses the strenght of duct tape, makes it thicker, and avoids the mess when you want to remove it.