Stans Alpha 340 Tyre problems ????

[giosblue]

Well, initial excitement has turned to disappointment .

I'm having problems with the tyres

Story so far. Wheels came without rim tape, they sent me some two days later.
It was the cloth type and was too wide, I couldn't get the bead to seat because the rim tape was too wide and it moved up this inside of the bead. It was even showing outside the tyre in places. I changed this for some narrower plastic type, this fitted the rim perfectly. However this also slides about when fitting the tyre and ends up covering the tyre bead in places.

I'm using these with tubes and I'm finding it impossible to get the rim tape to stay put.
I could glue it in, but I would rather not if I can avoid it.
Any help would be very much appreciated as I'm close to sending them back.

Do Stans make a special tape for these rims?


Iv''e just had a though, how about using a couple of layers of insulation tape???

[Zen Cyclery]

Well, you could always just use the Stans tubeless tape. You could simply run that with tubes, and that shouldn't slip around on the rim too much.

[giosblue]

Well, you could always just use the Stans tubeless tape. You could simply run that with tubes, and that shouldn't slip around on the rim too much.

Thanks for that, if all else fails I'll get some. It looks like there are two types. One to cover the spoke hole and something else that goes over that.

The spoke hole tape is only 9.5 mm wide which would be perfect. Is this sticky?

[ergott]

Get 21mm Stan's yellow tape. That's the stuff for those rims.

[giosblue]

Get 21mm Stan's yellow tape. That's the stuff for those rims.

Yes I've seen that, but it's too wide, the plastic stuff I'm using is about 12mm wide and that's a tad wide.

I've just covered the rim tape with insulation tape for the moment. this seems to have solved the problem for now..

Another thing about these rims in the tyre bead. It really does give you a wider profile with the tyre. with any of my other rims I can just about get a 25 tyre on the back, with these rims it rubs. Even a 23 is close, very close.

Apart from the rim tape problem they seem like a decent set of wheels.
No problem changing the tyres, ( other than the rim tape) which is plus.

[valleycyclist]

As mentioned previously, you need the 21mm yellow tape. It isn't too wide if it is properly installed. You can look at a video on their website to see the proper installation technique. Remember to pull the tape as you install it.

I have not come across anything else that works well on those rims, although I'm sure there are other rim tape options. Nylon rim strips do not fit tightly, and will move around. An adhesive rim tape such as Velox is too thick (I tried the 17mm wide tape, perhaps a narrower one will work).

[ergott]

You don't want to just cover the spoke holes. The tape will eventually shift.

ZTR Yellow Rim Tape - YouTube

This rim has the 21mm tape installed.

[giosblue]

You don't want to just cover the spoke holes. The tape will eventually shift.

ZTR Yellow Rim Tape - YouTube

This rim has the 21mm tape installed.

Thanks I've just seen the video and I've ordered some.
I think that should sort it. No mention of this when I bought the wheels though.

There is no way regular rim tape will work with these wheels.

[bikerjulio]

Wow. A lot of really bad advice here. From pro wheelbuilders yet.

These are road rims. They are narrower than MTB rims.

They use 12mm Stan's tape.

I know. I have them. Anything wider will potentially interfere with the bead seating. The tape also needs to be sticky enough so that it does not move during tire installation.

[Zen Cyclery]

Wow. A lot of really bad advice here. From pro wheelbuilders yet.

These are road rims. They are narrower than MTB rims.

They use 12mm Stan's tape.

I know. I have them. Anything wider will potentially interfere with the bead seating. The tape also needs to be sticky enough so that it does not move during tire installation.

Um, no.

You may want to do your homework.

21mm tape is what Stans recommends for the 340. Not 12mm.

[bikerjulio]

I did my homework and I'm using them.

The Stan's site is farked when it comes to running tubed tires. Put together by corgis.

It's deadly for a regular tire on these rims to have anything interfering on the bead bed. The whole rim is only 17mm inside. How the f is a 21 mm wide strip going to work? The 12mm tape perfectly covers the curved section without going over the shoulder and interfering with the bead.

[dlhillius]

I used 13mm Velox in both my set's of Stans. Hundreds of miles and have never had an issue.

[giosblue]

I did my homework and I'm using them.

The Stan's site is farked when it comes to running tubed tires. Put together by corgis.

It's deadly for a regular tire on these rims to have anything interfering on the bead bed. The whole rim is only 17mm inside. How the f is a 21 mm wide strip going to work? The 12mm tape perfectly covers the curved section without going over the shoulder and interfering with the bead.

The Stans website does say use 21mm tape, however I have ordered the Stans 12mm.
Like you say bikerjulio, its too risky having the tape anywhere near the tyre bead.
And in any case I'm using tubed tyres so all I need to do is cover the spoke holes..
If the tape stay put I'm sorted.
I managed to get the tyres on and I'll be having a short ride on them later.

[bikerjulio]

I suspect a dyslexic corgi typing "21" when he meant to type "12".

The Stan's site has almost zero info on running tubed tires. But it just so happens that 12mm tape is the perfect fit.

I have now successfully been running - Stan's 12mm tape, Conti Supersonic tubes (50g) and PR3's for several months on my Stans Alpha wheels. A very light combo for a near-clyde btw that's holding up well.

see my build thread here Weight Weenies • View topic - Building budget WW clyde clinchers - sub 1,350g, sub $400.

[ergott]

I have done builds for tubeless and went with their recommendation. Did you contact them and they told you to use 12mm tape for tube/tire setups?

From their site:

Description

Can be used with Stan's ZTR rims to make them air tight or used as a light weight rim tape in any rim.

(1) 10 yard roll will tape (5) 26" rims, (4) 29" rims or (2) road clincher rims.

21mm width fits:

ZTR Olympic
ZTR 355
ZTR Alpine
ZTR Crest
ZTR Alpha 340
Most road clincher rims

[bikerjulio]

I have done builds for tubeless and went with their recommendation. Did you contact them and they told you to use 12mm tape for tube/tire setups?

From their site:

Description

Can be used with Stan's ZTR rims to make them air tight or used as a light weight rim tape in any rim.

(1) 10 yard roll will tape (5) 26" rims, (4) 29" rims or (2) road clincher rims.

21mm width fits:

ZTR Olympic
ZTR 355
ZTR Alpine
ZTR Crest
ZTR Alpha 340
Most road clincher rims

I'm only an amateur in all this. I know that regular road rims use 17-18mm tape. Anything wider is going to interfere with the bead socket and IMHO be an accident waiting to happen. So 21mm tape on a conventional road rim sounds like a bad idea to me.

In my first trys with Stan's Alphas and their unusual shape, I used 17mm velox tape and it was impossible to get the bead on the PR's to seat properly. The tire would just blow off the rim because some tape would always be in the bead area. 12mm tape just fits in the semi-circular rim bed without poking up into the bead socket area.

I think Stan's could improve their site wrt advice on road and tubed applications of their products.

[Mdeth1313]

veloplugs?

[ergott]

One layer of yellow tape is 0.15mm thick. One layer of Velox is 0.55mm thick. A tubeless tire bead is thicker than a standard clincher bead (I've worked with the Hutchinson Intense and Fusions). The rim was designed for that bead to fit with two layers of tape (still only .3mm thick and less than Velox). A standard clincher bead and one layer (one one layer is required if you use tubes) shouldn't have any interference problems.

I don't have experience with too many different combinations of tires and rim strips. I can give a call to Stan's on Monday to clarify.

[ergott]

veloplugs?

The Veloplugs do not fit the tight curve of the Alpha spoke bed.

[rruff]

The Stans website does say use 21mm tape, however I have ordered the Stans 12mm.

They recommend 21mm tape for tubeless. 2 layers. It is useful to get the rim joint sealed and to facilitate tire inflation. I too think it is a bit too wide though, and do not like the tape coming up the sidewall. But then again I haven't heard of anyone having an issue.

For tubes, I use 2 layers of 12mm tape... staggered a bit so one edge goes over the lip and the other hits the edge of the spoke hole.

[ergott]

A 19mm tape would indeed be a perfect fit. The rim is 17mm wide between the hook lips. It's more like 19mm wide from edge to edge inside.

Velocity has their own Velotape, but I do not know how wide that tape is. I'll have to call.

[giosblue]

I'm not sure which is correct 21mm or 12mm. I'm sticking with 12mm.

Stans make a 12mm so it must be good for something.

I wish I had known this before though, I spent ages messing about trying to get the tyres to fit.

[bikerjulio]

If someone want to send me a roll of 21mm Stan's tape for free, I'll be happy to try it with my tube/tire combo. And if it works OK I'll take it all back. Meanwhile I'm left thinking that since 12mm works fine, why use anything else?

[kbiker3111]

I'm only an amateur in all this. I know that regular road rims use 17-18mm tape. Anything wider is going to interfere with the bead socket and IMHO be an accident waiting to happen. So 21mm tape on a conventional road rim sounds like a bad idea to me.

In my first trys with Stan's Alphas and their unusual shape, I used 17mm velox tape and it was impossible to get the bead on the PR's to seat properly. The tire would just blow off the rim because some tape would always be in the bead area. 12mm tape just fits in the semi-circular rim bed without poking up into the bead socket area.

I think Stan's could improve their site wrt advice on road and tubed applications of their products.

I have always run 21 mm tape on my Alpha 340s without a problem, both tubed and tubeless. The stans yellow tape is considerably thinner than velox. You could run the 12mm stuff, but it would never work tubeless.

*Edit*
I agree that its confusing to have both 12mm and 21mm tape. Seems like there would be considerable confusion over the years.

[urawildman]

I ve used the 21mm tape on my rims setup with tubes without a hitch.

Good points here, if I ever change the tape I would use the 12mm. I don't run tubeless.