Ghetto Style! Gorilla Tape Vs. Stan's Rim Tape (Before you go tubeless read this!)

Discussion in 'The Workshop' started by trailninja, Jan 2, 2013.

  1. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!!

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    I'm always in search of workarounds to speed up DIY projects at home and here's one that worked for me the other day. So I decided to go tubeless on my other set of 29er wheels. I went to Rock & Road MV to pick up some Stans Notubes Rim Tape. Unfortunately, they were out of the 25mm rim tape and only had 21mm available at a cost of $15.00 plus tax... sure they offered to order it for me and have it shipped to the store next day but I was pretty pissed at the fact that they had 10 rolls of the 21mm yet none of the size I needed in stock. Luckily for me, I had the patience to hold off on the purchase and decided to go to Hope Depot to see if I could find anything else that would be comparable or better for less.

    To my surprise I found a new product called Gorilla Tape Duct Tape to Go 1" for $2.97 plus tax which was the exact size I needed for my wider rims. I decided it could be worth paying 3 bucks just to experiment with a cheaper alternative. I went home taped the rim up only one layer in a matter of seconds I was done. No messing with the tape to get it to stick to the rim and no issues with the tape not conforming to the rim since mine are anodized scandium rims. About 15 min later my Bontrager Rhythm Pro 29ers were tubeless! This wasn't my first time setting up wheels tubeless I've setup previous wheel-sets with all Stans material. Save yourself some money and pick up a roll of 1" Gorilla Duct Tape to Go! There's enough tape 30 feet to do at the very least 10 wheel-sets vs maybe 4-6 wheel-sets using Stan's rim tape. Go save yourself some money it works!

    Gorilla Tape 1" Duct Tape to Go -
    Positives - Sticky, Conforms to rim shape, Seals perfectly, Easy to work with, Cheaper Alternative, 30 ft of tape
    Negative - There's only two rolls left at Lake Forest Home Depot....Haha

    Stans Rim Tape -
    Positives - Works well in the right conditions if its cold forget about it sticking to your rim, Might be more durable than Gorilla Tape (Only Time Will Tell), It's OEM :)
    Negative - Not very sticky (Forget it if your rims are Anodized), Hard as shit to tape up, Not very easy to work with, Expensive, Very little product to work with means less room for error.


    http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...Tape+Handy+1"+Roll&storeId=10051#.UOUREG_AeSo

    Gorilla Tape.jpg
     
  2. duke777

    duke777 Active Member

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    Does the Gorilla Tape leave residue after some time? That's my only concern about it.
     
  3. Rossage

    Rossage Active Member

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    Yeah, you just thought of this.

    Been all over mtb boards for at least 3 or 4 years now...
     
  4. rojomas

    rojomas A.K.A The Oxx

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    I've been running Gorilla Tape in my Easton Havocs for a few years now. I had to wrap it a few times but I can but I can get the bead to seat with just a floor pump.
     
  5. irv_usc

    irv_usc Active Member

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    Yep been using gorilla tape since I went tubeless. Its way cheaper and seals easier than stans.
     
  6. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!!

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    Oh really. Thanks for pointing this out. I just happened to experiment and it worked just wanted to pass it on. Sorry for not being a troll! Btw Im sick of seeing your stoopid avatar all over str. Lol.
     
  7. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!!

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    No residue it peels off just as easy as it applies.
     
  8. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!!

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    I used an air compressor an air pump is a real workout. Great to hear it has worked for you for so long.
     
  9. redwoods

    redwoods Active Member

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    Good to know. But I'm finding the tire choice makes much more of a difference with ease of setup than the tape/rim strip chosen.

    I've tried Stan's rim tape, Stan's rim strips, ghetto inner-tube-homemade-rim strips, and electrical tape. The easiest was when a shop put Stan's tape on for me.
    I've tried Forte Pisgah, Forte Tsali, Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Maxxis Ardent, and Shwalbe Nobby Nic tires. The easiest to set up with Stan's sealant were the Nobby Nics and Pisgahs.
    I have to assume the rim also makes a big difference in ease of setup. Most recently I have WTB i23's (29er), on which I went tubeless Ardent front and Nobby Nic rear. The Ardent was a PITA. The Nobby Nic was a piece of cake.

    For what it's worth, you can also cut up an old tube to use the valve. Save some rubber around the base, and if shaped right it will work. Tape the rim, install 1 side of tire on rim, insert the valve, install 80% of other side of tire, add Stan's, finish installing tire, inflate, shake wheel to distribute sealant...

    ...Or do like I did: buy rim pre-taped, install 1 side of tire, somehow cut the rubber around the valve stem all wrong so it will never seal, spend the next 49 minutes trying to get the other side of the tire to bead up, finally decide to crank the compressor to 130 psi to blow enough air into the damn tire to seat the 2nd bead, and only then discover the fact that your decision to avoid the fiscal cliff by skimping on a proper valve stem ends up wasting half the Stan's sealant you put in the tire just to stop the air leak.

    So, how was your Wednesday?
     
  10. rojomas

    rojomas A.K.A The Oxx

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    Well, I built up the tape because I wanted a tighter seal. As is, I have never burped a tire on these wheels. And believe it or not, I don't even need tire levers to take the tires on or off.

    The way I put the tires on these rims is, I hit the beads with soapy water. Then I pop the beads with a floor pump. Once I have the beads seated, I deflate the tire and take the valve core out. Then put the Stans in, making sure I don't disturb the bead. Then pump it back up.
    Very minimal mess and I'm not even running tubless tires.
     
  11. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!!

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    Very true. I found Hutchison Tires easier to mount than the Continental Mountain Kings. One issue I had with Stans rim tape is that it does not stick very well to anodized rims especially in colder weather it was basically useless. I also kept getting air leaks thru the spokes even though I wrapped it up more than two times. With the gorilla tape I was able to cover the rim perfectly with just one revolution. The easiest rims to go tubeless by far are Mavics just because no rim tape is needed. BTW Happy New Years Everyone! Palm Canyon here we come!
     
  12. Rossage

    Rossage Active Member

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    I just got over 5000 results from googling "gorilla tape tubeless". Its on Pinkbike, MTBR, Singletracks, even STR!

    By the way that's not an avatar-it's my real photo! Now my troll feelings are hurt!!!


     
  13. eatsrice91

    eatsrice91 NoMoSoCal

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    Gnarly!!!
     
  14. strobe

    strobe resident noob

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    Not entirely true. I used gorilla tape with my tubed setup since my wheels didn't come with a rim strip. After less than a year, there was a lot of residue that took me a good hour to tack up and remove. Maybe the Stan's makes it less sticky.
     
  15. Mikie Watson

    Mikie Watson Member

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    I've been using the Gorilla Tape now for about 5 months and it appears to be working great...
     
  16. b.martin

    b.martin New Member

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    Gorilla Tape is MUCH HEAVIER and WILL leave a residue. I have never had trouble with stan's tape not being sticky.
     
  17. melster

    melster Member

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    Hey now. I thought you were all done with that ghetto stuff. ;-)
     
  18. roach

    roach Full Singletrack Tuck

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    After a few weeks, Gorrilla tape leaves the worst residue of any tape.
     
  19. Mikie Watson

    Mikie Watson Member

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    This you can be sure of!
    Some Dufuss that does Tech Tuesdays on Pink Bike said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I thought I would try it for one set of tires and then see. Have not pulled those tires off yet. I will post once I pull them. I tried to contact the guy and he never got back to me. Thanks, for the memory...;)
     
  20. heith

    heith Member

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    I you guys want to buy the real thing for 1/8th the price, the stuff is called strapping tape. The strapping tape repackaged, branded, and sold by the name brands is usually 6mil thick(yellow) or 5mil(red/blue). They all cut the roll back just like a crack dealer does to the cocaine before he sells it to you. A normal roll of strapping tape will do about 8-29er wheels. Here is a link to 1"=25mm black 4mil, just give it 2 passes (8mils) and it's much lighter and less messy than Gorilla tape. U-line is in Ontario and you can will call it or deliver it. My preference is to act like congress, get funds for toiletries approved, and slip strapping tape into the work order.
     

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