Getting Spanked

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flag fielonator
Posted: Mar 30, 2021 at 11:01 Quote
I've been driven close to madness by the Spank bead-bite rims i used in my first wheel build. The build went swimmingly, the tubeless setup hasn't been so easy. For the life of me i can't get one of the wheels to hold air. I've taped, retaped, retaped, you get the idea, but always get leaks around the valve hole. The rim bed is inverted for some twisted reason, and it's shit.

Whilst they hold air they're great. Any tips on the valve/rim interface that might stop me running them over with the car?
flag nematon785
Posted: Mar 30, 2021 at 12:24 Quote
Double yer gromets. Or... Bin the fancy valves and cut some out of tubes. Leave a nice big flap that fits. Make sure they the kind you can pull valve from and inflate directly with nozzle. Add a gromet before collar on visible side.Double tape has allowed otherwise non compliant types to air up and seat. Keep bead in the center to get cheapo wire beads on easier. I have 20 year old yard stored rims and cst branded garbage tires that have held air for 2 years on my back up beater. Well taped and home cut valves. Most reliable tires yet. Gorilla tape cut to rim width (not too wide, just right!) And stans with cut valves seal nicely. That gorilla tape seals great and is slippery, allowing a tire to seat. My tread has worn off, gonna have to screw with them again this year. Sealant probably powder by now.
flag Falcon991
Posted: Mar 30, 2021 at 14:55 Quote
I feel your pain. Like I've posted on before, I've had problems getting tubeless setups to work as well. What worked for me was to spring for the $25 Orange Seal valves. I use the rectangular block on the back side, not the cones. They held air immediately - 1st try. It almost pissed me off, how easily they worked the first time. Almost.

EDIT: I don't know about the Spank wheels, though. If you have a reasonable flat space to work with, I highly recommend the Orange Seal valves.
flag fielonator
Posted: Apr 2, 2021 at 2:59 Quote
Falcon991 wrote:
I feel your pain. Like I've posted on before, I've had problems getting tubeless setups to work as well. What worked for me was to spring for the $25 Orange Seal valves. I use the rectangular block on the back side, not the cones. They held air immediately - 1st try. It almost pissed me off, how easily they worked the first time. Almost.

EDIT: I don't know about the Spank wheels, though. If you have a reasonable flat space to work with, I highly recommend the Orange Seal valves.

I'll have a look at those, cheers. My current valves are cut out of tubes. I've tried all sorts of setups on these rims that have worked easily on others. My worst attempt was to fit a stack of patches (cut out of old tubes) over the valve like washers, and try to seal it up that way. Didn't work. I'm in a period of mild success, re-taped with duct tape and home made valve fitted. If it holds air for a week I'll consider it a success. I'm not confident though.

Looking at the shape of the rim bed I expected to find that special Spank valves were available, but I don't think there are.
flag HaggeredShins
Posted: Apr 2, 2021 at 8:47 Quote
A couple things that will help here:

1. Use Gorilla tape. Forget literally everything else. A lot of people botch up their tape job fighting with new/unstretched rubbers mounting with a tire lever and this will never happen with the monkey tape

2. Even more people torque the ever loving snot out of their valve stem lock rings, which deforms the seal and will cause slow leaks. Dip the bottom of the valve stem in sealant, mount it, and then finger tight only
flag Dkutassy
Posted: Apr 2, 2021 at 16:37 Quote
Absolutely do not use gorilla tape for Spank rims with the Oohbah profile. You need something that will contour to the rim. Don't use gorilla tape in general because the sealant will eventually penetrate the sides of the adhesive causing the tape to peal up and create a huge mess.

Use the rim tap Spank offers or something similar and tape the rim the way they instruct. You need to tape one half of the rim for a little past one full rotation and shift to the other side for the second wrap. Use a soldering iron or heat up something with a sharp point to melt out the valve stem hole. If you try to cut the hole out the tape can split all the way across.

Their rims are awesome. Especially the 350/359 has a very nice ride quality but they can be tough to build.

Here's how you tape them:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LWJ7RiDGYuc
flag RunsWithScissors
Posted: Apr 2, 2021 at 17:31 Quote
I build mostly Spank rims. Gorrilla tape and WTB TCS valves work every time for me. Built and sold a buttload of these things in the last two years. Keep practicing.
flag HaggeredShins
Posted: Apr 2, 2021 at 18:26 Quote
RunsWithScissors wrote:
I build mostly Spank rims. Gorrilla tape and WTB TCS valves work every time for me. Built and sold a buttload of these things in the last two years. Keep practicing.

+1

Pretty much anyone competent enough to mount a tire won't have an issue with Gorilla tape and it will likely take far less practice than with less flexible alternatives. Its quite forgiving and exceptionally resistant to moisture when laid on a clean and dry rim.
flag fielonator
Posted: Apr 3, 2021 at 3:50 Quote
HaggeredShins wrote:
RunsWithScissors wrote:
I build mostly Spank rims. Gorrilla tape and WTB TCS valves work every time for me. Built and sold a buttload of these things in the last two years. Keep practicing.

+1

Pretty much anyone competent enough to mount a tire won't have an issue with Gorilla tape and it will likely take far less practice than with less flexible alternatives. Its quite forgiving and exceptionally resistant to moisture when laid on a clean and dry rim.

Thanks for all the tips guys, I'll have a look at that video later. I'm not new to this tubeless business, just new to spank rims. I've been pretty successful with all the other wheels I've set up tubeless in the past few years, but they've all had a more conventional rim shape. I've used gorilla tape, cheaper duct tape, proper tubeless tape, even electrical tape on one occasion. All were fine.
flag Dkutassy
Posted: Apr 3, 2021 at 12:48 Quote
Everyone has personal preferences but I see no reason to use gorilla tape that makes a sticky mess if it ever needs to be removed. First few times I used it, prepped rim with alcohol and a clean lint free rag. The Stan's sealant loosened up the adhesive at the edges and they eventually leaked after a little over a year. Might only be an issue for sealants that have ammonia but might also be unrelated. But that's just my experience with gorilla tape.

Plenty of strapping tape options that are just as cheap or cheaper then gorilla tape but much cleaner and easier to deal with if it ever needs to be removed.
flag fielonator
Posted: Apr 4, 2021 at 0:35 Quote
I watched the video last night, it all seems pretty straight forward. I was surprised it recommend taping all the way to the edges. I always thought the bead-bite part should be left alone so it's able to do it's job. Maybe with very thin tape the ridges are still there.
flag RunsWithScissors
Posted: Apr 11, 2021 at 11:22 Quote
Someone posted a thread about Spank rims being impossible to tape. Gorilla Tape on a Spank 359 rim. It can be done. I do this all the time. I make my living at it.

Just did this after finishing another Spank build. Took about 5 minutes. Sealed right up.
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