All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

When you guys are taping up a wheel, how many times do you go around? There is a slight leak coming from the stem, should I retape or wait til tomorrow and see if the sealant seals it up?

 

Yeah. I can't remember why the 203 was created. May have been part of the "mine is bigger than your's" competition between sram and shimano. because shimano came out with the 203 first I believe. Sram sticks to the 20mm increments. so they have a 220. but Shimano likes to be...well...odd. IN THEORY, 203 does technically offer better braking performance over the 200 but...a 3mm in size difference is worth it? i'm not convinced? but oh well.

 

I think rule of thumb is just once and you overlay a few inches.

 

yeah. We like to overlay over the valve stem hole by several inches. and then don't cut too big a hole for your stem.

 

that's what I thought, and did...hopefully it seals because I really don't want to take this apart haha.

I may have cut the hole slightly too big...or not pressed/pulled the tape down hard enough when putting it on.

 

203mm = 8in

 

aayyyeee i retaped my wheel for the second time in a month last week. (once in early march and again last week)

i overlayed the tape by 2 spoke lengths over the valve stem hole. so one spoke hole when started and the second spoke hole when i finished. it was easier to leave the wheel in the bike and use that for tension since i dont have a wheel true stand. i used the smallest torq key i had since it was closest and just pushed the valve stem through the hole. the initial hole was like a pin prick big.

if you wanna try without retaping, just put more sealant in

 

oh my gosh. just as i was starting to feel comfortable leaving my bike in my truck as i stop at a store or brewery....

 

IDK how Colorado is (I know its bad) but theres been quite a few Utahns that got their bike nicked in a "Stop at 711 to buy a gatorade" amount of time while locked to a roof rack, etc.

 

Those won't get through my bed lock setup and that's exactly why I came up with it.

 

Maybe a silly question, but gotta ask... Are you using good valve stems with rubber at the base and a fresh O-ring and lock ring? Sometimes I find that my wheel won't seal at the valve stem and I just need to tighten up the lock ring more or add a fresh O-ring.

 

Show and tell time?

 

Posted the install and gear info previously. Here’s a pic of the chain and lock through the ground anchor. It would take a grinder to get it free. Nothing is theft proof but I wanted something some simple bolt cutters couldn’t defeat.



Install post

 

Looks good! Def small bolt cutter resistant, but the ease and affordability of cordless tools really has opened a whole new level of threats.

I'd def attack the bracket, then walk the bike away and deal with the chain off the X, but it'd still make a hell of a noise.

 

i had 3 bikes stolen from my porch from my downtownish apartment a couple years ago. first time i had like 5 bikes out there none were locked my bad im an idiot.
second time i had 2 locked together.

insurance paid out on the first one more than i bought/built it for. sucks but i upgraded to my patrol.
second time i was able to find my bike with the police, but my gf bike was gone.

so im wary about leaving it unattended.

guess im gonna have to invest in one of those rsi caps sooner than i thought if i want to road trip somewhere and leave my bike in my truck

 

I’m lucky. I leave my bikes in the back shop behind my house unlocked. Neighborhood is a nice / older subdivision. Also you can see the cameras all around my house when you walk up. I’ve never even had someone pull up here unexpected or lost in my 3 years. I live at the end of a culdesac.

 

this makes me feel better. i use a similar sized chain around my early gen voodoo rack. sounds like power tools are needed to get my bike out. i also lock the tailgate which makes it even harder to get my bike out

 

lol. Salt lake city!

 

The ground anchor actually requires grinding through more hardened steel than the chain/shackle to defeat it. Again, I'm under no delusion it's theft proof, but it will take some time making a bunch of noise in an awkward spot in the back of my truck. Far better than a cable through the D-ring which was the goal. I'm also not in a really bad bike theft area.