New wheels/tyres/tubes but tubes blown!

carl1983

Just put some Gipiemme Tecno 1.55 Light wheels on my bike with gp4000s tyres and conti race 28 supersonic tubes and when I went to pump them up they both blew out!! I checked and rechecked the tubes for pinches and have replaced tubes many times without any problems.

Does anyone know if these Gipiemme wheels are supposed to have rim tape? because these came without so assumed they didn't need it?
Or is it just these tubes are useless? I have some ordinary tubes to try but don't want to if they are just going to blow out aswell, costing me a small fortune!

keef66

If the tubes went pop while inflating it suggests they were escaping the tyre / rim somewhere. Have you done a post-mortem on the tubes to identify the location of the blowout? That should give you a clue about the cause.

Is the valve hole completely free from burrs or sharp edges?

sungod

can you see the holes for spokes/nipples in the rim bed? if so, it needs rim tape

smoggysteve

If they are clincher only and not 2 way fit I would be surprised if they didn't need rim tape. End of the day, if you have holes inside the rim you need tape.

smoggysteve

Beaten to the punch. cheers Sungod

carl1983

I have just checked the tube and it is infact because the wheels need rim tape! I thought they would come with it if tape was needed! :x

smoggysteve

I would expect better from an Italian brand myself but there you go.

sungod

probably the result of insufficient espresso breaks for people in the workshop

Monty Dog

Can't see any reference to them being tubeless - it would be pretty obvious to use rim tape if the rim bed has any spoke eyelet holes. Many tubeless rims e.g. Stans still need a rim tape.