WHY GORILLA TAPE IS BETTER? | GHETTO TUBELESS MTB

[@mangler.m4950]

So, I’ve been a bike mechanic for 12 year. Stan’s tape is garbage. You need to use whiskey or mic-off tape with a latex based sealant. Gorilla tape works well in a pinch but after a few months, it degrades and will develop holes. Also, wrap the wheel twice with any tubeless tape. Start on one side of the valve hole, go around twice and end on the other side of the valve hole. The valve will hold the tape in place. Last thing is wrap the wheel tighter so the sealant can’t get under the tape. After I do exactly what I described, my customers don’t have issues with their tubeless. I taped my rims with whiskey 4 years ago and have mounted I think 7 tires now do to them getting wore out on the trail with zero issues with the tape itself. Your tape also needs to match the outside width of your rim to get the best results.

[@airhogglider]

Heard another trick is to run a tube in the setup and have the tube push the tape perfectly flat against the rim.

[@mangler.m4950]

@@airhogglider so that is a great trick. I use to use that trick when I was less experienced. I will still suggest that “do it yourselfers” should try this trick out.

[@airhogglider]

@@mangler.m4950 the tape with rims that are wide tend to stick to the higher ridges on the outside and then the deeper groves in the middle is harder for it to contact. Most of the time the tape will stretch and show fatigue if trying to press it in. I'm going to just run it with tubes because tubeless is such a huge pita to maintain and upkeep. I'm always injecting more antifreeze to keep the moisture of polypropylene so that the silicone doesn't dry out. It always loses pressure after a few days, it always requires more silicone over time. It's a major headache.

[@mangler.m4950]

@@airhogglider If your not an avid rider, then you might not like tubeless. Tubeless does require more attention but we ride tubeless for the ride feel, the traction and the flat resistance. Also, weather you are riding tubeless or not, if you are riding your bike and not checking the tire pressure but maybe every 3 days to a week, then you are doing it wrong and riding with lower pressure then what you should be with tubes. Unless you are inflating them to 65psi and waiting till they get to 40psi. The other thing you mentioned about the tape sticking to the higher ridge and not going into the center channel is fixed very easily. As you are taping the rim, you run your fingers along the tape before you press down the sides. The issue you mention is not a problem that I ever deal with or a problem that ever comes up. I run wider rims and tape and have had zero problems on my own bike. I’ve had multiple new tires due to riding the tread off and yes, you do have to add more sealant to your tire periodically. Now, all this is comes from my experience working in a bike shop for so long. I also live in Arizona, the flat tire capital of the US. My trails are rocky and sharp. We are lucky to 300-500 miles on a set of tires. I run downhill casings to resist sidewall cuts. Light tires just mean you are buying a new tire in 3 days. I have changed probably 100,000 tires and setup maybe tens of thousands of tubeless systems. So if you live somewhere with groomed trails or ride smoother trails or don’t mountain bike, then tubeless might not be for you. It doesn’t matter how wide your rim is or how deep the groove is. If it is done correctly, then the only thing you need to worry about, is adding sealant and inflating your tires. Also what ever your doing with antifreeze or silicone, maybe stop doing that. I don’t know what that is for and it can’t be good for the system. Most sealants have anti freezing agents in them already.

[@airhogglider]

@@mangler.m4950 you can't run your finger down the middle if it binds on the side first hence the challenge of doing the tape. It's not easily done and it depends on how flexible the tape is. My thumbs got beat up doing this and I'll just use a plastic tire lever next time but a tube can do 30-40psi constantly so why even bother sacrificing the fingers? What might work is slightly folding the tape in the middle to try to run the middle track but the tape will flatten if you pull on it so then the problem will occur once more. It's a huge pita and might be easier done on the bike or truing stand. I just don't enjoy this type of work on the bike as it's frustrating and the worse part is mounting the tubeless tire to the rim itself. What s pain. Anti freeze is polypropylene. Tire sealant is silicone or latex suspended in polypropylene or basically anti freeze. 😀 I use Stan's and blend in Slime and anti freeze. To keep it going for longer. It works. Don't ride in crazy sharp terrain so I don't need tubeless and I don't like riding low pressures as it's also worse for power transfer and you can blow the tire off the rim so I don't run it. Tubes and RhinoDillos work. I don't ever use chain oil as automatic transmission oil works just as well if not better. 🤣

[@sascha9736]

Did exactly the same but with mucoff valves, way cheaper and even non tubeless rims can be converted, worked really good til my bike was stolen (pretty sure it's still working)

[@AndreasRavnestad]

Gorilla tape works quite well. I have had several wheels come back from the shop with brand name rim tape that is not properly sealing. Never used brand name tape myself, but Gorilla certainly has never failed. Also as Todd mentioned wrap your rim twice -- Gorilla can fail if you wrap once and put too much pressure in the tire.

[@lossantoscity3249]

Not just quite well. It actually works many times better than a tubeless rim tape. I own a few from AliExpress, mucoff then stans. But Gorilla tape is the strongest of all. The only penalty is you're 10 Grams heavier

[@marklouieadame]

Duct tape is the way to i use electrical tape first to seal the spoke wholes then double round of duct tape thats it you dont need to keep replacing it unless you need ti re-lace your rim

[@michaelinglis567]

You probably already know this but its important to use a rim tape thats a few mm wider than the rim bed so it should go up the walls a bit but not interfere with where the bead seats. So basically you should have to stretch and rock the tape a bit to get it past the walls of the rim and into the bed. A common mistake people make is to measure their rim bed and then get rim tape that matches that measurement. So if your calipers measure your rim bed at 17mm you want to get a 21mm rim tape (or rip your gorilla tape to 21mm). Im by no means an expert when it comes to mtb's in general but its a useful tip that i thought id throw out there. I also use the black gorilla tape (1" strips since my rim is oldschool narrow and not a WT rim). Works great and its only about $3.80 a roll compared to actual branded rim tape thats $20 a roll. And i can just get the rim tape anytime im at walmart. Its the same reason i use the Slime 2 in 1 sealant. Plus the Slime 2 in 1 only takes about 4 oz. per tire and is supposed to last considerably longer than most typcal latex sealants.

[@devianb]

I setup non tubeless tires with non tubeless wheels with the black Gorilla duct tape. Worked, but it required a bit of sealant to seal and I would lose about 2-3 psi a day. I switched to tubeless tires and they were way easier to setup and maintain.

[@erichbachman7363]

I bought a bike second hand, and thought gorilla tape was fine as a tubeless tape. That was until my local bike shop charged me 200+usd for changing one tire/ie. fixing it cause it was not holding air! It was on a fatbike. I did complain to them as thought they should have given me a headsup, I expected it to cost 50-100usd max, but 200+ was just off the charts! ...Part of that high prize, was the hassle of removing all the "fragments" left from the tape. I did the second wheel myself, and it took about 20 mins to properly "clean" the rim of the gorrilatape. Part of the steep price was also that the bikeshop opened a 80$ tubless kit with new valves, tape and sealant, just to get the sealant, which also did'nt make sense, as I included the valve, and tape myself. Luckily got the prize down to half, otherwise, id be using another bike shop!

[@MCMTB]

Damn, My Friend owns a bike shop and he would never charge that much .🤦‍♂️

[@junboo8730]

Crazy stuff and that is exactly why I don’t use bike shops anymore. Last time they charge me like PepBoys. Doing stuff you didn’t ask plus they didn’t do it. I’m done.

[@RetroMancer242]

LOL, cool story, bro. Shill harder for that tape company you work for.

[@patrickmatakoepan915]

On the side of the Muc-Off bottle is a volume indicator, so when you hold it upside down you can see how much sealant you've squeezed into your tyre.

[@MCMTB]

Thanks dude

[@jonathandougherty3677]

I do 1 wrap of gorilla tape and one wrap of black electrical tape. The gorilla tape is great adhesive and sealing but it’s soft. Electrical tape is almost like a rubber cover for the gorilla tape.

[@MCMTB]

Awesome

[@mrgoatbeard]

So with gorilla tape being sticking and a pain to remove, I found a combination of rim tap with electrical tape over that to be by far the best solution. One layer of rim tape with a layer on each side after of electrical tape...haven't had a single leak at all and super easy to remove and clean if needed. Plus, the rim tape provides the needed structural support while you can stretch the crap out of the electrical tape to really help seal everything in.

[@Durwood71]

I did the tubeless conversion this past weekend and tried Stan's tape, which I quickly determined was trash. My problem is that it wasn't stretchy enough to allow me to press it smoothly into the rim without the sides wrinkling. I threw it in the trash and bought a couple rolls of Gorilla Tape To-Go which is sold in small, one inch wide rolls. It worked so much better even though I only did once around with it.

[@MrRay645]

I have used Stans, WTB, and one other tubeless brand tape that I cant remember (same stuff different logo).... I find Gorilla to be the best and easiest to put down tight and smooth, only downside is the clean up required when you remove it. leaves a sticky mess behind, so an extra 15-20min per wheel to clean.

[@chrisfaessen1417]

When that gorilla tape fails (which it will soon, lol), try DT Swiss rim tape. By far the best iv found

[@Durwood71]

@@chrisfaessen1417 Gorilla tape is still going strong nine months later.

[@chrisfaessen1417]

​​@@Durwood71Ya, mine lasted a year and then when I went to clean the tire out and put new sealant in I noticed the tape was all jacked up and needed to be replaced. So I ripped it off only to realize that it left all of the glue behind on the rim. Took me about 2 hours to get all the glue off one wheel to install the DT Swiss tape. Needless to say will never use gorilla tape again

[@Durwood71]

​@@chrisfaessen1417 When it's time to replace the tape, I probably won't bother trying to clean all the adhesive off and will just slap more Gorilla Tape on top of it! The wheels that came with my Trek Roscoe are pretty cool, though. They don't use tape at all but have essentially a giant rubber band that goes around the rim and seals all the spoke holes.

[@manny_fit]

Man you made putting those conti's on like nothing!! Maybe because they have been on these rims or something but man I need like 12 tire levers to put mine on! Great video! I love ghetto tubeless

[@ZenEndurance]

Props on your choice of pocketknife. I have the same one and it's awesome.

[@justinbond558]

*Man! Looks good!* I want your channel to take off like a good stock investment. You definitely deserve it!

[@MikemoRides]

Zip flashing tape works wonders. I used it on my fat bike on the Mulefut 80SL rims and it's held up like a champ for a long time now. I've used gorilla tape in the past and while it worked great after a couple seasons it was broken down and was a pain in the ass to remove.

[@topcat304]

The white version is 2x thicker than regular black gorilla. I used it on a new set of wheels a year ago and those tires don't lose air.

[@jacksoncarter6352]

Really cool video surprised I haven't seen your channel before, thinking about doing the same thing

[@slimjim4ever]

I’ve used G tape but like what others have said they do degrade over time & leave sticky residue that’ll be pain in the butt cleaning off later. I personally never had problem with Stans rim tape but that’s because I use electrical tape over it & that helps it from sliding plus makes cleaning much easier if you ever have to re-tape.

[@miamisportsman1236]

gorilla tape absolutely works very well. only thing is when you replace the tire in the future its a mess to clean up, makes it very inconvenient.

[@MCMTB]

I use my wife’s hair drier and it works like a dream

[@junboo8730]

@@MCMTB Oh nice tip. Can you do a video on it? I ordered Stance tape😢

[@mleavitt787]

I always do one loop when doing gorilla tape rim tape. I always start one spoke hole past the seam on the rim, then finish one spoke hole past again so the two ends overlap.

[@dsonyay]

Gotta hold bottle UPSIDE DOWN. There is a scale on the bottle to use in order to measure amount dispensed. :). I thiught mountain bikes loved Silca? Another thing.. mountain bike friend of mine adds glitter to the sealant… claims it helps seal punctures better

[@pnw.brnn.raised5297]

I've been using gorrilla tape. After watching another video today I'm going to switch to the proper stuff. I'm tired of the issues I get with duct tape (yes gorilla) and the other video convinced me the other stuff is much better as he was also a long time user of Gorilla tape

[@TheCyclelogist]

Same bad experience with Stans rim tape erp. I thought at first that this was a new channel hahaha. Happy new year erp!

[@MCMTB]

Haha Ito yung na hack Kuya, pinalitan ko na name ng channel

[@itr0863]

Awesome video Marc. Very informative

[@slider190]

I agree the G tape works, but it will leave a sticky residue on your rims if you ever try to remove it.

[@AndreasRavnestad]

The residue is fairly easy to remove with various solvents such as isopropyl alcohol, white spirit, kerosene or similar.

[@ChrisNieves]

I have the same bike with the same issue exactly all my spoke nipples are leaking. This is a great bike for what it is.

[@brendaleetv]

Ive used the blk Gorilla tape and its been 2 yrs, I did mine in the start of Covid and I just re applied Stans sealant, so after I should say 3 yrs its going strong.

[@eh_enduro9963]

So me as a mechanic can tell. It works but not that well you need to go a few rounds and the risk that it slips when you put on or off the tires. And I don't like the stans tape on all rims my hope haven't sticked to it as well the schwalbe tape failed. I used electrical tape for the first round and warmed it up with the heat gun and then used the schwalbe tape

[@IvanPrskalo]

First time using Mucc off? Dude, that is the best and expensive thing... I like it and it is easily washed out (cleaned) by only water.

[@SirManlyPowers]

Gorilla tape will leave residue on the rim when you remove it. WD40 can disolve it but it will take some time and elbow grease. Given the air pressure on the tape (~2lbs for every spoke hole) it's a good idea to have two layers of tape.

[@aleksarajkovic3471]

You should try WTB tape, its cheap and i've been using it for 2 years now without any problems.

[@solobellimino2356]

Thats what i have been using, nothing ghetto about it. Cheap and it works. Stans tape is packing tape, its not bicycle specific. very same tape used on a new washer and dryer i bought. Only issiue with gorilla, is having to clean up the residue if you want retape.

[@corvus400]

That is why you go two or three wrap around with tubeless tape.

[@BennetJW]

Nice, i dont have tubeless rims but can they still run tubeless with tubeless ready tyres if I put valve stems, gorilla tape or rim tape and sealant in?

[@MCMTB]

Yes

[@stylusmtb1762]

Muc off is amazing. Love it

[@mattgolding7557]

Useful vid…How’s the gorilla tape holding up in the long term ?

[@denseljosephs9500]

Mark Chance. Just realised you have the same surname as my half brother. Are you mixed race ,do you have relatives in Jamaica? . Love the uploads. Subscribed.

[@MCMTB]

Yo I’m mixed Filipino American

[@chrisfaessen1417]

Gorilla tape is fine until it fails and you have to remove it and you end up with a 2 hour residue removal job on your hands. I tried stans rim tape and it didn't adhere AT ALL. it's total garbage, dont even know how it still exists. I bought some DT Swiss rim tape since my wheels are DT Swiss so assumed it would work. DT Swiss rim tape went on like a dream and has been holding strong for a year now.

[@hothiphopnow-ih2hp]

Since when they start making bicycle tires with no tubes... First time I ever seen this

[@dgriffinm]

Thank you for uploading this video Do you think of Muc off sealant is better than Stan's

[@LAPS810]

What are the model name for the wtb rims??

[@airhogglider]

I ran tubeless tires on a non tubeless rim with tubeless tape. It's much easier to maintain a tubeless rim. Saw a video on someone throwing tubes inside a tubeless rim to make it sit perfectly against the rim. Going to do that and maybe just run it with tubes to see how it goes.

[@pnw.brnn.raised5297]

I saw using a heat gun to seat it and it's probably how it was developed?

[@airhogglider]

@@pnw.brnn.raised5297 yeah most likely

[@GG-si7fw]

How wide do you use for the wheel? Is there a rule of thunb?

[@RiderDon]

G tape is the one I have on all my bikes and still impressive. Nice vid erp 👊🏼

[@shanglang133]

White plastics are stronger. Dye weakens plastic. You did good therefore.

[@icantgivecredit871]

Is it difficult to get the Gorilla tape to uniformly split in two and give a continuous narrow strand of tape?

[@jeffbuchanan4213]

Do I still need to use rim tape if my rim has no spokes?

[@ninoelcastro2905]

Yooo you put 50psi while me too scared to top 40psi

[@Liljoozy]

How did you get the tape to the correct width?

[@MTBfixHQ]

Only watched the first minute of the video, but I am 100% certain if your stans tubeless tape did not work you installed it wrong because its the best tape around. You need to pull hard and stretch the tape while you apply it and also make sure to clean the rim with isopropyl. Please don't tell people gorilla tape is better because its far from it, it leaves a horrible residue when removing that takes forever to clean, ask me how I know..... I only recommend it if you are in a pinch and can't get real tubeless tape. If you want the best bang for the buck you can get ZTTO tubeless tape from aliexpress which is a copy of the stans stuff for like $3-4 bucks a roll, just stock up on all the sizes you might need. I have taped over 100 tubeless rims and gorilla tape is the worst one, and I am not a hatter just realistic and trying to help people. The only time gorilla tape can be good is if you are trying to convert a non tubeless rim to tubeless, because its thick it helps to fill the space to help seal the tire. I see a lot of comments saying stans tape is crap, but let me tell you I am 100% certain these people are morons and do not know how to install the rim tape, if you do not stretch the tape it will not work, you can install gorilla tape without stretching it because it doesn't stretch good, its because of the fibers in the tape and it has so much sticky goo on it, so for a novice it "works" better

[@MCMTB]

I don’t mess around when installing a real rim tape, i make sure that the rim is spotless and I use an industrial alcohol to clean it, And I put pressure when I install it, when I did it , it like it was installed in the factory, Trust me I’m a mechanic 😅

[@MTBfixHQ]

@@MCMTB Like I said though man, I taped over 100 rims and Stans has never failed me once, only when I first got into it taping rims I had a few bad jobs because I was not pulling hard enough on the tape but the master wheel building at my shop taught me what i needed to know, you need to pull really hard and honestly most people are probably not understanding how hard you need to pull this is the problem, for a novice I would recommend two people which helps get the tape very tight. If I can tape 100+ various carbon / aluminum rims in a row with Stans rim tape without a single problem I have to do my part and explain why its not working for people. I have had countless times people coming into the shop telling me their tubeless setup is not holding air and sure enough every time its because they installed the rim tape themselves, I show them first hand how to do it and I have not failed once. There is good reason why not a single authentic rim tape manufacturer has come out with rim tape similar to gorilla tape, they all copy Stans tape, just like their sealant.

[@MCMTB]

Yes I pulled it really hard, like I had to use my strong arms to do it, turned into a factory like tape job, I’m a QA at work and proper prepping is the key, with proper technique the job will be done correctly, I understand that you probably did over a million of them, but be honest to your self gorilla tape is better, it’s just a bit heavier, like what I said I’m a mechanic, like I work in a bike shop doing bike stuff, you’re probably better than me since you’re claiming that you taped over a hundred rims, I respect that’ but again with my experience, stans tape is no better than gorilla tape, they crack to easy , you know they do, and yeah I am pretty tough with my size no joke 😅, but hey if you think stans is better thanks your opinion and a lot of people will agree, but for me stans tape is no better than the good old gorilla tape, thanks for your opinion I respect that, goodluck , let me know when it fails

[@creativemullet8412]

Hi ERP! Can I ask something that's not irrelevant thru this vlog episode. I have a Claris groupset 8 speed cassette and hubs. Now I am planning to buy a wheelset that's 9-11 speed compatible. Can it be possible to install it on an 8 speed cassette? Some are saying a spacer is required. But my concern is the shifting gear and performance. I would appreciate your kind response. Thanks, Peace and regards - Ryan

[@janeblogs324]

8s and 9s are interchangeable.

[@K03sport]

Not ghetto...a better term would be improvised or budget; or even "MacGyver-ed" (but I don't have the name rights)...nice way to think outside the box. I'm sure T-Rex tape and Flex Seal/Flex Tape could work too...anything that is extra sticky and air/water proof and relatively inexpensive and readily available....just need to put in the time

[@horsepastedelish]

This is just a budget tubeless conversion, ghetto tubeless is when you use an old inner tube instead of tape & valve.

[@OneCosmic749]

Gorilla tape isn't better or good for tubeless setup - i have tested it myself and it leaks air a lot even when perfectly applied i had to pump tires every 24 hours - dt swiss wheels, schwalbe tires, muck-off valves so everything designed for tubeless. After it i used 2 plies of Muck-off original rim tape and the difference is night and day, even now after winter and several month of not using bike the tires have about 2 bar of air pressure, i usually ride with 3.5 bar around the city.

[@isiahbenedictreyes6922]

non tubeless ready ardent race tire can be converted to tubeless?

[@MCMTB]

I have ardent race tires , I wasn't able to use it tubeless

[@rsoul7282]

Cleans his rim with soap, water, and an old toothbrush, wonders why his rim tape doesn’t adhere well. I can’t imagine why.

[@siTTinLo]

That is not ghetto tubeless.

[@BryanCHernandez]

No wonder Stans tape didn't work, it's just the worst, doesn't stick to anything and it's too stiff, absolute garbage. Went full Muc-Off on my rims, perfection 👌

[@joebidenshearingaid1618]

exactly you pay for perfection . I did the same , used all muc off products and it lasted the life of the tire (1 year )

[@jhoidequilla4294]

😊😊😊❤️❤️

[@wallyedmonds8199]

No , and I just go around once with mucoff.

[@kjm-ch7jc]

You need to do a video on how to remove Gorilla tape as its well known the adhesive is very difficult too remove.

[@georgesrisomsak9650]

Stans tape is fucking GARBAGE. I prepped, very thorough, and tried multiple times. Always would leak after a few weeks. Even in multiple layers, stretched just to the point of breaking. Absolutely trash. I WILL say the sealant is awesome. I went with Dt swiss, and no problems fist time around. Weird huh? The clear gorilla tape is the shit too, I've a a set of rims holding air for over 6 months, even down to temps of 9 degrees outside from 110f. Holding perfect through extreme temp swings too. I won't spend another $80 on a dt swiss roll, clear gorilla is just as good in my experience. WORLDS better than that bullshit stans sells as "rim tape". Sent that waste of $ right to the trash can, where it belongs.

[@ms.karihart2983]

👏

[@nizdaily2552]

Ayus

[@Bugkillerdn2e]

are you a pinoy?

[@MCMTB]

Yeap

[@jp93309]

Problem with gorilla tape is it’s a little porous unlike rim tape designed for tubeless. Requires sealant refilling more often. Had Stan’s tape and it didn’t stick to the rims, sucks. Got DT Swiss brand it works great, not porous. Btw, Fillmore Reserve Presta Valves are the real deal.

[@otb.e1881]

bike

[@pooritoadij1284]

Idol focus ka nlng sa bike

[@bobpretend]

If you're using proper rim tape and it's failing, then you're applying it wrong. Gorilla tape is slightly porous, so it'll leak air over time. It'll also tend to lift when you change your tyres, meaning you have to retape the rim. It leaves sticky glue all over the rim when you need to change it too, which is a nightmare to clean off. Use proper rim tape (the muc-off stuff is good) and learn how to apply it properly.

[@fcom9457]

So many better options than Gorilla tape. Gorilla tape is the worst option. It might be easy, cheap, and sticks to anything. But it’s extremely difficult to remove for future service. By saving a couple of bucks you have now screwed yourself .