Any one know where to buy basetape for tubular tires?

[FastVegan]

I need to replace basetape on a few tires, and rather than sending them to tire alert I want to do it. I tried all the usual suspects, lickbike, ribble, yellow jersey, world class. Anyhelp would be great.

Thanks in advance
Dave

[fourflys]

this may be a stupid question, but....

Have you checked with your local shop?

[FastVegan]

Lickbike.com is my local shop, 2 miles from my house. I asked them, they laughed at me.

[happycampyer]

I would've suggested worldclass first, but you already tried them. You might want to pm 11.4, and maybe call Tire Alert to see if they will help you with a source. You might end up sending them to TA anyway.

[11.4]

Nobody sells base tape as such. But all it is is a twill tape (the twill holds glue well and also stretches slightly to ease tire installation). You can get twill tapes in a variety of textures from coarse to very fine. The fine ones are thinner and less bulky, good for track tires. The coarse ones stretch a little more and work better with Conti and Tufo tires (two of the tighter tires out there), as well as most tubulars in general. Find them at any good fabric store. Color doesn't matter.

Your other choice is to salvage base tapes from dead tires. Not as pretty but it gets the job done.

Either way, try to avoid using rim cement to glue it on. The best stuff out there is Barge Cement. It's used to glue stuff in wet conditions (like felt soles to flyfishing wading shoes) and stays both flexible and attached. And it doesn't soften when it smells rim cement.

[FastVegan]

Great info, Where does tire alert get his? OEM tire makers? May be worth the $8 to have him do the job.

Thanks for the reply
Dave

[happycampyer]

Every time I read a post from 11.4 I want to say, "Who is that masked man?"*




*Or, in this context, "who is that mastiked man?"