Spoke hole plugs possibly causing inner tube puncutres?

[zs3889]

Hi folks,

I've recently been getting tiny punctures on the rear wheel of my road bike and it's always been on the inner side of the tube, where the tube is in contact with the rim. The punctures have been really small, to a point where I can pump it up to ~70 psi and get a full day ride in, but there's always a slow leak where it would drop to 10-20psi in 24 hours.

I've cleaned the rim several times with a brush, but that hasn't solved the problem. I've had the same thing happen to a latex tube and several TPU tubes. The rim does have spoke hole plugs without a rim strip, and I'm starting to suspect if one/some of them are causing the punctures. I've had this setup for around 3,500 miles in the past 2 years and I'm just recently having this issue.

I thought I'd ask for opinions/feedback on here, before I start replacing the plugs or replacing them with a rim strip. Thanks in advance!

[.RJ]

I would use tubeless rim tape. Makes tire install less fussy.

[donevwil]

I used Velocity plugs on two wheelsets at one time (one red and one yellow). Both ultimately (1-2 years?) started developing small punchers that were due to plugs. Being hardheaded I replaced the offending plugs making sure the new ones were flat and edge free. Worked for a few months then another puncture.

I now use tubeless tape on everything except my vintage stuff (Velox).

[zs3889]

Originally Posted by donevwil

I used Velocity plugs on two wheelsets at one time (one red and one yellow). Both ultimately (1-2 years?) started developing small punchers that were due to plugs. Being hardheaded I replaced the offending plugs making sure the new ones were flat and edge free. Worked for a few months then another puncture.

I now use tubeless tape on everything except my vintage stuff (Velox).

That definitely sounds like what I'm going through with mine. Would you recommend removing the plugs before installing the tubeless tape or rim strip?

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by zs3889

That definitely sounds like what I'm going through with mine. Would you recommend removing the plugs before installing the tubeless tape or rim strip?

Absolutely, they do you no good after adding tape. Just make sure to pick the proper tape width for your rims and apply two full rounds.

[p nut]

I’d pull the plugs and use this:

https://www.truckerco.com/product-pa...m-x-50m-roll-1

At 70psi, I’d go two wraps.

[cdimattio]

I have experienced the same issues with velo plugs and latex tubes. Butyl tubes never seemed to be an issue for me.

My solution for years was to cover each plug with a 2" pieces of lightweight electrical tape.

For me the tape generally lasts as long as the tire (which gives me an opportunity to inspect and change any tape that has worked loose in some way.)

Aside from a potential the modest weight difference, the plugs and thin tape seem to make for easier tire mounting with some tight tire combinations.

[bikinchris]

Run a single layer of nylon reinforced packing tape the correct width over the plugs and your problem will be solved

[benb]

This has been a thing for a long time.

We used to stick the cloth velox tape on the inside of the rims back in the day to prevent this.

I had one particular cheaper MTB that had a plastic strip instead of tape... the edge of the strip would cause these kinds of punctures. Infuriating till I put tape on the rim.

I'd pull the plugs and tape the rim. For some reason they are always trying to find some new way of doing it. Possibly cause those plugs take less time to install in the factory than tape.

[JedB]

You didn't state which flavor of rim/tire you were using.

For traditional clincher road tires, I always used mountain bike rim strip tape, as it's wider and covered all the spoke holes.