How to Install Cloth Rim Tape

Bicycling is both a fun activity and competitive sport, but the pressure of the weight of the rider on the bicycle can have adverse consequences for the bike itself. One of those consequences, which results from simple bicycle wear and tear, is the pressing of the inner tubes into the holes on the rim of the wheels. One way of dealing with this involves cloth rim tape, usually cotton, which is applied to the rim, underneath the tube.

Things You'll Need

  • Set of tire levers
  • Cloth rim tape
  • Wrench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Release the brake. The brake is released so the brake shoes are comfortably out of the way of the tire, and it can drop between them. Find where the brake cable enters the brake lever, and release.

    • 2

      Find, at the center of the wheel, the quick release lever. Turn it to the "open" position by turning it all the way from pointing to one side to pointing toward the other. Place yourself at the back of the bike, facing forward. Loosen the nut on the right with the wrench, at the center of the wheel as well. The wheel should slide right out..

    • 3

      Purchase a tire lever set. These are helpful with removing the tires. Insert the thin end of the tire lever between the tire and the rim. Pull the tire lever down and clip its hook end to the nearest spoke. Move over two spokes, and repeat with the second tire lever. Do the same with the third. Then move the first lever two spokes down from the third and continue until the tire is free from the rim.

    • 4

      Position one of the holes in the cloth tape over the hole in the rim for the inflation valve. The inflation valve is the piece of metal attached to the rubber tube into which air is pumped. Apply cloth tape carefully and evenly around the whole circumference of the tire. When you are finished, simply repeat these steps in backward order to replace the tire on the wheel and the wheel on the bicycle.