Review Gorilla Tape - as a rim tape

[Christurbo]

Product Image:

Product name: Gorilla Tape - as a rim tape
Price paid: £8
Score (out of 10): 10

Review: I’ve been using standard bike rim tape for years, various manufacturer versions, Specialized, Peatys, Hope etc.

However I’ve been having a nightmare setting up one rear tyre on new Hope Fortus rims with Cushcore and DD spec Maxxis tyre (a combo for swearing if anyone tried)

When mounting you will need to use a tyre lever due to the tolerances. That’s even with pushing the bead into the trough. You obviously should be very careful and use a plastic lever etc.

I kept scraping the rim tape ever so slightly (as we all know it’s delicate) so resulted in loss of pressure when inflated.

Through my frustration I decided to use some Gorilla Tape I had for some DIY. Tore 30mm strip and installed in a few minutes. This stuff is bullet proof. On popped my tyre and no loss of pressure.

I know it’s not recommended, however I don’t care about OCD levels of protocol. This works.

 

[Bones]

Been using it for ages without any problems. It's a bit more messing about getting the width right. I tend to put the tape on one side and trim the other side with the Stanley knife.

 

[Bones]

And if you want a cheap option for sealant then use Oko fluid. It can be watered down and doesn't ball up like latex does.

 

[Christurbo]

Been using it for ages without any problems. It's a bit more messing about getting the width right. I tend to put the tape on one side and trim the other side with the Stanley knife.

There is a better hack than that - the beauty of Gorilla Tape is that if you measure along the width what you want, then make a small cut with a scissors, you simply tear down and it will be a perfect strip for the desired length you need. Very clever and very easy!

 

[johnnystorm]

I've used it before with decent results but it leaves a god awful mess behind. If doing it again I'd wrap the ring in electrical tape first so the gorilla tape left a mess on that instead. The gorilla tape does have a tendency to absorb the fluid as well and lose a bit of traction.

 

[steve_sordy]

I've used it before with decent results but it leaves a god awful mess behind. If doing it again I'd wrap the ring in electrical tape first so the gorilla tape left a mess on that instead. The gorilla tape does have a tendency to absorb the fluid as well and lose a bit of traction.

I used to swear by Gorilla tape and recommended it to all and sundry. Easy to apply, looks great and very effective, what's not to like!
That is until I could not get my tyres off! The latex sealant in the tyres had reacted with the Gorilla Tape adhesive and glued the tyre to the rim! It took two experienced guys at the LBS to remove the tyres, and it took them ages to do it. It left them with aching hands, despite using special kit. They left me with rims that were covered in a thick layer of GT adhesive and it was very troublesome to get off. The adhesive would stick to anything that touched it. I had tried all the solvents that I had in the garage, all without effect. I phoned the GT maker in the USA and they refused to tell me what solvent to use, despite them no doubt using something very effective on their production line.

To cut a long story short, take the rims outside and soak a rag in petrol and rub away at the GT residue. After 30 secs or so it suddenly softens and can be wiped off. See before and after pics.

 

[vikino1]

I use Tesa 4688 silver tape, it doesn't leave behind an adhesive like Gorilla tape. After 2 years, Tesa was softened, but there was no escape.
On one bike, I even have it on a tubeless rim with wire tires.

 

[Christurbo]

I used to swear by Gorilla tape and recommended it to all and sundry. Easy to apply, looks great and very effective, what's not to like!
That is until I could not get my tyres off! The latex sealant in the tryrs had reacted with the Gorilla Tape adhesive and glued the tyre to the rim! It took two experienced guys at the LBS to remove the tyres, and it took them ages to do it. It left them with aching hands, despite using special kit. They left me with rims that were covered in a thick layer GT adhesive and it was very troublesome to get off. The adhesive would stick to anything that touched it. I had tried all the solvents that I had in the garage, all without effect. I phoned the GT maker in the USA and they refused to tell me what solvent to use, despite them no doubt using something very effective on their production line.

To cut a long story short, take the rims outside and soak a rag in petrol and rub away at the GT residue. After 30 secs or so it suddenly softens and can be wiped off. See before and after pics.
View attachment 120890

View attachment 120891

Did you try Tardis? I have used that on all tough adhesives and it works great by breaking it down.

 

[steve_sordy]

Did you try Tardis? I have used that on all tough adhesives and it works great by breaking it down.

Nope, never heard of it. I tried petrol in desperation only to find it worked very well indeed. I posted on the problem at the time and lots of different solvents that definitely worked were proposed.

Here is a link to the post. It proved to be well read, over 100 posts.

Removing Gorilla tape residue from wheel rims

I used Gorilla tape on my wheel rims, as recommended by my LBS. It's great, looks fantastic and it works a treat. But Oh boy! When you want to remove it what an absolute sod! When you peel it off the thick sticky adhesive is left behind. I have tried a proprietary "Sticky Stuff Remover" that...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[Christurbo]

Nope, never heard of it. I tried petrol in desperation only to find it worked very well indeed. I posted on the problem at the time and lots of different solvents that definitely worked were proposed.

Here is a link to the post. It proved to be well read, over 100 posts.

Removing Gorilla tape residue from wheel rims

I used Gorilla tape on my wheel rims, as recommended by my LBS. It's great, looks fantastic and it works a treat. But Oh boy! When you want to remove it what an absolute sod! When you peel it off the thick sticky adhesive is left behind. I have tried a proprietary "Sticky Stuff Remover" that...

www.emtbforums.com

Thanks.

Just thankful I managed to get the wheel setup so I could continue with the rest of the build!

I’ll deal with the aftermath another time.

 

[Alexbn921]

I'll never use it again. It's heavy and the aftermath isn't worth it.

 

[Robstyle]

There's sticker remover products in aersol that aren't as feral as petrol that work well too.

 

[unclezz]

Although dedicated tapes are expensive I think that they are worth every penny. We are not taping a wheel every month, so the cost is spreaded across a long period of time.
But when you need to remove Gorilla tape all the money saved with it will be spent in time and solvents to get rid of residues.
Personally I think Gorilla tape and similar are a no-go. And in fact I prefer dedicated rim tape.

 

[Christurbo]

There's sticker remover products in aersol that aren't as feral as petrol that work well too.

Tardis is automotive grade and removes some pretty serious adhesive products. I bought it for removing splitters / spoilers etc which leave horrendous residue.

 

[Christurbo]

Although dedicated tapes are expensive I think that they are worth every penny. We are not taping a wheel every month, so the cost is spreaded across a long period of time.
But when you need to remove Gorilla tape all the money saved with it will be spent in time and solvents to get rid of residues.
Personally I think Gorilla tape and similar are a no-go. And in fact I prefer dedicated rim tape.

My problem isn’t the cost (I think they are reasonable). It’s their durability. I’ve never had a problem before, however the combo of a new Hope Fortus wheelset, Cushcore pro inserts and Maxxis DD spec tyres meant I had to use a plastic tyre lever. No matter how careful I was I kept making minute tears which compromised the pressure.

 

[steve_sordy]

If you use black Gorilla tape, it looks like carbon fibre! I sold some 26" wheels and I stripped off the manky old rim tape and used GT (this was when I was a fan of GT and before my epiphany). Plenty of pics showed how fantastic the wheels looked and I got a really good price.

But I definitely would not use it again.

 

[Bones]

Napalm generally gets rid of problems

 

[mustclime]

I have found that plastic explosives solve most problems.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Bones and @mustclime Those were options I was considering!

 

[ironfist]

I used a heat gun to remove gorilla tape from the rim. Heat and peel slowly as you go round. It virtually comes off in one piece with no residue.

 

[Christurbo]

I used a heat gun to remove gorilla tape from the rim. Heat and peel slowly as you go round. It virtually comes off in one piece with no residue.

Nice. I can report that I’ve had no loss of air pressure since I installed the rear wheel with gorilla tape. Front wheel is losing normal amount of pressure between shreds.

 

[steve_sordy]

Nice. I can report that I’ve had no loss of air pressure since I installed the rear wheel with gorilla tape. Front wheel is losing normal amount of pressure between shreds.

Yep, it's a good rim tape, until you need to remove it! (See above!)

 

[steve_sordy]

I used a heat gun to remove gorilla tape from the rim. Heat and peel slowly as you go round. It virtually comes off in one piece with no residue.

Now I know how hard GT is to remove, I wouldn't use it again as rim tape. But if I had bought a wheel that already had it on, I will deffo follow your advice. Then a petrol soaked rag for what doesn't come off.

 

[emtbPhil]

Gorilla tape is a million times easier to apply than other rim tape, it's actually permeable though so doesn't IME fully seal till a bit of the sealant has soaked in

Unfortunately it's a million times harder to remove than other rim tape. After spending an entire afternoon with glue remover, and white spirits, I'm never using it again.

 

[irie]

Gorilla tape is a million times easier to apply than other rim tape, it's actually permeable though so doesn't IME fully seal till a bit of the sealant has soaked in

Unfortunately it's a million times harder to remove than other rim tape. After spending an entire afternoon with glue remover, and white spirits, I'm never using it again.

I only use a small strip (100mm x 25mm) of Gorilla tape to secure the overlap end of rim tape which always seems to come loose.

 

[mustclime]

Good trick with any tape job is to apply the tape, mount the tire with a tube and pump the tube up so the tire is really hard and let it sit for a while. This gets you a really good seal on the tape.

 

[Christurbo]

Following up on this post.

I decided to see how difficult Gorilla Tape was to remove.

I had very little residue by pulling the tape back on itself. What was left came off in 5 mins using Tardis.

I will be using going forward!

 

[steve_sordy]

It's great that it came off nice and easily for you, but some background would be useful.
How long had it been on, which sealant was in use, etc. For all I know, the temperature might also be an important factor - I don't know.

As someone who had the most tremendous problems in removing the Gorilla Tape (it had glued the tyres to the rim for starters!) your post makes everyone else including me look like incompetent arse'oles.

Unless we can tie down what were the success factors in your example, then your post will encourage others to use Gorilla Tape in the expectation that they too will get a result like yours.

 

[Plummet]

I've used it multiple times. It peels off and gets damaged easier when replacing tires. Also it does fail sooner. If had some annoying rim tape leaks with gorilla tape.

 

[Christurbo]

It's great that it came off nice and easily for you, but some background would be useful.
How long had it been on, which sealant was in use, etc. For all I know, the temperature might also be an important factor - I don't know.

As someone who had the most tremendous problems in removing the Gorilla Tape (it had glued the tyres to the rim for starters!) your post makes everyone else including me look like incompetent arse'oles.

Unless we can tie down what were the success factors in your example, then your post will encourage others to use Gorilla Tape in the expectation that they too will get a result like yours.

Tape had been on for a number of weeks.
I used stans sealant.
Hope Fortus 30 wheels (which has a slick finish on the inner rim)
Temperature was usual Uk summer temps at the moment (not too hot).

No intention to make you or anyone else incompetent. Just logging data / facts and experiences for me.

Has anyone used Tardis by the way? I’ve all ways used it for removing automotive adhesive that is so tough it holds spoilers and splitters on (which is what it is designed for) and it made very light work of the GT adhesive.