tubes and rim tape
 

Should these be changed when you change tyres ?
Bike has 11k on it,
Not sure when or if they have been changed
Recommend a good place to source these in the uk
Cheers all

I changed my rear, but only because of a small spear I picked up in Portugal that destroyed the rim tape (and the tube), then made a noticeable gash in the rim!

The front is original - never changed it.

It's there to protect the tube from the spoke nipples.. so I guess, unless it perishes then it's only going to need replacing if you have a problem with your nipples.

A good Enduro trick is to leave the OE rim tape and add four or five layers of Duct tape over it. Helps hold back a broken spoke.

oh hahahahaha.... 'problems with your nipples'.
sorry :/

Hi i usually just remove the tape, add a droplet of oil to each nipple and tape the grove around a couple of times with a half width of duct tape.

the tubes, if i was constantly riding rough ground, change them yearly as they do get little nicks and can fail for no apparent reason. for regular riding, they'll be fine. I never use hd tubes, just decent quality ones

stoic

for me in the past I always used to change the lot when fitting new tyres and carry the old tubes as spares. I used to think the tubes got a bit hot if the bike was left in the sun. Plus I found it gives confidence on long trips.

What size tubes fits the XTX ? i.ve been searching but can only find imperial sizes

It's terrible when that happens isn't it :D

I read somewhere that heat cycles will eventually make your tube fail, along with friction between tube/tyre caused by acceleration (back wheel), & also braking/cornering etc. I also notice that the metal parts of the valve stem, particularly nut & washer, go rusty quite quickly, so the part you can't see inside the rim, will probably be in even worse shape. As tubes are not much money, I reckon changing every second tyre change probably gives good peace of mind. I'm no mechanic, & I don't ride off road.....

Replace them when they fail.

I did a good 25,000 miles on the original, wafer-thin front tube, and over 30,000 on the rear.

The front tube is still fine, and I carry it as my spare tube. The only reason I swapped it was because my spare happened to be a thicker tube, and thus took up annoyingly more space to carry.

I changed the rear tube because I pinched it fitting a tyre. Otherwise it was still fine.

has anyone gone
 

The tubeless route?

I've seen it done on other spoked rims. It is like an extra wide, thicker rim tape.

The only setup I've seen is the Tubliss one. Last time I looked they didn't recommend it for use on Tarmac, and didn't do a 17" rear. Both of those may have changed now, and I know a few people have used them on big, heavy dualsport bikes of various descriptions.

Have a read...

http://adventure-motorcyclingh.com/2...ubeless-tyres/

I agree with Chris Scott that the perils of doing a DIY tubeless conversion are overstated by internet 'experts'.

However for me, I just don't think it's worth it.

You're still going to have to carry all the tools to change a tyre, and a spare tube, and a tube repair kit, as well as your tubeless plug kit, just in case you get a puncture that won't plug.

There is the advantage that a punctured tubeless tyre will tend to deflate more slowly, but also the disadvantage that you will now have no end of fun trying to seat the tyre on the rim without a big compressor.

And ultimately, how often do you get punctures? I've had two in nearly a decade of riding and probably ~70,000 miles, both of which have been screws picked up while commuting.

As it happened, I had no kit with me on either occasion, and yes, when it happened on my (tubeless) ZXR400 I was able to limp home, while on the (tubed) CG125 I abandoned the bike, walked the rest of the way to work, and came back later with a van. Now, on the Tenere with a tube and levers under the seat, it might cost me half an hour. A bit of a nuisance on the way to work, utterly meaningless while travelling.

Maybe I'm spectacularly lucky? I feel a poll coming on.

Same here. Managed perfectly well with patches, tubes, levers and spanners - so why change a habit of a lifetime?