What happened to my Veloplug? Pics inside...

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Johnny Rad
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Location: Zion

by Johnny Rad

What happened to my Veloplug? How does this happen?! What might've caused it?! My brain is at a giant loss..

Two things: (1) The horizontal head of the Veloplug sheared off from the vertical plug part and (2) the horizontal head of the Veloplug has a hole in the middle of it.

Image

Image

(For comparative purposes, that's a brand new Veloplug next to the sheared off one.)

I installed the Veloplugs about a year ago in my Reynolds Attack clincher (not tubeless ready) wheels. Today I had a flat. Upon pulling the tube, I saw a fair sized hole in my Challenge latex tube that corresponded with a spoke hole in the rim bed where the wheel was missing a Veloplug. At that point, I noticed the sheared off Veloplug. I think the vertical portion is rattling around inside the rim.

I happily used Veloplugs years ago in similar Reynolds wheels with no issues.

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perwjensen
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by perwjensen

Probably happened when mounting or when taking off your tire. Doesn't seem possible to be wear and tear.

Johnny Rad
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Location: Zion

by Johnny Rad

Hmm, maybe the tire bead?

I like the idea, but the current set of tires and tube have been mounted for 2k mi. I don't think the latex tube could've lasted two rides on the uncovered spoke hole in the rim bed.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

Someone had mentioned that latex tubes cause damage to veloplugs. I run veloplugs on two wheels with no issues but with butyl tubes. On one wheelset I used to run 120psi on a tandem with no issues. There's some weird properties of latex that could cause this. How long have you been running latex tubes? And could heat-related stress be a possibility?


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Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

pdlpsher1 wrote:Someone had mentioned that latex tubes cause damage to veloplugs.
How long have you been running latex tubes?
And could heat-related stress be a possibility?


I haven't seen the thread talking about potential latex / Veloplug non-compatibility. Thanks for bringing it up. Can you point me to it? Not saying it's accurate / not accurate, but it goes against my experience. Years ago, I ran latex (primarily Challenge) with red Veloplugs for many thousands of km's and years without issue. I've been on the same combo again for the past 3k km's.

Yes, it's summer here and it been hot (90-100F). My garage, where I store my bike, gets nearly as hot by late afternoon and into the early evening. Not sure that it's much hotter than usual, but I've only been in my current home for the past 2-3 years.

I wonder if I damaged this particular Veloplug during installation. Now that I think more about it, I recall using the rounded backend of a screwdriver to push some of the tighter fitting plugs into the spoke hole. I tapped some in; not banging away. I'm going with this, but am interested in reading about the potential non-compatibility noted above or hearing about other hypothesis...

Zigmeister
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by Zigmeister

IDK, it's a 1/10th of a gram piece of plastic. Surprised mine have held up with no issues for the past several years. Two sets of clinchers, no issues.

I don't ever reuse them though. Not sure if you ever pulled them out and put them back. That pretty much ruins them. They are so inexpensive and I have like 50 laying around. If for some reason one needs to be replaced, or wheel rebuilt/laced up again, just put all new ones in and toss the ones I pulled out. They get mangled during removal always and rough. Don't want to chance it with having a slightly rough edge, so just replace them.

Butyl tubes, Conti GP4000S tires, run around 90-95psi. One set of wheels is generic Asian 40mm, the other is Reynolds Strike SLG.

Just replace it with the bag of spares you likely have laying around, and move on with your life...worst things can go wrong. Price you pay for being a weight weenie.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

Read the post by 1415chris on issues with latex and veloplug.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40223&start=240

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kkibbler
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by kkibbler

pdlpsher1 wrote:Read the post by 1415chris on issues with latex and veloplug.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40223&start=240

huh? he's talking about spoke holes in the rim, not latex tubes.

Butcher
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by Butcher

With all the plugs they make, I'm certain some are not right and will break. I believe you got one of those.

I would make certain they fit the holes properly and if not, get the right ones. If they are, then I think you just got one of those once in a life time issues that happen in life.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

kkibbler wrote:
pdlpsher1 wrote:Read the post by 1415chris on issues with latex and veloplug.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40223&start=240

huh? he's talking about spoke holes in the rim, not latex tubes.


Get you get a chance to read the entire thread on latex tubes? People are having all sorts of issues on clincher rims with latex tubes. Latex tubes destroy rim tapes and veloplugs. The issue here isn't veloplug but latex tubes on clincher rims. If you search latex related posts you'll even find folks say the latex tube finds its way in between a cotton rim tape and the rim. Latex tubes belong in a tubular not a clincher. Here's a warning from Enve on using latex tubes in a clincher.

https://enve.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204228845-Use-of-Latex-Tubes-in-ENVE-Clincher-Wheels

Latex tubes are not recommended for use in our clincher wheels. Latex is very inconsistent in comparison to butyl, and doesn't hold up as well in all of our internal testing.

Our wheels are provided with ENVE cloth rim strips that cover our spoke holes to work well with butyl tubes in the clincher format. Use of latex tubes in the tubular version, however, work perfectly fine. The tubular completely surrounds/supports the tire, whereas in a clincher tire, the tube comes in contact with both dimples in the rim strip from spoke holes, and edges of the inside of the tire. In essence the tube inflated inside the tubular tire is always round or at least elliptical in shape whereas in a clincher the tube shape can become deformed by the edges of the tire/rim contact point as well as the spoke holes.

There is no specific temperature found for when latex tubes become unreliable. The inconsistency and unreliability of latex tubes come more in regards to variable wall thickness of the latex tubes (ranging from 2mm thick in some areas, to less than a half a mm in others). Similarly, the way in which the latex tubes are sealed together and joined at the seams can be very inconsistent. With such variability in a tube - often we see wide ranges of variability in latex tube durability. This variability can be examined by simply pumping up a latex tube outside of a tire. The latex tube inflates with varying degrees of pressure throughout the tube (bubbling on some parts, while retaining the "tube" shape in others). Compared against a butyl tube pumped up, outside of a tire, however - it's easy to see why butyl is a much more consistent and more reliable choice.

MikeDee
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by MikeDee

Looks like they melted. Plastic doesn't hold up well to heat. A plastic rim strip melted at a spoke hole on me on a steep descent where I had to do a lot of braking and the tube blew. I switched to Velox cloth rim tape and fixed the problem. No more plastic rim strips for me.

Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

Zigmeister wrote:IDK, it's a 1/10th of a gram piece of plastic... Not sure if you ever pulled them out and put them back. That pretty much ruins them.


I vaguely recall fooling with them at the time of installation - ensuring they lined up just right to minimize any high / sharp edges. Can't say that I didn't pull a few and reinstall them. In hindsight, I suspect that I damaged it during installation and / or tapping them in with the rounded screwdriver handle. Thanks all for the ideas and setting me straight.

Now about getting that loose rattly end out of my rim... Argh.

shotgun
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by shotgun

Zigmeister wrote:I don't ever reuse them though. Not sure if you ever pulled them out and put them back. That pretty much ruins them.


I learned the hard way. I reused them, and had massive tire and tube blow out on a really hot long ride. I later found out it was caused by a small sharp nick on the plug. I've also noticed that they don't age well over time in hot climates.
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Butcher
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by Butcher

Johnny Rad wrote: tapping them in with the rounded screwdriver handle.


There's your answer.

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