LionelB wrote:I've used this tape once years ago (the regular one not the extreme). It was a major PIA at installation to center the tubular. But this was nothing compared to removing this sh*t from the rim.
Never again.
Mastik one works perfectly and is all I need.
I don't mean this at all as an insult, but You either didn't have the product being discussed in use now or simply didn't install it right...
Centering is extremely easy.
You peel off the wheel side tape seal and stick it to the wheel, but leave the tire side seal strip in place. Leave a small strip (2-3 inches) of the tire side hanging out.
You install the tire and inflate it a bit and center the bead (it's not yet sticking to the tape at all and moves easily). Once centered you pull on the tire side sealing strip (it's already centered) and inflate the tire and go ride.
The install will take less than 3 minutes and it's ready to ride.
Removal in most cases is also very easy. The tape strip usually stays stuck to the tire you're replacing, leaving only small patches of glue on the rim that can be removed the same methods as you would remove standard tubular glue... (taking a lot less time to clean up than a standard glued rim).
if the tape stays on the rim you peel up a couple of inches, roll it a bit and use pliers to pull it off... Again leaving a lot less clean up than glue, and pulling off the tape takes very little time.
There has never been a removal and / or re install of tape that has taken me as long or longer than glue takes... And / or meaning taken together and or as either removal alone or install alone.
And while I have seen incorrectly glued tires roll off, I have never seen a taped tire roll off first hand... and I live in one of the hottest places on the planet in phoenix Arizona... It's not hard to glue a tire well, but it can and is done. It's pretty difficult to screw up a tape job, which is likely why I have never seen a tire roll, despite very wide use of tape here...
I'm not saying glue isn't good. It's great when done well and guys that are comfortable with it have no worries... Another benefit to glue is that you can reused the tire more frequently and a taped tire is usually not reusable. Even when I glued tires, the number of times I reused a tire was so rare that it wouldn't make a diff for me, but the same thing that makes clean up a snap with tapes tires is very frequently also the reason that you can't reuse a tire... The tape and most of the residue peels off the rim along with the tire most times with both the old extreme tape and the new version... Simply full disclosure
a lot of the gripes I hear against tape are second hand bullsh!t and or about versions of the product that are long gone. It is very simply a much easier installation and through at ease of install, it requires far less skill to install securely.
I understand why guys who get paid to glue tires don't like it... I understand why some guys like glue...
What I don't get are a lot of the gripes that are very frequently not accurate about the ease of install and the quality of the product in use today.