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Sticking on tubs Glue or Tub Tape?

Glue every time, no contest. Go for Continental in the big yellow tin and Google up a good price. Tub tape is nasty stuff, basically just cloth double sided tape, if you're unlucky and sods law says you will be. It'll get twisted or stuck to itself during the process of getting the tub on. Don't go near the stuff, it costs too much, you can't re-use it, it rips up when you change tub and leaves shreds of hard to get off stuff all over your rim. Not to blast the stuff too hard, it is convenient if you are in a desperate rush. With the glue, think before you start. Shove the tub on the rim, no glue for a day or too and it will stretch a bit, this makes all the difference for a beginner. Next get a good coat on the rim, don't hold back. Inflate the tub until it turns in on itself, on its' side, you can then paste some muck lightly but evenly on the base tape. Deflate the tyre, but keep it enough to give it a little shape, then get some nasty old jeans on and place a scrap of timber or a tea tray on the floor. Stick the valve in the hole, keep this at the top, grab the tyre firmly with both hands either side of the hole and lean on it continually stretching the tyre on to the rim evenly either side of the valve hole working down towards the floor and pushing hard. The tea tray will stop the rim picking up bits of debris off the floor or leaving a skid mark on your Persian rug. When you've got most of the tyre on the rim, you will still have a little bit more to go, pick the wheel up, hold the rim edge, valve hole side against your thighs and role the last bit over. Your hands will now be as sticky as a sticky thing. Inflate a bit, to get some good shape and centre the tub by eye according to the base tape showing on each side, spin and finish centering, Job done, except for the sticky hands. If you are not big into dermatology or health and safety then a petrol soaked rag will work wonders. If you are more intelligent than this you could try all manner of other things, kinder to the skin and safer and then just give up settling for gooey hands. After reading this you will of course think, I'll just use tub tape; you probably will, but only the once trust me. I’ve stuck on scores of the things, never had a problem and never rolled a tub. Really there’s nothing to it, and I can do a pair in 15 minutes.

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