I've taken two Tufo taped tires off the rims (neither of them flat but I wanted different tires on that wheel set). I wouldn't call it quick, but it wasn't a disaster either. As John suggested, insert a thin round tool between the tire and rim (I used a screwdriver with a round shaft), work the tool around the rim a bit to loosen the tire until you can get two fingers under the tire, then pull glue strip and tire away from the rim. That should protect the base tape from separation. It helps to leave a short section of the rim unglued: I left the 3 inches around the stem dry and inserted the screwdriver there. The tire never shifted during riding.
Once you can get some fingers between the tire and the rim the rest of the tire comes off pretty quickly. Two caveats: the glue strip will adhere tenaciously to the tire and I don't know what the drill would be to reglue the tire, so the tire may be a loss (although if the tire isn't flat it may make an excellent preglued spare). Second, the tool (and fingers) will end up with glue on it, but some abrasive hand cleaner worked pretty good for clean up. The good news is that almost all the glue strip went with the tire, and the rims were instantly ready for regluing.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
John Thompson <JohnThompson@new.rr.com> wrote:
Michael Allison wrote:
> Bill, I used the Tufo tape on a set of period incorrect carbon wheels.
> The tape is fantastic. Much better than the period correct Jantex rim
> tape. BUT having said that, there are many problems. If you get a flat
> on the road, you'll need Mavic neutral support, because you're not going
> to get the tire off. And if you do, it's practically unusable. If you
> try to remove the Tufo tape, the tire base tape will also come off. The
> stuff is so tacky, there is minimal hope of using it on the open
> road-your buddies will be long gone.
This summer, I had my first flat on a wheel using the Tufo "Extreme" tape. I was able to remove the tire (Hutchinson Tempo2) with base tape intact by sliding a thin wrench between the tire and the Tufo tape and working it around the wheel.
-- John (john@os2.dhs.org) Appleton WI USA _______________________________________________
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