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After a series of flat tires several years ago, I
decided to replace the existing tubes with new tubes. The
dilemma I had was how to take off and replace the tires without
badly scratching and nicking the newly-painted rims. The
solution was simple. I put black friction tape over the tire
iron where the iron would/could come in contact with the rim, and
also put friction tape around the rim itself. The result was
no nicking or chipping of any paint!!!
 Another problem I noted was the tire flaps placed in the tire to
protect the tubes had folded in some places, making heavy spots and
creating possible pinches in the tube. Flaps are not cheap,
they are a bear to install, and I wasn’t satisfied with the folding
I noticed. What to do? A cheap and easy solution was to
make “new” rim liners by taking an old 15” tube and cutting the tube
into strips. Here is what to do: Cut a hole in the tube
about one inch away from the valve stem. Now take a pair of
scissors and make a cut the entire circumference around the tube
(see drawing). Now cut another hole one inch away from the
valve stem on the other side of the valve stem. This allows
the rim liner to be about two inches wide. Now make a cut
around the circumference which parallels the first cut. Cut
the valve stem out of the tire, make a round hole where the valve
stem was, and stretch the “flap” over the rim placing the hole where
the stem was on the rim where the tube valve stem will go.
The rim liner has virtually no weight and the tube will never come
in contact with the steel rim. This is far superior to using
duct tape on a rim, which I have seen done on many occasions.
Using one old tube, you can usually get at least five to six flaps.
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