It's protecting the inner-tube from rubbing against the screw heads of my DIY studs. Did the same thing last year and it worked great.
this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2026
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What about putting in an old tire tube instead of tape? Basically use the old tire tube as a layer? I suppose you'd still have to tape it, but it does provide a thicker layer. Can you also post a pic of your tire with the spikes visible?
Tape is better because it stays in place. I previously had the tape come loose when I tried sticking it inside a dirty/oily tire - it made the tire bulge unevenly, so I had to pull it out and redo the whole thing properly.
An inner tube might be better if you could actually get it to stay put, but tape already lasts the whole season for me, so it seems good enough.
The self-tapping screws have a hardened tip, so probably last a bit longer than standard screws. Good choice.
understood and thanks for the pic!
I wonder how tubeless would work instead of tubes? The sealant would nicely seal the screw holes and you wouldn't risk punctures or other annoyances with the screws
It might work for a while but this is a fatbike and I run it with extremely low tire pressure which puts a lot of stress on the tire sidewalls. At some point they start crumbling and splitting open so much that I can stick my finger between the tire and the tube. Sealant won't help with holes that big.
I did run these without the inserts for about 100 kilometers or so and the tubes held up just fine but there was impressions from the screw head already visible on it.
Another option might be to get one of those plastic anti-puncture tire liners