If you're looking for a cheap way to shave a few grams off your bike then Veloplugs, from Australian rim makers Velocity, may pique your interest.
Designed to replace rim tape on clincher wheels, Veloplugs are small plastic plugs that fit into the spoke holes on your rim. They perform the same job as traditional rim tape, but at a fraction of the weight: a set of Veloplugs weighs in at just 5 grams, compared with around 15-20g for a roll of rim tape.
Veloplugs come in two sizes: red, to fit spoke holes of 8mm diameter, and yellow, for spoke holes of 8.5 - 9.3mm. I'm currently using a set of the red Veloplugs on my carbon clinchers. So how do they compare to the Velox tape I was using before?
To start, fitting was a bit of a faff. Spoke holes come in a range of sizes depending on rim brand and model, and as luck would have it even the smaller red Veloplugs were a tight fit on my wheels. I tried dunking them in hot water as advised on a forum, but in the end I resorted to using a penknife to pare thin slivers off each plug to get it to fit. Thus modified, they slotted in securely and fit nice and flush with the rim bed.
Other Veloplugs users report an easy fit on their wheels - and once they're on, the chances are you'll never have to touch them again. If you do need to remove them, for example to swap out or tighten a spoke, they pop out easily and are reusable. Not that unpeeling your rim tape is a particularly onerous task, but the Veloplugs are at least neat and leave no sticky residue on your rims.
Now that the Veloplugs are fitted, there's no noticeable difference in performance over the rim tape. Fair enough: a weight saving of 30g on your wheelset is pretty negligible, even if that weight is saved at the rims where physics says the benefits are greatest. But they are doing a perfectly good job so far, and my inner weight weenie is happy.
Apart from the weight saving, Velocity also claim that Veloplugs are safer than rim tape. I can't comment on that, having never been injured by rim tape, but the distributors clarify:
"Velox is very rigid and lasts a long time. Other rim tape however, especially simple plastic tape suffers aging and will break one day. Another problem we experienced with rim tape is that it might move in the rim. This may lead to uncovered holes, particularly if you have staggered holes (one left, one right etc.).
"If the Veloplugs fit the hole size they can't move and they don't wear out. There's a good chance that they outlast a wheel set and can move into a new pair."
So there you have it: safe, durable and lightweight.
Priced around £10 for a pack of 64, Veloplugs are a relatively inexpensive way of shaving some rotating mass from your wheelset. For anyone partial to a marginal gain these will hit the spot. Give 'em a whirl.
Veloplugs, €15 from veloplug.com
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