FBinNY 

I really don't get the objections that some people have with Presta Valve.

They're light, narrow (small rim hole, and better tire bead clearance) and have worked very well on bicycles for eons.

Unfortunately, something got lost in translation when most of the production moved from Italy to the Orient. Prior to that move the rubber seals here harder and the action smoother. These days they are often sticky and need to be burped before pumping (not a big deal once you know).

The newer versions with removable cores are nice because they allow extending for deeper rims while still retaining pull function.

One of the biggest pluses for PV is that, unlike SV, they don't need to be held open during pumping so no air is lost connecting and disconnecting pumps. That's not a big deal with larger tires, but can be significant to people running 20mm tires at high pressure.

I've no vested interest in what valves anyone uses, but to say "why can't we do better...." is more about some unfounded bias than anything lacking in the valves themselves.

nfmisso

When I re-started biking about 8 years ago, I was a Schrader valve guy, and had extremely little knowledge about those "weird" Presta valves. Now, I am solidly a Presta valve guy due to all the advantages FBinNY listed above.

fietsbob

Why cannot You just bring a few spare P/V tubes ? and an adaptor to use a S/V Pump, if the P/V one you bring with you is not satisfactory?

Or do we Have Bored at work Tom just posting to watch the response?

[rave] Schwalbe inner-tubes Schrader (and Dunlop) both have threaded stems & ring nuts , so stem stays up with Push on Nozzle tip.

AlexCyclistRoch

Just in case I ever actually need to do this....just what kind of quality do Wal-Mart presta tubes have????

CrankyNeck

So no one thinks we should be doing better than easily bendable/breakable presta valve pins? Or the relative ease compared to Schrader that the valve can break off at the rim? I'm not in love with Schrader valves either, but they are easier to use and more robust. These are two very important factors for the inexperienced. My whole point is can't we get a narrow valve better than the current presta design? I think we can. I just can't fathom why we have not.

SkyDog75

I've seen a handful of people mention bending or breaking Presta valve pins when attaching a pump head, but I've never encountered the problem personally. With reasonable care, I have a hard time imagining how one would manage to damage a pin or shear a valve stem off at the rim. Presta valves have proven to be plenty robust for me.

Impressions of fragility aside, presta valves have some functional advantages over schrader valves. When disconnecting a pump from a schrader valve, air can escape as long as the valve's pin is depressed. With many pump heads, that means you're going to lose some air. With low volume, high pressure tires, you can lose a few PSI (or more) while disconnecting the pump. Presta valves on the other hand, being a check valve, don't allow air to escape similarly. That's the biggest reason I prefer 'em.

SquidPuppet

I am a user of the knurled nut on the Presta valves. I find it much easier to attach the pump chuck to a valve that doesn't want to go into the rim when I push on it. To me, that is a huge convenience over trying to stabilize a Shraeder valve while attaching the pump. Especially when starting with a completely deflated tube. I hate pushing on the tire just to keep the stem exposed enough for pump engagement.

I've only ever bent a Presta pin when I screwed up. Not the valve's fault.

I've never had a Presta nor Schraeder valve fail in 50 years of bikes, cars, and motorcycles.

italktocats

because it would mean ANOTHER standard

RandomTroll

I used to ride around the country, avoiding cities. When I broke my pump I couldn't find a pump with a Presta head, couldn't use the gas station's air (careful!), couldn't borrow a passersby's, couldn't buy a replacement tube at the Western Auto (etc.) So I switched to stuff I could use and replace in small towns.

Roughstuff

Times change but this was the problem I decided to avoid on my world tour. Personally I detest Presta valves anyway; so I promptly had my rims tapped at a nearby machine shop so that schraders could fit.

I have an adapter as well so that I can use prestos if I have to; or to help other presta users if I see them out there with a flat but no pump!

Berg417448

I've used several of them from Wal-Mart. Quality was fine. No worse than anything else I've used.

DiabloScott

1. I detest Walmart. I'd rather walk home than buy a tube there.
2. I've had both Schraders and prestas fail.
3. OP has a good excuse for wanting Schraders and his question has been answered already but all this bickering is kind of fun.

rekmeyata

Crappy ones. The tubes have inconsistent wall thicknesses, seams are known to split, the presta valve they use are very cheap and are easily damaged just by pumping, plus they're heavier.

I tried using one on my wife's bike...I will never use another one. Heck even their schrader tubes suck.

djb

I will most likely drill ream out to shrader if I ever end up touring in latin america again, figure it will eliminate the whole "not finding presta" issue. And certainly with tires tubes with pressures no higher than 70 at most, schrader works perfectly fine. Could even be a bonus if ever having to buy a pump in case of theft or breakage.

djb

thanks for that heads up, I will make sure the width of the rims on my new used bike is ok with this in mind. I think realistically the narrowest tires ever going on these rims would be 26x1.5in , and the bike came with 2.5 mtn bike tires on it, so rim width probably isnt an issue, but will look into it.

FBinNY 

I suspect that you didn't get my point. Tire width isn't the issue, it's the gap between the beads inside the rim that I'm concerned about. In fact, wider tires may work against you because they usually have thicker walls (all things being equal) and thicker beads.

This is simple math. Take a caliper and gauge the thickness of the dead area. Double that and subtract from the rim inside width to get the width of the gap. You need it to be wider than the valve diameter with some room to spare.

djb

Ya, am tired and didn't express myself properly, I realise it's the space inside the rim. I'm not really sure what the inner width of these rims are, but yes I can see how a wider tire could reduce the size between each side. I mentioned the tire widths more thinking that the rims would be X width being able to take wide tires, but I will carefully measure and then also check out the various tires I have kicking around. I have regular marathons in 1.5 and also some folding 2in Supremes (rather thin sidewalls and foldable bead) but will very much keep in mind that expeditiony type tires, especially 2in ones, could be much thicker and lead to the issue you are bringing up.

I think I'll cross this bridge when it comes to deciding on tires for a given trip, and go from there.
Thanks again

rekmeyata

Schrader valves are quite strong, they can easily hold 120psi, I once put 220 psi on a schrader equipped mtb tube/tire for a test of another nature and the valve never had any issue for a week during the test, in fact they've been used where the pressure was 1,500 psi with no problem...this was a standard schrader found in cars but was used in a commercial application; they even have specially built schrader's that can way far exceed that.

djb

hope you had earplugs in for that test ;-)

cyccommute 

About the same quality as any inexpensive tube you buy at a bike shop. They are probably made in the same factory. I've got some that are in tires from 2010 and 2012. I could tell you which ones however.

First, good job on zombiefying a thread...hint: look at the date of the last post before you post something. The last post was over 3 years ago.

But now that you've raised this stinker from the dead, schrader valves are no more robust nor do they work better than presta in my experience. The pin can bend on a presta but a schrader is easy to cut on a rim. If you don't wiggle a presta back and forth when you pump it up, you won't break it but, then, a schrader can be cut by the same motion.

As for a "better design", it doesn't need one. If you were to design it like a schrader, you'd have to make it the same diameter. The spring in the valve is what makes the schrader valve thicker.

And the spring causes all kinds of problems in my experience when it comes to filing them...even for people who should have experience in filling a car tire. A presta valve is a check valve. If you don't depress the pin, the air can't come out. When you pump it up, the air in the hose goes in but any air leakage is coming from the hose. With a schrader, the valve has to be held open for air to enter and any air leakage you hear is air coming out of the tube. The seal around the valve has to be much, much better to keep the air from leaking back but it seldom is. I hear pumps hissing all the time when people go to use their "superior" schrader valves.

rekmeyata

No, but I did have a trash can...I placed the wheel inside the trash can then aired it up remotely.