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how to use a Presta valve adapter

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Old 03-09-15, 02:18 PM
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how to use a Presta valve adapter

i'm having difficulties passing air through one, using a gas station type air inflater and a compressor
sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't

i do the correct procedures, open up .. unscrew the presta valve then screw in the adapter the correct way

is there a trick to it, i must be holding my tongue wrong?

on a particular wheel it doesn't want to pump up at all


i want to be able to know how to put the inflater nozzle on correctly so it works every time

*frustrated here*

Last edited by le mans; 03-09-15 at 02:23 PM.
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Old 03-09-15, 02:28 PM
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Are you "burping" the valve first to make sure it doesn't stick?
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Old 03-09-15, 02:44 PM
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+1,un screw the lock-nut, touch the tip of the PV stem to break the sticky seal of the check valve , then put the adapter back On..
remove adapter and retighten nut , then replace the adapter , if you Leave it on.


Could ream the rim Hole bigger and use the auto style valve tubes
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Old 03-09-15, 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Bill Kapaun
Are you "burping" the valve first to make sure it doesn't stick?
do you mean press the valve in a little bit to release air, to check to valve? yes.. on the front wheel it had a little air in the tyre and i managed to pump it up, it wasn't straight forward though, i had to fiddle with it so air would pass through

the rear tyre has no air in it at all, dunno if the valve is faulty

[but ive always had dramas with this no matter which tyre with a presta valve]
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Old 03-09-15, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
+1,un screw the lock-nut, touch the tip of the PV stem to break the sticky seal of the check valve , then put the adapter back On..
remove adapter and retighten nut , then replace the adapter , if you Leave it on.


Could ream the rim Hole bigger and use the auto style valve tubes
i dunno if anybody else is experiencing the same as i with these adapters, if you look inside the top of one, there looks to be no provisions to open the pin on the inflater to allow air to pass through. just an empty pipe, might be a design flaw with them? seems to be a hit or a miss thing
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Old 03-09-15, 03:24 PM
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It Does Not Matter .. When the pressure in the hose is Higher than the pressure in the Tube it will Open The (unstuck) check valve in the Stem.

S/V Auto valves have a spring in the valve core .. .. Kangaroos and Emus

I suggest Buying a Presta Valve Track Pump. Lezyne is nice quality

Last edited by fietsbob; 03-09-15 at 03:28 PM.
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Old 03-09-15, 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
It Does Not Matter .. When the pressure in the hose is Higher than the pressure in the Tube it will Open The (unstuck) check valve in the Stem.

S/V Auto valves have a spring in the valve core .. .. Kangaroos and Emus

I suggest Buying a Presta Valve Track Pump. Lezyne is nice quality
ok, i wanna see if i can sort this out before i decide to buy an air nozzle to suit a presta valve.

now, on this flat tyre the lock nut un-screwed i can move the stem in and out, is that an indication that the valve isn't stuck?
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Old 03-09-15, 03:46 PM
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nozzle? wankers

you are probably buggering the ring Nut on the Bottom of the stem By the rim . not the Little one at the tip of the stem

https://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/presta-schrader.html

https://www.lezyne.com/product-fpumps...p#.VP4WHFpurR0

Last edited by fietsbob; 03-09-15 at 03:53 PM.
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Old 03-09-15, 03:48 PM
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yeah, inflater, pump to suit a presta vavle
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Old 03-09-15, 03:54 PM
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With the adapter the presta valve must be opened all the way and the brass adapter screwed all the way on. I keep one on my bikes just in case I'm close to an air station.

Amazon.com : M-Wave Presta-2-Schrader Valve Adapter : Bike Pumps : Sports & Outdoors
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Old 03-09-15, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
nozzle? wankers

you are probably buggering the ring Nut on the Bottom of the stem By the rim . not the Little one at the tip of the stem

Presta vs Schrader valves by Jobst Brandt

Lezyne - Engineered Design - Products - Floor Pumps - High Power - Steel Floor Drive

look mate, this valve doesn't have a ring nut. what i meant to say when the lock nut is unscrewed, i dunno what you call it.. the pin can be moved in and out
and a fat lot of help your link was

talk about wank, lmao

and do you actually use an adaper, and can advise me from experience? not this google talk crap
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Old 03-09-15, 04:09 PM
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I put them on as Valve Caps on my bike for my 10 Month tour of Ireland And Scotland, (my 50th birth day I was in Morayshire 1997) 3rd pretty long Multi country tour.

But To actually top my tires up on the road I Used the long frame pump I carried on the bike, and used the Presta valve bits in the pump Head. .

I was some what amazed that there were bike rental Businesses on the Irish west coast and they used a small Frame pump to pump up the fleet's tires .


In the LBS we sell a lot of them, they come a dozen on a card.. going for at $3 each.

thought top/bottom Up/Down needed defining ..

Running light on a BOAT is on the stern

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Old 03-09-15, 05:18 PM
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Unscrew the valve on the wheel. Push it in once to burp it. Thread on the adapter,it should just spin down without closing the valve. Make sure you spin it all the way down until it stops. Then you should just need to put on the air chuck.

Jump to 3:50 in this vid:
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Old 03-09-15, 05:24 PM
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If you've loosened the nut before starting then it's not you it's the adaptor.

Obviously the nut that lock the valve closed has to be backed off before starting, but the rest depends on some dimensions. Gas station air chucks have a valve held closed by air pressure. Air will flow when the center is depressed by the stem in the tire valve. So easy that it's obvious, but the devil is in the details.

If your adapter is too tall, the tire valve stem won't reach the chucks and nothing will happen. If you look at a Shrader valve (which is what the chuck is designed around) you'll see that the stem is just slightly sub flush with the top of the valve. That's the critical dimension. Get it right and you're in (or the air is).
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Old 03-09-15, 05:26 PM
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If you don't install the adapter straight and unscrew the valve's nut fully, threading it on can sometimes turn the valve nut and close it.
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Old 03-09-15, 05:26 PM
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I was reading in a different thread that there are long adapters and short adapters.

The presta valve should come to being just flush with the top of the adapter. If the adapter is too long, and the valve doesn't come to the top, it might not work as effectively.
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Old 03-09-15, 05:33 PM
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I've had to throw old presta adapters away, that had just got to where they wouldn't work any more. There is a rubber ring inside the bottom of the adapter - I believe that mine had rotted from my leaving it on the valve stem, out in the weather. Leaking around the seal, making it harder and harder to make it work. A new adapter lives in my saddle bag now and that problem has not recurred.

They're cheap, I use them frequently, they work fine. Just get a new one or two, and if that doesn't help toss the tubes. Life is too short to make a project out of it.
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Old 03-09-15, 05:37 PM
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how to use a Presta valve adapter

I just had a problem with this yesterday. CliffordK is on the right track. I mine was tooling I took a grinder to my adapter and shrank it a bit. Works great now. Was frustrated for 2 hours trying everything in my shop, until I figured out the presta valve head wasn't high enough in the adapter.
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Old 03-09-15, 07:22 PM
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"How to use a Presta adapter..."

Throw it in the trash and get a pump meant for Presta valves. Seriously, those adapters suck. Presta valves are more finicky than Schraeder and the stupid adapters don't help.
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Old 03-09-15, 07:47 PM
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Mine is probably a decade old, perhaps a couple of decades old. Its been on the bike for eons. And it works flawlessly, almost better than presta-specific pump heads. I don't inflate my tires daily though. More like monthly, so it doesn't get much use.

I could imagine, however, seals going bad, especially if you have it off and on a couple of times a day.

Of course, if you're at home, there are the push-on adapters that are also good.
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Old 03-10-15, 07:42 AM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
If you've loosened the nut before starting then it's not you it's the adaptor.

Obviously the nut that lock the valve closed has to be backed off before starting, but the rest depends on some dimensions. Gas station air chucks have a valve held closed by air pressure. Air will flow when the center is depressed by the stem in the tire valve. So easy that it's obvious, but the devil is in the details.

If your adapter is too tall, the tire valve stem won't reach the chucks and nothing will happen. If you look at a Shrader valve (which is what the chuck is designed around) you'll see that the stem is just slightly sub flush with the top of the valve. That's the critical dimension. Get it right and you're in (or the air is).
This has been my experience as well. I have a few different adapters, but only two of them work with the chuck on my air compressor. The others will work with pumps that don't have a center post.
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Old 03-10-15, 08:40 AM
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This has been informative. I carry Presta-to-Shrader adapters in my tool bags, but never use them. All of my pumps have Presta heads. Back in the 80s, you needed the adapters because often the pumps didn't support Presta.

But now, I have to go back through my various adapters and make certain that they seat properly in relation to the inflation needle (as described above by FB and others). Better to know in advance, rather than fiddling with one that doesn't work right in a pinch.

Thanks, all, for this thread. PG
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Old 03-10-15, 01:09 PM
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cheers guys, for your insight on these ruddy adapters. its reassuring knowing it's not just me

anyway, i ended up removing the air inflater from the end of the air hose.... fitted an air nozzle in place - forced air into the adapter to discover there was a puncture in the tube.

[slightly trued the wheel to my liking while i had it off
and wanted to take everything off to see if i could find the cause of the puncture

the bike is new to me, a fellow clean swapped it for a mountain bike i had. it was too big for him
very happy with the deal... the mountain bike i got for free... and is no-where near the value of this thing....



what a ride!!
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Old 03-10-15, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by le mans
i dunno if anybody else is experiencing the same as i with these adapters, if you look inside the top of one, there looks to be no provisions to open the pin on the inflater to allow air to pass through. just an empty pipe, might be a design flaw with them? seems to be a hit or a miss thing
correct, presta valves can not be used at a gas station (with or without an adapter) there is nothing to press the pin in the gas station chuck to release the air from the gas station pump. it's not a design flaw, they just can't be used on those pumps

if you are like me and like to have that option, just drill out the rims and replace the tubes w schrader tubes, you might need a long stem, so figure that out before you buy new tubes. I believe these are the ones I bought last

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 03-10-15, 02:46 PM
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It has probably been 20 years or more since I've last filled my road bike tires at a gas station. I almost always have a pump with me.

However, I don't ever remember any problems with filling the tires. I suppose Presta and Schrader are slightly different. With Presta you push the pin to close the valve, and with Schrader, you push it to open the valve so I suppose I could imagine a problem, I just haven't encountered it yet. Does air pressure compensate?
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