sknhgy 

I've been a road biker for all of 4 days. Please be gentle.
My new Specialized Sequoia has presta valves. I can't get my Topeak Road Morph to work with them. (Yes, I rotated the chuck fitting in the Topeak). I know you have to unscrew the presta stems to get them to work.
I put schrader adapters on them, and I can get them to work with my Pyramid floor pump, but that won't help me if I get a flat on the road.
Can I drill out the rims and just use schrader valves?

presta valve-----><---------me

travkat

No, bad newbie! Learn to embrace that which is amazing. Prestas are your friend...say that 10 times while taking in deep breath. Then go to the store and make sure the pump you carry on your bike with you doesn't require you to switch anything to pump either presta or schrader. Practice at home a couple of times and you should be good. There is a reason all road bikes utilize presta valves.

patentcad

I'd be more afraider of Schrader.

Later.

patentcad

God help us.

dunningrb

Please post pictures if you do this.

roadiejorge 

The problem isn't the presta valve, it's your inability to adjust. Take a deep breath and try again until you figure it out and you'll see they work just fine.

Ratfish

Prolly just need a better pump or something? Presta is way more sexy, and thus much better.

I will say though that one time I had just replaced a tube on a rim where the tire barely fit on it, so it took about 20 minutes to get the damn thing on. I mount the tire and pump it up only to have the end of the presta valve break off when I removed the pump valve. That really sucked.

Wrench_Monkey

Alloy rims can easily be reamed out to accept schrader. HAVE YOUR LBS DO THIS FOR YOU! That said, learn how to use presta valves. You will be glad you did so.

Sixty Fiver

Have you swapped the valves on your car over to Presta ?

Seriously... they both do what they are supposed to do and it is not a big adjustment to use Prestas.

deepakvrao

I thought all pumps needed the thingy to be reversed to pump Presta/Schraeder? Is there any pump which pumps both without any kind of a change over?

2wheeled

Certainly... I used this pump for a good 3-4 years, no issues.
https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.a...ORT+FLOOR+PUMP

StephenH

My 26x2.125" tires use Schrader valves, and I run 45-50 psi. I think I lose 2 psi every time I check the pressure. Seems like with little skinny tires at 120 psi, you'd half deflate them trying to check the pressure with a tire gauge and Schrader valves, or just taking the pump off the valve. I just sort of assumed Presta valves improved on this situation.

youcoming

I,m not a big fan of them myself. I actually have an end off of one rolling around in my front rim housing which is just a tad annoying. I've been told that they hold pressure better so I'll go with it.

Beaker

I don't get this bit. When I got back on my first bike (a hybrid) a couple of years back, it had very short presta stems - so I had to use the schrader adapters to get them to work with my pump. That sucked royally. Proper presta valves work so much better - I've also borrowed a friend's road morph when I was repairing a flat on the road and it was great.

Dumb, but obvious question - are you locking the head on the valve after you push it on? What typically happens then - do you just get air leaking out and not inflating the tire, or is it that you can't get air in the valve?

JeffS

That might be your problem. Both Topeaks I own came setup for presta out of the box.

bigpoints

I have gone with Schraders all the way. I find them simpler and more robust. Like you, I also find them easier to work with. For the competitive cyclist, I guess Presta would be the way to go: they are lighter, sexier, and whip through the wind better (no cap required). I also imagine the smaller hole required for the Presta would lend better integrity and stiffness to the wheel.

You may convert from your Presta to a Schrader, but I would highly dissuade you from drilling. Instead, use the following proven method ONLY ON DOUBLE-SHEATHED WHEELS: Use the appropriate crescent-shaped file from a mutiple-piece hobby file set and gently nurse the hole until such time that it will allow for the passage of the Schrader valve. Shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes. Be sure to deburr the resulting hole to prevent damage to the tire and inner tube.

unterhausen

I used my Road Morph a couple of times on presta, and then I switched it to schrader to pump up a friend's tires. It never worked correctly on presta again. I'm not sure what happened. I don't like the fact that it's convertable. The cap fell off and I had to order the rebuild kit. My recommendation: keep the road morph to put in somebody's spokes and get something that works.

Booger

Very Fred of you to say so, Fred. I've heard other Freds say that presta valves are annoying because varying manufacturing standards cause compatibility issues (pumps, wheels) and make every valve inherantly fragile. The last couple Performance brand tubes I tried required a wrestling match to use and barely held air at all. In theory, one could design a new valve with much better performance and durability while only compromising cost and weight a negligible amount.

I would never say that, though.

EivlEvo

Listen... TRUST US. Presta is better.

If you are having difficulty airing them up, and you are competent (which you appear to be (don't make me eat my words )) sometimes you need to PURGE the presta valves. ie. Before you put air in, press down on the tip and let a little air out, or more simply... unseat the o ring that resides inside the mighty presta. Once he releases his fearful grip on the gateway to thine kingdom, its minions wilth go forth and prosper.

Push the thingy down for a sec, and then pump it up.

frpax

I don't see what the fuss is about. I've been using Presta valves since 1985 when I got my first real road bike and have never had a problem. I've had pumps that would have difficulty at times, but it was either me not using the pump correctly and in one case, a defective pump. Now that I've gone Co2 and don't carry a pump any more, it's no big deal at all.

thenomad

Are you putting it on with the pump's lock lever in the "up" or extended position and then locking it down after connecting? That's usually how Schrader pumps work but that's NOT how many bike pumps work. My tiny topeak pump has the lock lever in the "folded" down position to allow it to be placed on the valve, then you extend the lever to lock it on there.
Try that and see if it fixes your issues.

Sixty Fiver

It is a lot easier to bork a Presta valve.

Hendley

Yes, I was going to mention this.

Presta valves look sleek and slim and French, and hence belong on road bikes. They may also be functionally better for high pressure uses, but that is secondary.

Randochap

You have a Road Morph -- a very good pump. You have presta valves, which are superior to Schraeder. Your only problem is that you haven't figured out how to use them.

Have you:

1. Put the fittings in the pump valve correctly?
2. Opened the presta valve by unscrewing?
3. Secured the pump end onto the valve by pulling up the lock?

The Road Morph is powerful because it can be used as a "mini floor pump." Drop down the tab at the end and hold w/ foot.

I've been using prestas since I was a child, in the 60s.

sstorkel

Agree. In addition, there are two pieces inside the pump head that have to be flipped on order to change from one valve type to the other. If you only flip one of them, the pump probably won't work...