Originally Posted by
prathmann
But I disagree about necessarily getting a flat quickly if you didn't do that. When I got a new rim for our tandem years ago I assumed the hole was sized for Presta since that's what the LBS told me. Used it for over a year without any problems, but then I decided to convert it to Schrader so it would match one of our other bikes. Well, it turned out that no modification was needed - the Schrader valve fit ok in the rim already and I'd been using Presta valve tubes for the last year just thinking the valve hole was a bit oversize. It was a very snug fit with Schrader, but that was clearly the design goal once I examined it closely.
Ah I see. I did that on a friends bike (put a presta valve in a schrader rim), and he got a flat after about 20 miles, right at the valve. Somehow I didn't even think about the presta vs schrader, but once he got the flat I assumed that was the reason. Maybe his valve hole wasn't as snug a fit...