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Old 11-14-11 | 10:51 AM
  #6  
FBinNY
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Joined: Apr 2009
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From: New Rochelle, NY

Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter

Tube/valve joint failure has become a serious source of frustration. Valves used to have large base flanges against which the tube eas sandwiched with a nut and washer. That gave way to bonding a rubber flange to the valve and vulcanizing it to the tube, which when done right was very reliable.

However, valve base flanges started to become an issue as rims got narrower, and the gap between the tire's beads kept valves from seating properly. Also there's a perception that valves threaded all the way down were superior to those with a conical rubber base.

These days many makers use a valve without a base flange per se, but a short base of slightly bigger diameter against which the tube is glued. If the rim's valve hole is slightly oversize as is common on the inner hold of double wall rims this extrudes through the hole slightly tearing the tube away.

I've addressed the issue on my commuter by using a tight fitting washer on the rims inner surface, held in place by the rim tape, and also pre-mounting a punched feather edge patch as a valve reinforcement to all my tubes before packing them as spares. That's solved the issue for myself, but I continually run into folks on the road who've flatted, and were stranded because the valve joint on the spare tube let go as did the OPs.
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