Originally Posted by
foolish heart
I thought I'd try out the Presta valves, considering all the good reviews I heard about them. Actually, they are indeed easier to pump with a Presta-headed pump. I just want to be able to use my adaptor with a Schrader pump. You'll never know when you may encounter such a situation where there's no Presta pump.
Most pumps have the ability to adapt to either presta or schrader. You just have to take the head apart and swap the guts around. Here's an image from Bicycle Life with some pretty simple instruction.
The only reason you might need an adapter is if you want to use a gas station pump or if you happen to have one of the rare pumps without the conversion.