rasheed

i think some rims are. when i ordered my new wheelset (xt/sun singletrack), i asked the wheelbuilder if they were drilled for schraeder. he told me they were presta, but that i could easily drill for schraeder - which i did as soon as they arrived. i've had quite a few rides on these wheels now, even a bit of dirtjumping and hucking a few drops. so far they're still true, no flatspots that i know of... definitely no cracks or whatever.

there isn't a lot of material removed when you drill a presta hole bigger to fit a schraeder, so unless you've got super thin rims, i don't think that little bit of material taken off is gonna do much in terms of weakening the rim. of course, i could be wrong.

Raiyn

I've never seen a rim fail due to the valve hole be it presta OR schrader. I have seen the weld opposite the hole crack.

Dannihilator

Rims can be drilled out to fit schrader.

JasBike

I like my presta valves because:




a) they never clog

b) the whole pump situation is a non-issue

c) I can let air out while on the trails very quickly with just my finger

Raiyn

I like my schrader valves because in a desperate pinch (in the middle of no bike shop land and out of patches and spare tubes) I can go into the local X-mart and find a tube.

cryptid01

I run tubeless.

ajkloss42

Neato.

It's fantastic that you have good luch with schrader values, but I don't think you expressed much to convince me to change my presta ways. Putting words like "indifferent" in my mouth won't help much either.

Unless you've been wandering around Minneapolis gas stations lately upgrading compressors, I can assure you that most of them in my neighborhood can only get a bicycle tire up to about 50 psi (which is plenty for most car and light truck tires, but not enough for my tastes). I've found a few in the suburbs that get you to 130 psi in about 3 seconds which can be precarious. I've essentially decided to give up on gas stations as a alternative for pumping up bicycle tires because they work very rarely for me. You may have better luck where you live.

I certainly never said people who use schrader values were indifferent. I didn't say I had evidence. I didn't say I didn't have a frame pump either. Most of the people I ride with have presta-only frame pumps, myself included. For me, that means I'd have to buy a new pump to support schader. As tubes need to be replaced I choose to convert instead.

Finally, there doesn't seem to be a 700C 20-23mm schrader tube anywhere on the Internet. So, like I said originally, since I need to have schrader on one bike, I might as well simplify my life and use schrader on all of them.

Maelstrom 

Oh you are running road wheels. That explains a lot.

fentress

I should state that I'm a lifelong resident of the USA where Shrader valves have long been standard for cars, motorcycles, tractors, etc. and still for many bicycles. So that has some bearing on my preference, which is definitely for Shrader. I should also state that I ride my bike a great deal but I'm not geeky about equipment and accessories ans stuff. And I'm into road biking, not so much mountain or off-road stuff.

I'm well into middle age and have had Shrader on nearly every bike I've had, and really have never seen a problem with them. I've never found myself saying, "These darn valves. I wish somebody would invent a better kind."

In addition to my bicycling, I also do a lot of amateur auto mechanic work. So I often use my hand air pump on cars as well. So I can have one pump that works for everything. Keeps life simple. I recently acquired a used bike that was already equipped with Presta valves. Well, guess what? Now I gotta remember to take that danged adapter with me on a long ride. And it's small and easy to misplace. One more thing to worry about. Some say, "Get a Presta pump. Problem solved". Great, so now I gotta have two pumps? And they sometimes have to be replaced, so with two pumps I'm twice as likely to have to buy a new pump. Why the heck should I mess with that? With Shrader valves on my bikes, all my vehicles use the same pump and same valve equipment. One pump, no tiny adapters to keep up with. If I choose to air up a gas station, it'll work there too. So Shrader on my bike makes more sense to me.

As for the commonly cited advantages of Presta, some might technically be true but they seem to me so small in degree as to be meaningless. If you're a real anal bike geek maybe they matter, but I'm just a guy who likes to ride. Stronger rim due to the smaller hole? OK, but I ride a pretty good amount and it's not like I'm eating up rims one after another. Less likely to get gummed up with dirt? Well, Shraders have a screw on cap too. Even if you lose them or forget them (as I've commonly done) I usually end up replacing tubes due to wear on the tube. I've never once had a valve go bad as an issue unto itself. "Easier to deflate" is another advantage of Presta I've heard. Maybe that makes a difference if you like to experiment and modify a lot. But I don't. When you get a blow-out, don't worry. It's deflated!

I've observed that with any hobby in the world, there's a line a person crosses where you get into the geekiness of the hobby and start developing a lot of prickly preferences that look obviously inconsequential to someone outside of that hobby. You get into doing things a certain way only because that's the way the serious enthusiasts do it. I think Presta valves are one of those things. It's different, so some people think it must be better.

Bikernator

Almost all pumps nowadays do both Presta and Schrader valves. No tiny accessories. Even my CO2 cartridge piece.

Also, a lot of us ride tubeless. In that case, the valve is not part of a wear item (the tube).

For those of us who ride tubeless it can also make adding the sealant easier by taking the core out instead of taking one bead off the wheel (EDIT: I just remembered this is not accurate. Schrader valves do have cores).

I don't really care that much either way, but also wanted to give you props for resurrecting a post last commented on when I was a high school senior. Solid.

Mountain Mitch

Yeah but that costs what? A buck 99?

In my experience, presta holds pressure better over a longer period. Shrader ain't bad but presta is better.

fentress

Thanks, that's all very helpful info to know. Yeah, I've taken out Schrader cores out working with cars.


I'll confess I'm not the type to stay all that up-to-date on all the latest trends. I tend to hang on to ways I've always done things that work for me and slowly adapt when I see a need to. So it's a different perspective. We all do what works best for us as individuals.

osco53

Old school is cool but hey,

Move Into the 21st century.

Go tubeless but still get a modern mini pump that fits both with no adapter (Or at least one with adapters) so you can air up any tire/tube.
Carry a couple of 27.5/650B tubes even when tubeless because that size will easily stretch to fix a 29er bike and or cram into a 26" wheel. As for tubeless the benefits are unreal. Nuther reason to carry tubes. re-seating a tubeless tire set up, getting the bead sealed in the field is tricky, even with CO2

I've fixed four flats In four years,,, three on other peoples bikes.
None for me since going tubeless.
I've fixed three broken chains,, all on other peoples bikes. One of these would not have survived the 5 mile walk back to water and had already exhausted his supply,,,,,

My first Aid kit I ALWAYS Carry,,It's just a roll of electrical tape

Going out on the trail or traveling without all you need is not smart and Inconsiderate to others. Things can happen out there and being prepaired as you can be could even save a life...
Some people could not walk 7,10,,20 miles back to the trail head~

Can You ?

Not having a way to air a tire ? Really ??

MuddyBikeRider

I have presta on my bike and I hate them. The US is set up for Schraeder. So now I have different adapters and pumps. It annoys me.

darth_cyclist

Presta valve is preferred by most cyclists due to the narrow rims on road bikes. Also another advantage is that presta valves can handle much higher tire pressure than Schraeder valves. Presta also holds tire pressure MUCH longer.


What is interesting is that most bike pumps have both options to pump up your tire. This means no more situations where you have the right valve but wrong pump.

practical

I keep a Presta adapter on one of the valves instead of (or in place of) a valve cap. My bike pump works on either kind but I like having it just in case. I prefer Shraeder over Presta because there is less chance of the valve failing - fewer moving parts. Other than that, both are fine with me.

pholuvr

So it's been twelve years.

Did folks figure this out yet?

It's certain that no minds were changed.