Bicycle tyres

[Simster]

You know how they come in two different types: the wider "car style" valve or the narrower bike valve.

Well what is the POINT of the second type, the bike valve? As far as I can see, they are bloody nuisance. You can't use them on those automatic air machines at petrol stations and the middle bit of the valve easily gets bent and in my experience are generally more difficult to pump up.

Any bike experts know the reason?

 

[CheeseRolls]

Schrader versus Presto - I am bike techie enough to know the names, but dumb enough to have been confused multiple times. Fiddly and annoying and I seem to have about half a dozen pumps now, for one reason or another. There's your answer it is just a money making exercise.

 

[Acker79]

You know how they come in two different types: the wider "car style" valve or the narrower bike valve.

Well what is the POINT of the second type, the bike valve? As far as I can see, they are bloody nuisance. You can't use them on those automatic air machines at petrol stations and the middle bit of the valve easily gets bent and in my experience are generally more difficult to pump up.

Any bike experts know the reason?

A quick skim of 'presta valve' on wikipedia suggests due to the narrowness of the valve meaning a narrower valve hole in the wheel rim, the wheel is stronger with that type. Unless you're talking about a dunlop valve, for which there is little information, except it has a wider base than the presta valve, which would negate the strengthening of the wheel.

(The car type valve is a schrader)

 

[skipper734]

Presta valves vs. Schrader valves

Whereas Schrader valves are almost universal on car tires, bicycle tubes have either Schrader or Presta valves. Both types are good at sealing high pressures. Their chief differences are that Schrader valves are larger and have springs that close the valve except when the pin is depressed. Schrader valves are used in a wide variety of compressed gas and compressed liquid applications.
Compared to Presta valves, Schrader valves used for bicycle tires have a greater diameter, requiring a larger diameter hole in a bicycle rim. While not a concern on wider bike rims, it will weaken a narrow wheel rim, precluding their use on (road) racing bicycles. Another disadvantage of the Schrader is that the air chuck must depress the spring-loaded pin before air can flow during inflation, whereas the Presta valve relies solely on internal air pressure to keep it shut. This means that some air is lost while attaching and detaching pumps to Schrader valves, although this is usually nominal (most of the air which makes the "whooshing" noise when the pump is removed comes from the compressed air in the tube between the pump body and the attachment end, not the tire via the momentarily-open Schrader valve). To fill up a bicycle tire with a Presta-valved tube at a gas station requires an adaptor, while a Schrader-valved tube does not.

 

[Nottseagull]

This thread is about inner tubes, not tyres.
Why don't Supermarkets or Wilkos sell inner tubes for 16" wheels? These are not only a common kids' bike size but are also used on some adult folders. I have an irreparable Shrader valve on a folder I bought for £20 but I will not pay the £4.99 Halfords are demanding for a new one!

 

[Harold]

You know how they come in two different types: the wider "car style" valve or the narrower bike valve.

Well what is the POINT of the second type, the bike valve? As far as I can see, they are bloody nuisance. You can't use them on those automatic air machines at petrol stations and the middle bit of the valve easily gets bent and in my experience are generally more difficult to pump up.

Any bike experts know the reason?

Not an expert at all, but I have two bikes (one road, one hybrid) that use the second type you mention. These Presta valves are prefered on inner tubes intended for inflation to a high PSI (i.e. 90+ I would guess). They have a manual locking nut in the valve which retains pressure better. The thin design is also better suited to the deep rims used on road bike wheels. I agree, that type can be a bit fiddly. On occasion I even found the locking nut broke (it can't be replaced) on a brand new tube when attaching/detaching my track pump head. However this was when I was using Kenda tubes (which I found punctured easily too), Continental tubes are my personal recomendation.

 

[Harold]

Schrader versus Presto - I am bike techie enough to know the names, but dumb enough to have been confused multiple times. Fiddly and annoying and I seem to have about half a dozen pumps now, for one reason or another. There's your answer it is just a money making exercise.

One more thing as you mention multiple pmups, I recommend the BBB Airboost Track Pump. Had it about 4wks and it's a cracking bit of kit (very little effort required to inflate to high pressure), metal barrel makes for a robust feel, accurate guage, and it provides the benefit of a dual head (hence the only home pump you'll need). Set me back about £22 which many may consider pricey (for a pump) but it's built to last. For on the road, I have a mounted Topeak pump (Presta head, can't remember which model) and I also bought a cheap Schrader adaptor off t'internet for about 50p in case I need to use that to help anyone out on the road.

 

[NMH]

On a tangent - but I recently got a puncture on my all-terrain bike and the shop wanted £20 ****** quid to change the inner tube!
They said because it was the back wheel - but I did it myself and the gears didn't make much diff when removing and replacing the wheel.
Rip!

Incidentally, a mate gave me a pocket-sized bike-pump he found in a box of stuff he got at an auction. It takes more work to inflate a tire of course, but the convenience of being able to pop it in a carrier/backpack pocket is brill - and you really shouldn't worry about the extra work considering the number of times you need to use a pump anyway.

 

[Pantani]

On a tangent - but I recently got a puncture on my all-terrain bike and the shop wanted £20 ****** quid to change the inner tube!
They said because it was the back wheel - but I did it myself and the gears didn't make much diff when removing and replacing the wheel.
Rip!

Punctures are invariably over priced by bike shops because most mechanics do not want to do such pointless jobs. These are qualified technicians in the main, generally over booked with repair jobs to do, so they rightly expect individuals to be able to repair their own punctures. Hence £20, for what realistically is a £5 job plus the cost of a new inner tube.

 

[Harold]

On a tangent - but I recently got a puncture on my all-terrain bike and the shop wanted £20 ****** quid to change the inner tube!
They said because it was the back wheel - but I did it myself and the gears didn't make much diff when removing and replacing the wheel.
Rip!

Absolute rip-off. Yes there is slightly more to replacing the rear (and it's never the one you want to change by the side of the road) but it's nothing like expert territory. £20 to change a rear tube...cheeky blighters. I would recommend to anyone that has never changed a bike tyre to view one of the many wheel change clips on Youtube. Debunks the whole process, and shows what a rip shop charges can be for simple stuff.

 

[Birdie Boy]

I have bought my inner tubes from Tesco's and they seem to be pretty good. About £1.25 for Schrader and £2.30 for Presta, 700c size. They do other sizes but not sure about 16", worth checking out. I ride my bike to work everyday and I have just got my first puncture this year and that was due to a piece of glass, so I recommend these inner tubes. The great thing at this price is all you need to do is carry one spare inner tube with you, get a puncture and swap it other, then repair the puncture at a later date. I also bought a pump from Tescos (about £15) which has dual connectors at the end, as they are fixed there are no adaptors to lose and it fits perfectly on both types of valves and there is very little chance of bending the Presta valve.

 

[Acker79]

I recently got a puncture due to a screw driver (it was the metal bit of one of those screw drivers where you pull the metal rod out the handle turn it around and hey presto your philips head is now a flat head one - that confused me until I got it out of the wheel, because it looked as if the handle was trapped). Not only did it burst my inner tube (I even got a loud bang rather than the hissing of past punctures), it ripped an inch long hole in my tyre, and caused a sharp protrusion on the inside of my wheel frame where the point of the screw driver had stuck in. (and stopped my wheel moving after the initial bang, t'was rather dramatic as a bus overtook me as I skidded to a halt on lewes road) I had to get the wheel replaced (£80!) all because some idiot left the metal rod of a screwdriver in the road.

 

[Gazwag]

On a tangent - but I recently got a puncture on my all-terrain bike and the shop wanted £20 ****** quid to change the inner tube!
.

By local independent tyre man charged me £15 to repair a puncture on a car tyre

 

[Stat Brother]

One of my cycling buddies got a puncture recently.
Sadly for him, he was approaching the A29 down a step side road, when his tyre blew at 30+mph.

So there he is, hurtling towards the A29 running on the rim of his front wheel, which cost over £500, trying to stop, wondering which impact was going to kill him first.

Bless, I think he needed a new pair of shorts, too.

 

[Garage_Doors]

By local independent tyre man charged me £15 to repair a puncture on a car tyre

Friendly tyre depot replaced the valve (rubber perished) on my motorcycle tyre for a fiver.
That involves a lot more work that getting a bicycle tyre on and off.
Fair play to them.

 

[ArcticBlue]

You know how they come in two different types: the wider "car style" valve or the narrower bike valve.

Well what is the POINT of the second type, the bike valve? As far as I can see, they are bloody nuisance. You can't use them on those automatic air machines at petrol stations and the middle bit of the valve easily gets bent and in my experience are generally more difficult to pump up.

Any bike experts know the reason?

If your bike has the Presta valve it is worth investing in a decent stand pump (like a TNT detonator in the old films) that employs a brass fitting that screws onto the thread of the valve. I find that the hand pumps bend the pin.

Not necessarily this one but this style >>> Beto Track Pump Steel Tripod Legs With Gauge: Amazon.co.uk: Sports Leisure

 

[NMH]

Punctures are invariably over priced by bike shops because most mechanics do not want to do such pointless jobs. These are qualified technicians in the main, generally over booked with repair jobs to do, so they rightly expect individuals to be able to repair their own punctures. Hence £20, for what realistically is a £5 job plus the cost of a new inner tube.

What a load of bollocks!
It's business - they don't want me fixing my own tire! They want to make £20 doing it for me.
The shopkeeper spends much of his day doing fuckall, he does NOT charge extortionate amounts to make me go away ffs!

 

[Pantani]

What a load of bollocks!
It's business - they don't want me fixing my own tire! They want to make £20 doing it for me.
The shopkeeper spends much of his day doing fuckall, he does NOT charge extortionate amounts to make me go away ffs!

Well he must be running his bike shop very poorly then. Both the bike shops I have worked in employed two full time mechanics who spent most of the summer months turning away work because they did not have time to do it. From their point of view would you rather do a full service at more than £100 plus parts, or fix a puncture for £20? Plus any bike that enters a bike workshop must be fit to ride when it leaves, this means that the mechanic must make sure it is road worthy before it leaves. Often not the case when someone comes in who cannot even fix a puncture themselves. I would ask respectfully that you do not claim that what I said is a load of bollocks when I clearly know a lot more about bike shops and their policies with regards to repairs than you do.

 

[Nottseagull]

I recently got a puncture due to a screw driver (it was the metal bit of one of those screw drivers where you pull the metal rod out the handle turn it around and hey presto your philips head is now a flat head one - that confused me until I got it out of the wheel, because it looked as if the handle was trapped). Not only did it burst my inner tube (I even got a loud bang rather than the hissing of past punctures), it ripped an inch long hole in my tyre, and caused a sharp protrusion on the inside of my wheel frame where the point of the screw driver had stuck in. (and stopped my wheel moving after the initial bang, t'was rather dramatic as a bus overtook me as I skidded to a halt on lewes road) I had to get the wheel replaced (£80!) all because some idiot left the metal rod of a screwdriver in the road.

Ackers, do you realise that those reading all but the last sentence will presume (as I did) that this burst was caused by you trying to get the tyre of with a screwdriver?

 

[Lewes Seagull]

I have an old Pashley tandem and the valves are neither shrader or presto. They require the old style pump that had the rubbery bit that packs away in the handle after use. Do you think I can find one of those pumps Not yet!