cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/46899987
tape will solve anything
Presta valves truly are the worst valves ever made.
I had a pretty sweet bike with presta valves I built myself. GT frame with amazing manitou front shocks, carbon fiber handlebars, aluminum rims, seat post, top tier derailleur, shifters and gears.
Bike was stolen from my university while it was liked on a bike rack with a security camera pointed at it. (It was locked with a kryptonite u-lock too.) Obviously school security and the police didn't give a shit. So I called around all the local bike shops and gave them the description, and the numbers stamped on the bottom of the frame. The shop about 5 blocks from my school called me to come pick it up. The thief brought it into the store to get the tires inflated because he couldn't figure out how the presta valves worked.
I loved them before that, because I found they leaked less than schrader valves. After that incident I am presta 4 life.
In Sweden they seem to have standardised around it, to the point that some public pumps only have presta outlets.
That's horrifying.
What's wrong with Presta? I have had good luck with them, and have a screw on adapter if I have to use a schraeder pump out in the wild
My main gripes are:
1: Fragility. They're skinny and stick out farther. It's easier to damage one. And once damaged, they make the tire difficult or impossible to fill, and they might leak all the air out as well.
2: Lack of Standardization. Everybody has Schrader valves. Cars, motorcycles, wheelbarrows, hand carts, tractors, airplanes, even oddball things like some pressurized air cans and inflatable rafts. Which means, for example, it's easy to stop at a gas station that has free air and refill your bike tires there with no adapters needed. Pretty much every air pump and air compressor you'll ever come across already has the ability to fill Schrader valves. There's no reason bicycles should have a special valve that's not compatible with all of the other things out there.
Presta valves also don't allow airflow need to seat tubeless tires.
For point 1, I've only had a Presta fail when the rim hole had a burr. Mostly I rode in snow and ice though and not forest trail.
For pointr 2, the tiny adapter can be left on your presta, or carried in your patch kit.
tiny adapter can be left on your presta
That just sounds like Schrader with extra steps...
Narrow rim with small hole is stronger, really the only reason for presta, other than you can partially fill a presta tube with your mouth
the tiny adapter can be left on your presta
To fall off.
I have never had one fall off. But I do have a spare in my patch kit as a what if scenario
I use an adapter in place of a cap for one of my presta valves on each of my bikes for exactly this reason.
Just throw an adapter in your seat bag
the zipper on our tool bag failed and it fell out some time ago xD
I drilled my rims and put schraders instead. Only downside is needing a tool to let air out but then again that was the case with presta aswell as it always seemed to get stuck
I drilled my rims
I hope you don't have aluminium or carbon rims 😬
Aluminium and I did this years ago. If they break I buy new ones and drill those as well.
I've drilled out both aluminum and carbon rims. Does anyone even make steel rims any more?
You don't have finger nails?
Well no, and I don't see how that would help. In presta the nut gets stuck and needs pliers to loosen up and with schrader the valve stem is inside the valve body and needs a key or something to reach it.
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