Presta and Schraeder Valves



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Mark Thompson

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Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have an advantage over the
other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an inner tube with Schraeder valves fit a wheel
with deep rims?
 
"Mark Thompson" <[email protected] (change warm for hot)> writes:

> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have an advantage over the
> other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an inner tube with Schraeder valves fit a
> wheel with deep rims?

Shraeder isn't very good at high pressures; it's really designed for car-style pressures. So for
very high pressure tyres you don't have much choice. I use Presta for everything do I only need one
pump (although, of course, I actually have a trackpump which does both kinds, a frame pump on the
road bike, and an AirStick on the hill bike
- but that-s not the point - any pump will fit any tyre without messing).

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; If you're doing this for fun, do what seems fun. If you're ;; doing it for money, stop
now. ;; Rainer Deyke
 
"Mark Thompson" <[email protected] (change warm for hot)>
wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have
an
> advantage over the other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an
inner
> tube with Schraeder valves fit a wheel with deep rims?

I've used presta for everything for years now. Saves messing about. I did once buy some rubber
'washers' to stop the tube pushing the valve through the larger schraeder valve holes but mislaid
them so didn't bother. Never had a valve push out yet.

Paul.
 
Mark Thompson wrote:

> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have an advantage over the
> other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an inner tube with Schraeder valves fit a
> wheel with deep rims?
>
>
Presta weakens the rim less and is slightly easier to pump because there's no spring to
overcome. You can also dispense with valve caps - they're not necessary. Schrader valves need
caps to keep dirt out.
 
"Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Shraeder isn't very good at high pressures; it's really designed for car-style pressures.

Eh? What sort of valves do air shocks have? What sort of valves do lorry tyres running at
150psi have?

cheers, clive
 
Mark Thompson wrote:
> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why?

Not me - Presta on everything. Old 27in commuting machine, 700c "audax", 26in hardtail MTB, 26in
upright road. Standardisation is wonderful - every pump fits everything.

Apart from the sodding unicycle, which has a Wood's valve, and consequently usually a flat tyre.

--
NC - Webmaster for http://www.2mm.org.uk/ Replies to newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.
 
"Mark Thompson" <[email protected] (change warm for hot)> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have an advantage over the
> other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an inner tube with Schraeder valves fit a
> wheel with deep rims?

If you drill it out but I wouldn't bother, stick with Presta they are better IMHO

Most narrow MTB rims now use Presta. I think Presta can go up to higher pressure. Scraeder was
developed for wider low pressure tyres to replace Woods valves.I first saw Schraeder in about 1970
on kids bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.

I did buy a kids bike with Woods about 5 years ago.
 
If you want standardisation surely Schraeder is better ie. you can use car pumps (with care). I've
not come across any difference in performance-maybe Presta is essential for racing type bikes though
(a minority now)

"NC" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Mark Thompson wrote:
> > Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why?
>
> Not me - Presta on everything. Old 27in commuting machine, 700c "audax", 26in hardtail MTB, 26in
> upright road. Standardisation is wonderful -
every
> pump fits everything.
>
> Apart from the sodding unicycle, which has a Wood's valve, and
consequently
> usually a flat tyre.
>
>
>
> --
> NC - Webmaster for http://www.2mm.org.uk/ Replies to newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.
 
"MartinM" wrote >

I first saw Schraeder in about 1970 on kids
> bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.
>
> I did buy a kids bike with Woods about 5 years ago.

Schrader valves were the norm in the US on almost all bicycles (kids, adults, whatever) long before
1970. The idea was to enable the cyclist to inflate his tires at a gas station (sorry, "inflate his
tyres at a petrol station") instead of having to pump them up by hand.

Could someone please explain what a Woods valve is?
 
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:03:36 GMT, mark wrote:

> "MartinM" wrote >
>
> I first saw Schraeder in about 1970 on kids
>> bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.
>>
>> I did buy a kids bike with Woods about 5 years ago.
>
> Schrader valves were the norm in the US on almost all bicycles (kids, adults, whatever) long
> before 1970. The idea was to enable the cyclist to inflate his tires at a gas station (sorry,
> "inflate his tyres at a petrol station") instead of having to pump them up by hand.
>
> Could someone please explain what a Woods valve is?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_w.html#woods

The valve tended to get clogged up and stay open when inflating., and also often loosened
when in use.

Does anything still have this on? The last range I remember having it was the 1990 period Raleigh
"traditional" mens bikes.

Steve
 
"mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "MartinM" wrote >
>
> I first saw Schraeder in about 1970 on kids
> > bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.
> >
> > I did buy a kids bike with Woods about 5 years ago.
>
> Schrader valves were the norm in the US on almost all bicycles (kids, adults, whatever) long
> before 1970. The idea was to enable the cyclist to inflate his tires at a gas station (sorry,
> "inflate his tyres at a petrol station") instead of having to pump them up by hand.
>
> Could someone please explain what a Woods valve is?

It's the one which has a removable valve which screws in to the tube with a larger knurled knut. The
air was kept in by a rubber sleeve which slid over the barrel of the valves and needed replacing at
regular intervals. You can still find them in Halfords etc, but they are only slightly narrower than
Scraeder so can easily be changed over. They were difficult to inflate to high pressure because the
pump only screwed against the end thread unlike a Presta which had a smooth barrel to keep the
pressure in .With the advent of track pumps Woods can now be inflated to fairly high pressure. I
remember many explosions with my Schrader valves at Petrol stations before a general ban on bikes
using garage air lines (of course until you started having to pay for it;-)
 
"MartinM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Most narrow MTB rims now use Presta. I think Presta can go up to higher pressure. Scraeder was
> developed for wider low pressure tyres to replace Woods valves.I first saw Schraeder in about 1970
> on kids bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.

Not developed, used - it was the norm for motor vehicles, so they just used that.

As I said elsewhere, if presta can go to higher pressure then how come Schraeder are used for lorry
tyres at 150psi and for air shocks at more than that?

cheers, clive

(prefers presta)
 
Clive George wrote:
> MartinM wrote:
>> Most narrow MTB rims now use Presta. I think Presta can go up to higher pressure. Scraeder was
>> developed for wider low pressure tyres to replace Woods valves.I first saw Schraeder in about
>> 1970 on kids bikes only, it then spread to MTB's.
>
> Not developed, used - it was the norm for motor vehicles, so they just used that.
>
> As I said elsewhere, if presta can go to higher pressure then how come Schraeder are used for
> lorry tyres at 150psi and for air shocks at more than that?

Schraeders can take high pressure but more force is required at any pressure - which is an issue
when using hand pumps. Prestas are mostly preferred because of that plus their smaller size and
weight (and cost to manufacture?). Schraeders are robust, though. There are presta to schraeder
adaptors for using foot and garage pumps: carry one (with an o-ring) for emergencies.

~PB
 
Wot Pete said. Schraeders very rarely co-exist peacefully with any non-track bicycle pump known to
man and can therefore be categorised as a Work of Stan, at least as far as their application to the
Noble Bicycle is concerned.

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================
 
"Steve Peake" wrote...
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:03:36 GMT, mark wrote:
>
> > "MartinM" wrote >
>
> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_w.html#woods
>
> The valve tended to get clogged up and stay open when inflating., and also often loosened
> when in use.
>
> Does anything still have this on? The last range I remember having it was the 1990 period Raleigh
> "traditional" mens bikes.
>
> Steve

This looks a lot like the valves I saw on bicycles as a kid in Germany (late '60s/early '70s). Cheap
tubes had the rubber sleeve, most had the more modern spring loaded valve mechanism. When I was
leading bike tours in the Salzburg area a few years ago (2001), I saw a few rental bikes with what
looked like the modern version of a Woods valve (spring loaded valve mechanism).

Thanks for the info.
--
mark
 
Dave Larrington wrote:
> Wot Pete said. Schraeders very rarely co-exist peacefully with any non-track bicycle pump known to
> man and can therefore be categorised as a Work of Stan

I've found this too, but OTOH have come across a fair number of folk who think exactly the opposite,
and each group is convinced that whatever pump they use is only an elaborate method of letting tyres
down at considerable expense. So in practice I think either one can be used quite satisfactorily as
long as the pump you use and how you use it agrees with your particular choice of valve.

Pete (presta preference).
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
 
On a similar vein, how much is a track pump likely to set me back? I am sick of using a Topeak Mini-Masterblaster, which while being a good pump for the road is inappropriate for getting high pressures.
 
Peter Clinch <[email protected]> writes:

>Dave Larrington wrote:
>> Wot Pete said. Schraeders very rarely co-exist peacefully with any non-track bicycle pump known
>> to man and can therefore be categorised as a Work of Stan

>I've found this too, but OTOH have come across a fair number of folk who think exactly the
>opposite, and each group is convinced that whatever pump they use is only an elaborate method of
>letting tyres down at considerable expense. So in practice I think either one can be used quite
>satisfactorily as long as the pump you use and how you use it agrees with your particular choice
>of valve.

Every bike (roadster) I had in the Netherlands had Schraeder valves, and the default pump you'd find
in the bike shop is aimed at that. As is the pump I have at home. Only when I got my first drop bar
bike with narrow tires I got into Presta valves ("French valves" we call them). I have little copper
screw-on adapters to use on the narrow valves with the big pump.

Roos
 
"Mark Thompson" <[email protected] (change warm for hot)>
wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Presta for road bikes, Schraeder for everything else. Why? Does one have
an
> advantage over the other, or is it for purely historical reasons? Will an
inner
> tube with Schraeder valves fit a wheel with deep rims?

Presta is common on mountain bikes also, cheapos probably excluded but they're hardly mountain
bikes anyway.
--
Pete http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/Playtime.html
 
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