Why Presta?

[Cyklefanatic]

My pet peeve for today is Presta valves.
Why do ebike manufacturers keep using Presta valves even though tires are 2-4 inches wide. They are a pain to fill and measure tire pressure. Schrader valves are everywhere and you don’t need adapters. Getting accurate pressure readings is easier on Schrader valves. Please stop. Keep the Prestas for road bikes with sub 1 inch tires where a schrader simply won’t fit.

 

[PedalUma]

I get into trouble trying to answer rhetorical questions.

 

[vincent]

Don’t even get me started!!! Completely agree!

 

[Cyklefanatic]

lol Presta valve seems to be a pet peeve for a lot of people

This is why it's time to stop using Presta valves

A dumb standard all because of two lousy millimeters

www.bikeradar.com

The second my bike comes off warranty the drill is coming out and the Prestas are gone. The dealer told me that it’s a bad idea because it will make the rim weaker but I am willing to take that chance. Also I don’t believe that the rims are engineered that close to the limit of the material strength.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Why Presta?

• They require a smaller hole in the rim, which improves rim strength.
• They’re lighter, so high-performance wheels don’t need to be counterbalanced for the stem weight in order to spin smoothly.
• They seal tightly on air pressure alone, so there’s no need for a mechanical check valve like on Schrader systems (which can clog with debris).
• They are easily extendable with adaptors, making them ideal for deeper-section aerodynamic rims.

Let's Talk About the Difference Between a Schrader Valve and a Presta Valve

How to care for them so you can properly pump your tires and keep riding.

www.bicycling.com

Presta valves are simply speaking: modern. What would you be contesting next, Fanatic? Thru-axle or self-extracting crankarms maybe? For myself, I'm so happy I could live up the present with its exciting technology available to anybody...

P.S. For the whole youth, I had to cope with Dunlop valves...

 

[Marcela]

I never did drink the presta valve kool aid. All the arguments for them are pure bull. I change all mine out asap.

Only one reason I could see would be for the very thin road race rims to clear the rim portion. The hole in the center of a rim for a valve stem doesn't provide any strength for the circumferential bearing loads, lateral maybe but not circumferential.

 

[6zfshdb]

The main problem I have with Presta's here in the US is availability. When you get a flat, particularly in a rural area, and manage to find a LBS, chances are they won't have Presta's in the size you need or won't have any at all.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The main problem I have with Presta's here in the US is availability.

OK, that's an American problem. Signing off

 

[Gionnirocket]

Why Presta?

• They require a smaller hole in the rim, which improves rim strength.
• They’re lighter, so high-performance wheels don’t need to be counterbalanced for the stem weight in order to spin smoothly.
• They seal tightly on air pressure alone, so there’s no need for a mechanical check valve like on Schrader systems (which can clog with debris).
• They are easily extendable with adaptors, making them ideal for deeper-section aerodynamic rims.

Let's Talk About the Difference Between a Schrader Valve and a Presta Valve

How to care for them so you can properly pump your tires and keep riding.

www.bicycling.com

Presta valves are simply speaking: modern. What would you be contesting next, Fanatic? Thru-axle or self-extracting crankarms maybe? For myself, I'm so happy I could live up the present with its exciting technology available to anybody...

P.S. For the whole youth, I had to cope with Dunlop valves...

Smaller hole, improved stregth... lighter etc
Modern
We are all having to cope with your pompous replies so I guess now we know your demons... Those damn Dunlop valves

 

[Gionnirocket]

There will always be a market for new, over_designed and more expensive everything because there will always be people with pockets larger than their brains. The color brochure/website stating statistics that can only be measured in a test lab with no real life benefits gets them every time.

 

[fooferdoggie]

The main problem I have with Presta's here in the US is availability. When you get a flat, particularly in a rural area, and manage to find a LBS, chances are they won't have Presta's in the size you need or won't have any at all.

I find far more presta choices in most shops.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Although honestly I've never had a problem with a Presta valve that made me want to get rid of them.

 

[RandallS]

I will admit, it is annoying to have 2 bikes with different valve systems, but for me it's just another first world issue and i don't lose any sleep over it. Most pumps have dual heads, and I now remember to keep a Presta to Schraeder adaptor with my Fathom at all times.
That is, if i choose to limit my kit on a specific, urban, ride like this Tuesday past where i had nothing with me at all, like an idiot...

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

One more trivial minutiae argument for everyone to get all riled up over, LOL.

So let me add my cup of gas to the fire........Presta's are COOL. Been running them for 4 decades now. Tour De France racers like Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx ran on Presta valved tubes. Schraders are for wheel barrow tires and Huffy's. Race Across America racers like Lon Haldeman and Michael Schurmer ran on presta valved tires. Schraders are a favorite with farmers and their John Deere tractors.....

Presta's have that neat little lock nut that keeps the tube centered and in place. No walking of the tube if you air your fat tire down to 4 psi, like on a Schrader valved tube. Schraders have no such thing, but you can go down to the nearest Pep Boys and AutoZone and pick up a cool schrader valve air cap that looks like a pair of dice. Or a skull.....

Presta valved tube owners wear crocheted cycling gloves, cycling shorts with padded gel underwear and jersey's with retroreflective highlights. Schrader tubed folks wear blue jeans with grease marks on their right cuff, Cat Diesel Power caps worn backwards. And long sleeved flannel shirts with a cotton Fruit Of The Loom white tee shirt underneath.

Presta tubed owners have a proper tire patch kit, including pressure guage reading in half pound increments, old school Zefal High Pressure Frame Mounted Pump or the latest floor mounted Lezyne pump and know what vulcanizing a tube repair patch means. Schrader folks carry nothing at all and will ride all the way home on their rims after getting a flat. Their idea of an air pump is the nearest gas station's air pump.

You can spot a Presta owner by the derailleur they run with. Presta folks will have a Sram Eagle or Shimano XT Deore. Shrader valve folks run with a Shimano Altus or something ripped off from a 1969 Sears Screamer 5 speed, rust and all. And a top tube mounted stick shift......

 

[Gionnirocket]

Schraders are a favorite with farmers and their John Deere tractors.....

Presta's have that neat little lock nut that keeps the tube centered and in place. No walking of the tube if you air your fat tire down to 4 psi, like on a Schrader valved tube. Schraders have no such thing, but you can go down to the nearest Pep Boys and AutoZone and pick up a cool schrader valve air cap that looks like a pair of dice. Or a skull.....

I guess you don't get off the tow path much and are part of the look, look, look at me I have all the best toys and watch me name drop.

Little lock nut? No such thing?

Fyi... Schrader valves are also on Ferrari and every other vehicle that requires a simple yet tried and true solution

 

[vincent]

My experience has been had one issue in a schrader valve and numerous issues with my presta valves
Maybe this is because I air my tires every single ride and they get more “use” but the presta tops always seem to be crooked, they seem a weak design overall
Have had a couple of times where the presta did not seal right because it is crooked and I am very careful with all my stuff so not being rough with them etc

they make total sense to me on a skinny tire bike/ race bike where thin wheels/weight is an issue but seem way too weak for normal bikes

most of my rides are 15-20 miles one direction in the middle of nowhere, I have every tool/repair contingency with me but if something weird happened anybody passing me with a regular 12volt car pump could air up a schrader valve- not so with presta


I am having all my wheels changed over to schrader

 

[antboy]

most of my rides are 15-20 miles one direction in the middle of nowhere, I have every tool/repair contingency with me but if something weird happened anybody passing me with a regular 12volt car pump could air up a schrader valve- not so with presta

I am having all my wheels changed over to schrader

I guess you could do that, but wouldn't it be easier to toss a Presta/Schrader adapter into your repair kit?

They're small and cheap (like less than $10 for a 5-pack cheap). I bought one about 20 years ago when I got my first Presta-equipped bike, and it still works to this day.

 

[6zfshdb]

One more trivial minutiae argument for everyone to get all riled up over, LOL.

Schraders are a favorite with farmers and their John Deere tractors.....

What you say may be true but not around here. I live in farm country and I doubt any of the farmers here know what a Presta valve is. I've owned two John Deere and six Kubota tractors over the years and all had TR 13 or TR 15 valves with Schrader style cores. You may be confusing the TR liquid injection valve insert for a Presta. It has an extended narrow tip for "loading" or filling tractor tires with liquid to add weight.

 

[vincent]

I do have some of those adapters , keep them in my bag
will look at how they work but it also seems like one more thing to go wrong in the system

if the presta valve gets bent etc it won’t matter if there is an adapter on it

I only have one bike running presta now and when the tubes need changing I will definitely change it over

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

I guess you don't get off the tow path much and are part of the look, look, look at me I have all the best toys and watch me name drop.

Little lock nut? No such thing?
View attachment 82034
Fyi... Schrader valves are also on Ferrari and every other vehicle that requires a simple yet tried and true solution

Little Johnny projecting his anger and jealousy issues once again on this forum, proving my first thoughts on this matter above were spot on......

By the way, my stable of Ferrari's and Porsche's are all outfitted with presta valves. Just because I can.

@6zfshdb: Just between you and me (and not Lil Johnny), that post of mine above was in jest. But don't tell Lil Johnny, I want him to know my Porsche's, Ferrari's and Lambos are all outfitted in Presta's just to elevate his BP systolic and diastolic numbers....