rydabent

Pondering this a few days, I think the world will continue to turn wether you ride with or without caps on you stems.

I guess I could make a case for black frames. They get really hot in the sun in the summer time. They give off heat diffusing the air around them selves. Therefore there is less aero drag if you ride a black bike. Again in a 100 mile race you will ride it in .000476 seconds less time.

himespau 

Yeah, but all that extra heat increases the chance that your carbon frame will asplode (especially if you use your massive guads to drope the hamer and dial up 400W).

Yup, I went there. If Godwin's law says that any internet discussion goes on long enough will eventually result in someone invoking hitler/nazis, should we call it Sheldon's law that any BF discussion that goes on long enough will result in someone saying your carbon frame is going to asplode throwing your baby bolts everywhere in honor of Sheldon Brown?

AlmostTrick

Locknuts obviously aren’t supplied with tubes that have smooth valve stems, but caps still are and should be used as recommended if one is interested in ultimate performance and safety. It’s still better to buy the correct tubes in the first place and run the locknut (now two!) for all the reasons covered previously. Running with the (standard issue) cap only really is the bare minimum here.

And since you mentioned it, running latex tubes is another huge mistake made by some barking up the wrong tree in search of performance gains. Since they lose air pressure much more quickly than standard tubes, the tires spend little time at the ultimate pressure. Sure, one can get away with this on a short ride around the block, but on any substantial ride the pressure either starts out too high, or ends up too low for maximum performance. Or worse, the rider has to stop and top them off! Any perceived performance advantage of latex tubes quickly disappears in real world conditions.

Skipjacks

Don't use those if you ride in the snow or where there's wet road salt and such. They will corrode and fuse to the valve threading.

I put those on my car. Big mistake. Had to cut 1 off CAREFULLY with a Dremmel. Just enough to weaken it so I could pry it open without hurting the valve threading.

It didn't take long to fuse either. Maybe a month. Granted that's on my car that I was putting a lot more miles on in sloppy winter conditions than I do on my bike.

Just sayin'

That being said....I put 2 of those same alloy valve caps that weren't corroded on my bike and they are fine to this day. When I got a new bike last year I bought new ones that match this bike and gladly put those on too. Those are fine. And I just bought another set to put on my daughter's bike as well. So I'm not anti 'cheap alloy valve caps from Amazon'. They do look cool. But I don't ride my bike in winter conditions where wet road salt is going to get into them in large quantities. I'd never put them on a car again though.

If you live in Arizona where it's dry and they don't use salt on the roads, they are probably fine. If you live in the North East, never put them on a car.

Skipjacks

Sure....the WORLD will turn. But will your bike wheel?

rydabent

Well mine has, WITH the cap on it. My bent has over 16,000 miles on it with the caps, and the trike has about 5000 with them.

jamesdak 

What flavor jam is it??

jamesdak 

This is so wrong! Everyone knows you burn more calories by stopping every 5 minutes to break out the frame pump to get the latex tube back to optimum pressure.

SquidPuppet

Yep. I misunderstood the wheel/tube size needs in rydabent's post. Sorry, no can help.

SquidPuppet

There should be a disclaimer on the package...

WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that the use of this product will increase rolling resistance with every mile and every minute. For optimum performance, re-inflate constantly.

bmthom.gis

I wouldn't so much say they are uncool as not necessary and an obstacle to inflating your tires. I take the valve caps off my car tires, too.

AlmostTrick

But have you been rotating your caps on schedule?

SquidPuppet

Ha ha ha.

Check this out...

First of all, a jam nut is a type of lock nut. So all jam nuts ARE lock nuts.

Second, the nut on a Presta valve is not a jam/lock nut at all. It doesn't meet the definition. The nut is being used in the role of a standard single fastener. It's securing a threaded shaft to another surface (the rim). There are not two nuts being jammed/locked against one another, one securing the other.

So either way, we (you and I) have been wrong, since, like, forever, Dude.

AlmostTrick

Retaining ring?

SquidPuppet

VSRD (Valve Shaft Retention Device)

ZIZZWHEEL

Sure they are cool, it`s like a cover for your schmekel. Always practice "safe riding".

TimothyH

It would be nice to come here and not have to read penis and condom jokes.


-Tim-

PdalPowr

He told you what flavor it is. Bon appetit.

Milton Keynes

Never put metal caps on aluminum TPMS sensor valve stems, either. I've seen them corrode to the point where you can't get them off. Plastic caps are fine. But that's why those aluminum TPMS valve stems require special nickle-plated valve cores, because if you put a regular brass one in it will corrode and you'll never get it out again, and will have to replace the whole sensor which isn't cheap.

jamesdak 

Or preaching and judgement of others.

Have we made it to 10 pages yet???

jamesdak 

Those of use that ride latex (can I use that word without offending??? ) need someone to create TPMS for use so that we know when our tubes leak out to much air during each ride...

jamesdak 

Hmmm... you know my cat doesn't chew on the nuts be he sure loves the valve caps I discard.

Maelochs

if you had not made an issue, I would not have known what a "schmekel" was and would not have read a "penis and condom" joke, but just some unintelligeable Yiddish aphorism.

Seems to me You are the troublemaker here, sir.

DomaneS5

I use aluminum valve caps on all of my bikes with presta valves.

Deity Presta Valve Caps | Jenson USA

Maelochs

The blue ones are tasty .... and the more weather resistant 6061 alloy as well (recommended in a post above.)