Ivan Grozny

Bought a set of 27 inch Weinman rims for a restoration I am doing, not sure which of the 3 bikes these will end up on yet and they are nice rims at a decent price so I may buy more sets of them. They come drilled for Presta valves and my intention was to drill them out for shraders but I thought I may be unfairly biased agaist the presta valves having never tried them. So at the risk of starting a s#%&storm, what do people with more experience think?

seedsbelize 

Presta is besta

SJX426 

You are correct! Part of C&V is trying out the differences. You may wish to go 100% presta afterwards.

jimmuller 

Presta valves have one design feature different from Shrader valves. A Presta valve is held closed by air pressure, not by a spring in the valve. (The little locking nut on the top of the valve stem is just a backup of sorts.) Hence when you pump it up you don't have to overcome the spring pressure being added to the air pressure you are trying to push into the tire. It's a small detail, but good bikes are made up of many small details. Presta valve stems used to be threaded for a knurled collar to lock it down lightly onto the rim. This helped stabilize it and took any downward force of your hands when you are pumping. Nowadays threaded stems are becoming scarcer as deep-V rims become more common. If you want to be able to fill a Presta valve with a Shrader pump you can use an adapter, small, light, cheap.

At least one C&V regular has posted of his strong dislike for Presta valves. I could never understand it though. Prestest is bestest.

KraneXL

The difference IS in the detail. That's how you tell the winners from the also-rans. Besides, only the proletariat would use schrader.

FBOATSB

Ha ha I use both - because I would never drill out a C&V rim - you can't drill it back.
Whatever the rim came to me with is A-OK.

nlerner

Ivan Grozny

the rims are actually modern manufacture aluminum, but I get the picture. The noreversable part of drilling them out was what inspired my asking for opinions in the first place. Truthfully I wasn't expecting such a one sided response. If it turns out I really like the system is there a bushing that allows the use of Presta valve tubes on shrader rims. All my other bikes have shrader valve rims, my ebike is a real pia for the rear because of how deep the rim is thread on presta would solve that issue.

Hoopdriver

I like Presta, but do have some bikes with Shrader and Woods (Dunlop) valves that I keep original. I did switch the tubes on my trike to Presta, using small collars made for that purpose. The primary reason is that my pump works better with presta valves. I would advise against drilling out a very narrow rim because you could weaken it.

Homebrew01

You can use presta, and screw on a Schrader adapter if you prefer it.

prathmann

If this were true it would be a major issue since overcoming that spring pressure would be almost impossible with a hand pump. But the spring is pushed open by the little nub in the pump head so there is no 'spring pressure' to be overcome by your pumping.

Really very little difference in function between the valve types. Both maintain high pressures perfectly well. The smaller diameter of Presta could be an advantage with the very narrowest rims but almost all rims have enough material that they can safely be reamed to the larger diameter Schrader hole. Presta valved tubes are a bit easier to empty completely of air so they can be compactly rolled up, but Schrader valves are more robust and harder to inadvertently damage

The Golden Boy 

I don't have a preference.

Everything I had used to have Schrader- so that's what I used. After getting a few bikes/rims with Presta- that's what I used.

Both of my pumps have both Schrader and Presta attachments, so it's no real deal either way.

Someone here posted that I was a dork because I use the caps on the valves.

Ivan Grozny

Do you also have dorkrings on your bikes?

verktyg 

Weight Weenie???

The dork is the fool who gets crud in their presta valve and can't get the tube to hold air while trying to pump up a tire on the road. Been there, done that several times years ago! Now I always screw on the caps.

Used to remove the dust caps on cranks too because they looked Fred and weighed a few grams. Trying to remove hard impacted crud from the extractor threads is dorky too.

Handsome is as handsome does.

Getting back to Schrader vs. Presta, I'm going through a bike that I'm gifting someone. A previous owner had drilled out the rims for Schrader valves.

When I got the bike I used aluminum bushings for presta valves when I installed new tires and tubes so It wasn't a problem for me. Those adapters can cause leaks to develop at the valve stem unless care is taken when replacing a tube.

A solution is to take an old tube and cut off about a 1" section then punch about an 8mm hole through it with a leather/gasket punch. I slide that over the presta valve stem and it solves the problem. Been using that technique for 45+ years.

I replaced the Presta tubes with Schrader tubes to save my friend some future hassles.

verktyg

HTupolev

Presta >>>>> Schrader

Lighter
More compact in a spares kit
Better-looking
Less force required when attaching quick-release pump head
Removing air is easier

ramzilla

My general rule is Schrader valves for upright handlebars & bigger tires. Presta for drop handlebars and skinny high pressure racing tires. Presta valves are superior to Schrader valves.

Make sure drill bit is sharp and dip the tip in oil before drilling out a wheel. Use a lower speed and light pressure. File off burrs.

Aubergine 

madpogue 

This.

T-Mar

nlerner was actually referring to a 3rd valve type, the Woods, also known as the Dunlop.

gugie 

BITD I was told that Presta valves are for light weight, skinnier rims. The hole is smaller, therefore more material.

I just looked this up in wikipedia, so of course it must be true.

canklecat

Matters not to me. My road bike has Presta. My hybrids have Schrader. I don't care, both work fine.

Chombi1 

Not sure, but I think the small diameter Presta valve heads make it easier to pump tires to higher pressures than the bigger diameter Schraders......

repechage

My first road bike came with Presta valves as it had tubulars.
I heard dire warnings. No problem.
Actually easier to fit a hand pump end or attach a foot pump end in my view.
One bike with Westwood valves. The kind of half way design.
As mentioned earlier, the threaded valve stems make initial filling of the tube/tire easier as things stay in place.

I would not want Schrader valves with many if not most hook bead rims.

My original Ritchey mtb came with Schrader valves, bought the inserts and converted to presta right away, only one type of pump system needed.

My only lament is not all presta valves have removable cores, those were a later invention.

ThermionicScott 

Presta and Shrader are both fine. Presta requires some fine motor skills to work that some people apparently never develop. My fleet has both.

KraneXL

These advantages are incontrovertible. They are why we Presta.