Kjas64

Does anyone else dislike them? I drill them out immediately. I did a brand new bike for a neighbor. Just curious, if they're so fantastic why don't you see them in all products? Ever see a presta on a well air tank?. Wheels have actually gotten wider . To each their own. My 81 miyata 750sr low end bike came with them. Cheap bike with prestas. Trying to impress buyers. Then immediately break them. I'm a schrader guy. Lol

dabac

Mostly, I want consistency across my bikes. Prestas and Dunlops can be inflated with the same pump, so that’s what I’m sticking with.
I do find Prestas slightly easier to inflate with a hand pump. And should you want to play Good Samaritan, a Presta tube can replace a Schräder tube at the road side with a minimum of fuss. But overall, NBD.

indyfabz

To each their own? Doesn’t sound like it.

jpescatore

If I had to choose only one, I'd choose presta. The only down side to them is that cars don't use them so much of the public infrastructure doesn't support them. But from a valve and tube reliability point of view, I prefer presta.

That said, on my son's old mountain bike with Schrader valves that my wife still likes to ride, I haven't put a grommet in - I just stick with Shrader valve tubes for that bike. Kinda like how I haven't replaced all the flathead screws I use with Phillips head even though I prefer those.

shelbyfv

I've never had a problem using Presta valves but apparently some do. If you just carry Schrader tubes you'll be unable to help your cycling buds or random strangers in distress.

Kabuki12

My first light weight bike had Presta (mid '70's) . Before that I hadn't seen them . I bought a Zefal frame pump to keep my tires inflated and just liked the way it worked . I have Presta on all my bikes now and prefer them to Schrader just because I don't have to flip the rubber seal over in my Zefal pump to inflate which can be a PIA on the side of the road when trying to help someone on their beach cruiser . Most road bike folks are Presta now.

Deepcherry

I don't mind the presta valve itself but I just can't seem to find a decently-fitting pump attachment (or pump). I have mountain bikes and not road bikes and find that all my rims are sized to fit a Schraeder. I do my own car maintenance too, so Schraeder is by far my preferred valve.
Just yesterday I was cursing a presta valve (mainly due to my inability to pump up the tire without inventing an airtight seal, which didn't work for me).

I remember never having had a problem thirty years ago back in UK with presta valves and my trusty Bluemels pump. Different times.

BobbyG

$1.24 for two; no drilling required.

Chuckles1

I'd prefer the simplicity of Schrader valves, but am not going to drill out rims. I use the adapters as pictured above, so I can use a compressor to top of all my tires once a week. I pump everything to 65psi now that I'm using wider tires. It's easy to bleed off a little pressure, as I plan to do on a 700x45 (Schrader valve) tire I just put on a rear hub drive ebike conversion I'm working on.

I think presta valves are supposed to lose less air, which makes sense if you are running 90 plus psi on a road bike. At lower pressures, Schraders are fine.

alcjphil

My mountain bike has a presta valve on the front wheel and a Schrader on the rear. Last time I had a flat the inner tube I had at hand was a Presta valve so that is what I used with the suitable grommet. My floor pump can do both types of valve without having to change anything. I have Presta valves on the touring bike despite the fact that the rims are drilled for schrader. Means that I can use any suitable size inner tube if I am out on tour. Schrader valves are a bit harder to inflate, especially with a frame pump. Road bikes are all Presta

Troul 

Every tube I used those on required the removal of the adapter to unfasten the valve in order to fill the tube with air. If the valve was left loose, the tube would require refilling more often & sometimes during a ride.

cyccommute 

Your definition of “low end” is vastly different from mine. From what I’ve seen of the Miyata 750 SR, it wasn’t a “low end” bike. Maybe not the highest end but certainly not the lowest end bike Miyata made. And, in my experience, low end bikes didn’t come with Presta drilled wheels.

As for Presta valves, they are an amazing bit of engineering. A Schrader valve has to be held open to put air in it. If the seal of the chuck isn’t tight, any air escaping from the valve is air coming out of the tire. I’ve seen people who can’t get the chuck sealed on a Schrader valve completely flatten a tire while trying to put air in it. In my experience at my local co-op, the vast majority of people can’t use a Schrader chuck on a compressor properly.

The Presta valve is self sealing. The valve opens when there is pressure over the pressure inside the tube and it closes when the pressure inside the tube is higher than the pressure outside. If the chuck doesn’t seal on the valve, the air in the tire doesn’t leak out.

Kjas64

Lots of good responses. Thanks all

veganbikes

Never really had issues with Presta, put the pump head on correctly and pull it right off without wiggling or jiggling and I don't need a cap if I don't want or if I lose one. Yeah sure other stuff may not use the valve but that doesn't mean a ton. Different valves for different applications.

subgrade

Not sure about that, as air suspension forks use Schrader valves and have pressures well over 100 psi.

Bluesfrog

I despise the Presta. They were invented by the devil. I have two hand pumps the purportedly work for both but they give me trouble on Prestas. I change my tubes to schrader when I have reason to change tire or tube. If the Presta work for you I have no problem with it. I just prefer all schraders. But Be Well, Bluesfrog

Doug64

My touring wheels, Mavic rims, have an insert in the rim's valve hole that allows the use of Presta or Schrader valves. This is a handy option on a touring bike. I also carry an adapter to use a service stations air compressor. All my Presta tubes have replaceable valve cores. This takes saves a lot of frustration.




I ran into a guy in a service station while on a tour. He was trying unsuccessfully to pump up his tire which had a Presta Valve. I just gave him my adapter, and made a friend. We actually ran into him again the next day when we were exploring Sacramento.

Gresp15C

I don't like Presta, but it doesn't rise up to the level of caring enough to do something about it. Presta valves seem slightly more delicate. I've seen more failures where the stem joins the tube, and also, the little screw breaking off. But whatever.

My view is that it further doesn't matter because despite rare exceptions, presta and schrader valves tend to go on different kinds of bikes, and you use whichever one is on the bike when you bought it. Schrader valves tend to be found on bikes with fatter tires that are inflated to lower pressure, so the amount of air lost when attaching / detaching the valve chuck is minimal. Heck, I have an old fashioned threaded Schrader chuck on my old Silca pump, and the amount of air lost is negligible. The chuck is older than the pump.

When tires need higher pressure, or are narrower, they tend to have Presta valves anyway. Despite the drawbacks, I'd be hesitant to drill out the rims on my skinny wheel bike, so I use Presta valves and try not to damage them. Actually, a combination of a Presta-Schrader adapter, and the aforementioned threaded chuck, have pretty much eliminated all problems for me.

But still, in the final analysis, you use whatever came with the bike, and move on to more important topics like chain lubrication. Warning: There is chain lube in this picture. Avert your eyes.

jaxgtr

My son did this on his car one day. It seemed the chuck at the Wawa gas station he stopped at was broken and was draining tires. He went inside to tell them about it and someone else did the same exact thing and a 3 car was just about to do the same thing when he came back out. He called me to being my compressor over, and I ended up filling up 3 cars. He went an bought a portable compressor for his car.

Troul 

I use both these types. Both do what is needed to do.



tired of the upclose pics. cant see everything!

Random11

Both seem to work equally well to me. But my casual observation has been that low-end bikes use Schrader and higher-end bikes use Presta so I'm using Presta valves, which make me feel like a real cyclist.

HerrKaLeun

Both work and all good pumps do both. Both won't work well with inferior equipment.

I prefer Shrader and did all my tubeless Shrader. Shrader works to 500 psi in refrigeration. Those Presta adapters need to be tightened just a specific amount. Just another hassle.

With good equipment Shrader doesn't lose lot of air when removing the chuck. I lose more when closing that Presta screw. I'm talking about under 40 psi. I undetstand for road pressures it may be reverse.

So there is good reason for the one or other. It comes to personal preference. Like Shimano or SRAM, or mineral oil vs DOT.

BikeLite

Even Park Tool hates presta

The Chemist

I've been running Presta valves for several years now and I've never really had any issues with them. I've got two double headed pumps that work just fine with them. The only thing that one needs to watch for on Presta valves is that the pump head is connected perfectly perpendicular to the valve stem otherwise it's quite easy to bend or even break the valve core.

Gresp15C

Indeed, and my tubes with non-replacable cores are pretty much all gone, mainly due to failing at the base of the stem. Everything works when it works.