Dave Horne

My question really has to do with the rim itself. The Schrader valve is slighter larger in diameter than the Presta valve.

It is safe to assume that rims will accept both valves? If this is a dumb question feel free to gently ridicule me.

Thanks in advance ...

EDIT ... I meant to write Dunlop instead of Schrader though I believe they have the same diameter ... ?

dynaryder

Both Schrader and Dunlop/Woods use the same size rim hole.

prathmann

But rims intended for Presta generally come with a slightly smaller hole that won't work for Schrader. Except for extremely narrow rims you can drill or ream the hole to be slightly larger if you want to use Schrader tubes - and you can get little rubber or metal grommets to fit in the larger hole if you want to convert back to using Presta.

dynaryder

Oops,read that wrong,thought the OP meant the diff in Dunlop and Schrader. Yes,different size holes for Dunlop/Schrader and Presta,yes you can usually drill them out. I've tried those Schrader-to-Presta grommets,and they can be a PITA. Better to just use the proper tube.

JerrySTL

There are adapters so that you can use a presta valve tube in a rim drilled for Schrader. However you can't use a Schrader valve in a rim drilled for prestas short of drilling the rim out. That could be a problem with a narrow rim.

fietsbob

in NL I recall Woods valve tubes are around.. here , rare .

Dave Horne

fietsbob, since I can't send you a private message (because of my new member status), can I assume you're Dutch or are riding a Dutch bike?

Just curious.

fietsbob

Just a occasional visiting Tourist .. Appreciate how easy Shiphol is to un box my bike and head out from..


Usually get there by the mid afternoon from the Pacific,
I ride to Zandvoort, and camp there, in a Campground, to get my Jet Lag sorted By Morning.


My Ancestry is generally, more Lowland Scottish, though ... other than the royal lines of succesion,

you never really know the whole family tree of the peasant classes, over the centuries ..

Dave Horne

If you're even down by Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch) or Eindhoven give a yell.

I-Like-To-Bike

Woods/Dunlop tube valves are standard on German Bikes as well.

Dave Horne

My Brompton came with Schrader valves. All of my Dutch bikes, and I've bought eight or so over the last 20 years, came with Presta valves.

wahoonc

I have all three, I think the Woods/Dunlop valve has fallen out of favor in the EU. The last 3 bikes that I have purchased that came from the German/Dutch market have had presta valves. I have a couple of older German market bikes (1970's) that still had the Woods valves. I still run them on my old Raleigh Roadster just because. For my son I have to convert his bikes to shrader, he doesn't like dealing with the presta valves.

Aaron

fietsbob

Rema Patch kits did include some gum rubber hose , a replacement seal for a part of those valves .

I wondered why it was there for a long time ..

I-Like-To-Bike

Were any of these presta valve equipped bikes of the type typically ridden by German or Dutch commuters or for daily use; i.e single speed or IGH upright handlebar city bikes? Or were they bikes typically ridden only on weekends by "enthusiasts" or sport riders; i.e. narrow high pressure tire derailleur equipped bikes?

wahoonc

Both bikes as purchased. They both have shop stickers on them, I will have to check and see from which stores. The Giant is from Van Dijk which is a Dutch shop.

Aaron

Dave Horne

I can only reply using the bikes I bought as an example. I've only bought bikes for everyday\vacation use. I have not bought a racing style bike or a mountain bike since I've moved here.

Almost all the bikes I bought were derailleur equipped but with tires wider than 28 mm. The bike I'm now using has 28 mm wide tires and they are the narrowest of any tires I've used since moving here.

I-Like-To-Bike

In your experience what percentage of bicycles that you see being used by the Dutch for daily cycling are equipped with derailleurs? My most recent trip to Amsterdam in 2011 would confirm my previous observations in Western NL that the percentage is about the same as helmet wearing NL cyclists at less than 1%. As an aside, my guess is that these two minority cyclist groups are correlated in Germany and far more so in NL.

Back to the subject, almost all the bikes I saw being ridden by the Dutch and Germans in urban areas were equipped with Dunlop/Woods valves. I assume if I spent time with touring, racing or Sport enthusiasts I would have seen a lot more bikes with Presta valves. Of course the same applies to Presta Valve equipped bikes in the U.S.

Dave Horne

I would have to guess that perhaps 50 percent or less of all bikes are equipped with derailleurs. That's just a guess, I never really gave that subject any thought. A lot of students will buy a bike with one to seven or so gears in a hub. My previous bike had a hub with seven or eight gears and it was a very comfortable bike since it had wide tires. I learned very quickly that with fat tires you really don't need any suspension system since the tires absorb so much from the road.

I personally like having a hub system since the chain can be enclosed. I'm a musician and have biked to jobs dressed in a tuxedo. I don't want the hassle of grease from the chain to deal with. My present bike has a carbon fiber belt and I don't even have a need for a 'chain' guard since there's no lubricant involved.

To have a better idea of what the Dutch buy, you could simply take a look at the websites of the three largest providers of bikes here in Holland - Batavus, Gazelle, and Koga. Giant is also popular here and that was the make of my previous bike. (My wife has a Koga with 27 or 30 gears; the tires have a presta valve.)

I never wear a helmet over here and most of the people I see biking don't either. It's typically the foreigners visiting here who don helmets. This country is set up for bikes and kids learn early how to behave in traffic ... and drivers here also bike. I only know of one person who doesn't own a bike and he's in his 80s.

What was the question again ... ?

fietsbob

Since Giant really is Huge , they ship a whole different bike set of types to Long Beach, than the ones they ship to Rotterdam.

wahoonc

Tell me about it!

I have several Giants that people swear don't exist... the Melbourne and two Giant Excursions. Along with a Redline R530. People see them and scratch their heads. The Excursions were eurospec and only sold in the states for 2 years, EU for maybe 5, the Melbourne is a Dutch market bike only. The Redline R530 is a Dutch style city bike, only sold in the states for 2 years.

Aaron

dynaryder

My Big Dummy has Presta valves.

I-Like-To-Bike

I was real close to buying a Dutch Gazelle 7 speed IGH bike while living in Heidelburg. The Gazelles sold there were tailored to the German market and came with 47-622 mm tires rather than the 37-622 tires as delivered in NL. Also came with coaster brake rather than the hand brake rear as delivered in NL. The price wasn't bad but I just couldn't part with the money because I already had plenty of good German bikes.

I-Like-To-Bike

I am not surprised that a utility bike can be sold to an "enthusiast" with a Presta tire valves.

dynaryder

Wha? Srsly,what's so wrong with Prestas? Most pumps nowadays have heads that work just fine with them. Additionally,I see bikes with Schraders all the time coming into my clinic where the owner has let the tires go down enough times that the tube has moved inside the tire and the valve is crooked. This can cause a blowout or damage the valve. Most Prestas have a lock ring that prevents this.

BTW,this "enthusiast" has wrenched over 1k bikes at my free bike clinic. People need to be a little more enthusiastic about their bike maintenance. I've seen bikes in such a poor state of repair they were scary. Too many people treat their bikes like appliances or toys and not as vehicles.