So... which ones should I use? I have an American Classic stem that sucks DONKEY NUTS and won't stop leaking air. 
Best tubeless valve stems?
- Thread starter SkaredShtles
- Start date
I would say Stan's, but I'm pretty sure I have one leaking at the moment. Though I'm too lazy to confirm.
I have Stan's, Mavic and Cushcore and they all work.
Yes?
The WTB/Stans are "meh" IME. They ain't great, but they ain't terrible. Occasionally need to change the core.
Many of the non-wtb/stans ones include valve-core removers in the cap or that slide onto the body.
I got these cool Milkit swiss valves that I thought would be nice, with a built-in dipstick on the valve-core. Supposedly designed to NOT pass sealant back into the valve. Unfortunately, that same function makes it damn near impossible to inject sealant, unless using something like a syringe I'd imagine, but hell, sometimes you want to be able to do it on the trail with just a little bottle, etc.
I have the muck-off ones. An inherent problem is the end of the valve where you hook your pump on. I've been using my trusty mountain-morph forever and it's the one I took with me on the iditarod trail. After several minutes of pumping I was trying to figure out why the tire wasn't being filled. Pump does not seal over the head of the muck-off. I have some that do, and some that do not. I don't like the twisty-pumps for that kind of riding, because the last thing in the world you want is the damn valve core coming out. Regular pump head did not like the muck-off and that's a non-starter.
I recently got the Orange Seal ones, they come with a bunch of different stuff, different colored nuts, seals on the nuts, different STYLE pugs on the backside, like round and wedge, which is great for narrower rims, these seem to be best, with a little valve tool, but only marginally better than wtb/stans.
I've not tried the E13 ones, but I've wanted to.
A good idea is order some bulk cores from ebay/amazon (freaking expensive at bike shops and from online bike retailers) and always carry a few. More important for me in the winter, but I've had problems with them and it's a lot easier than trying to clean a valve out.
What I really want is a presta that moves a crap-load of air and doesn't have any ridiculous design fails. Haven't found it yet.
Many of the non-wtb/stans ones include valve-core removers in the cap or that slide onto the body.
I got these cool Milkit swiss valves that I thought would be nice, with a built-in dipstick on the valve-core. Supposedly designed to NOT pass sealant back into the valve. Unfortunately, that same function makes it damn near impossible to inject sealant, unless using something like a syringe I'd imagine, but hell, sometimes you want to be able to do it on the trail with just a little bottle, etc.
I have the muck-off ones. An inherent problem is the end of the valve where you hook your pump on. I've been using my trusty mountain-morph forever and it's the one I took with me on the iditarod trail. After several minutes of pumping I was trying to figure out why the tire wasn't being filled. Pump does not seal over the head of the muck-off. I have some that do, and some that do not. I don't like the twisty-pumps for that kind of riding, because the last thing in the world you want is the damn valve core coming out. Regular pump head did not like the muck-off and that's a non-starter.
I recently got the Orange Seal ones, they come with a bunch of different stuff, different colored nuts, seals on the nuts, different STYLE pugs on the backside, like round and wedge, which is great for narrower rims, these seem to be best, with a little valve tool, but only marginally better than wtb/stans.
I've not tried the E13 ones, but I've wanted to.
A good idea is order some bulk cores from ebay/amazon (freaking expensive at bike shops and from online bike retailers) and always carry a few. More important for me in the winter, but I've had problems with them and it's a lot easier than trying to clean a valve out.
What I really want is a presta that moves a crap-load of air and doesn't have any ridiculous design fails. Haven't found it yet.
What this industry needs is a Schrader size for air volume, paired with a Presta valve for sealing.
Go!
Go!
Thanks for the suggestions. I went with the Orange Seal "kit" - the wheel I have is an older Light Bicycles carbon rim with a pretty deep, narrow groove in the center and the wedge plug seemed like it would be a better option than the cone style...
So far, so good - seems to be sealed. Watch - it'll be flatter than shit in the morning.
So far, so good - seems to be sealed. Watch - it'll be flatter than shit in the morning.
The cushcore valves work great. There are knockoffs on amazon in different colors as well.
So I recently had a problem with tape, it seemed to be due to over-spray from when I spray-painted these rims a few years back, but I guess I had somehow gotten tape to stick and never had a big problem for a while, eventually, sealant worked it's way through the tape and I figured, no problem, I'll just re-tape it. Well, I had to keep re-taping it and it would never "stick". I did this 4 or 5 times and then figured I'd give it one more go after cleaning the surface really well with acetone (was using alcohol before). I was starting to think there might be some absolutely crazy micro-crack that I couldn't see. The Orange Seal valves did the "best" at that point, but still the next day it was down and I could tell it was leaking through the tape. I took the opportunity to re-nipple the wheel with brass. I had heard about Bontrager strips and those working really well for people. I figured what the hell. The rims are I-25 and the strip was like 24.83. Works like a charm. Freaking solid. May not work with every profile, but this is money with these rims. Days later, still exactly the same. Do recommend if they fit your rims. It's a lot better than dealing with tape.Thanks for the suggestions. I went with the Orange Seal "kit" - the wheel I have is an older Light Bicycles carbon rim with a pretty deep, narrow groove in the center and the wedge plug seemed like it would be a better option than the cone style...
So far, so good - seems to be sealed. Watch - it'll be flatter than shit in the morning.
Muc-off make a good universal valve stem, plus it comes with different shaped rubber grommets to fit all sorts of wheels.
The problem I had with the Fuc-Off valves was due to the threads going all the way up to the top of the valve. If you look at any other valve, there's a "smooth" portion near the top, the threads don't reach all the way to the top. That was causing my pump to not engage/seal.
I recently had a similar problem with rim tape not sticking to the anodized surface of some rims. Scuffed the rims with some 1000 grit sandpaper, heated the rim up with a heat gun as I applied the tape then stuck a tube in there for a few days at high pressure. Was a pain in the ass but worked. Will be my standard process moving forward.
After wrestling with lots of different strips I just use gorilla tape these days. Works great and lasts at least as long as I keep wheels lately.
I I like cheap ones from eBay
Why not just switch to metric, and ever so slightly different in size like they did with shocks? If 29” is good, 740mm must be better, right?
700mm is 27.55". Perfect!
gorilla tape has been my go-to for a while. and just ordered a bunch of valve cores, stem caps with built in core removers, and sealant from these local guys: https://blackoxsealant.com/
we'll see how it goes. just used up the last of my stans installing a rear tire last week.
we'll see how it goes. just used up the last of my stans installing a rear tire last week.
Oooooh, that's close enough that 27.5 tires would fit but probably not seat the bear quite right, and vice-a-versa, I like where you head is at.
For you Gorilla tape users, you may already be aware of these, but if not, they're the shit! https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-6100101-Handy-1-Pack-Black/dp/B001E5ZWT4/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=gorilla+tape&qid=1597208655&sr=8-8
No more ripping strips from your normal width roll. They're also small enough to throw in your pack since nobody carries a pump anymore and therefore the old wraping extra duct tape around the pump thick doesn't work.
Home Depot sells this also. Been using this tape for years and it’s the best. I’ve even taken tire off and reinstalled with same tape and it’s not leaked. Cannot recommend enough.
