Schrader vs Presta

Shadowduck

I've noticed in bike shops (real and online) that there seems to be a much wider range of inner tubes on offer with Presta valves than Schrader - to the extent that I recently had to try a few different options before I could get hold of a Schrader tube to fit my 700 x 30 tyres.

I'm under the impression that Presta valves are more fiddly to use than Schrader and more susceptible to damage, quite apart from the fact they can't, in an emergency, be inflated using pumps intended for cars.

So can anybody explain to me why Presta valves are (apparently) so popular? Or indeed, why they exist at all?

Jacomus-rides-Gen

Lighter.
Able to accept higher pressure for their weight.
Pump heads are more reliable.
More easily extendible to go through deep rims.
Lighter.
No less reliable.
Better able to cope with getting muddy and wet.
Did I say lighter? :roll:

How about that for some reasons?

Pagem

Shadowduck wrote:

in an emergency, be inflated using pumps intended for cars.

don't think i've ever had an emergency like this... do you often flat next to petrol stations with a spare tube and no pump?

i like them because they're lighter

spasypaddy

i carry a £1.60 gadget i got off ebay that converts my presta to schrader so that if i do flat and cant get good enough pressure in my tube from my hand pump i can stop at a garage and get my air that way. Its all good

mazcp

I use Presta...it's easier to pronounce.

Shadowduck

Pagem wrote:

Shadowduck wrote:

in an emergency, be inflated using pumps intended for cars.

don't think i've ever had an emergency like this... do you often flat next to petrol stations with a spare tube and no pump?

i like them because they're lighter

No, but I have flatted twice in the same day - used the spare tube and CO2 cartridge for the first then the patch kit and a kindly motorist's foot pump for the second. :P

Consensus of opinion seems to be that it's a weight thing. I know about the exaggerated effect of rotating mass, but is the difference really significant? Has anybody switched from one to the other and got a noticeable difference?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, just struggling to see the point of worrying about the odd gram for those of us not riding £2000 carbon fibre bikes.

dazzawazza

I've never inflated my tyres at a petrol station.
Is it easy to do on their pumps if you have the adapter? And are their gauges very accurate at 120 psi considering most car tyres are 25-35 psi? Or is it something only to be tried during an emergency.

spasypaddy

dazzawazza i dont know and i dont want to find out! Almost did the other day but my adapter hadnt arrived yet

Drfabulous0

My rims dictate I use presta valves but I see no reason why I wouldn't want to anyway. The adaptor was 49p from the bike shop and I've never used it.

Shadowduck

dazzawazza wrote:

I've never inflated my tyres at a petrol station.
Is it easy to do on their pumps if you have the adapter? And are their gauges very accurate at 120 psi considering most car tyres are 25-35 psi? Or is it something only to be tried during an emergency.

I've never tried a forecourt pump myself but I have used car foot pumps more than once - you haven't a prayer of getting 120psi but you can squeeze enough in there to get you home.

Gambatte

Adapter came free with my track pump. Sits nicely in the change pocket in the wedge bag

mtb.boy

I always found that schrader valves on my old bikes used to dissappear into the rim when trying to attach the pump when the tyre was a bit flat.

The presta ones have a metal screw bit which stops them moving into the rim. Which I prefer. Much easier attaching a pump to somthing that is not moving about.

Jeremy Parker

dazzawazza wrote:

I've never inflated my tyres at a petrol station.
Is it easy to do on their pumps if you have the adapter? And are their gauges very accurate at 120 psi considering most car tyres are 25-35 psi? Or is it something only to be tried during an emergency.

I have. It was forty years ago, but I still remember the bangs, as the two tyres exploded a few yards down the street from the petrol station

Jeremy Parker

mbukfan

I haven't noticed the difference in weight while cycling

also the whole pressure thing seems a bit odd when you condsider that the air forks/shocks will normally use much higher pressures then your tyres yet still use schrader valves.
They are much much easier to clamp onto when you've got a flat though

smiorgan

teh internets knows all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrader_valve

"Presta vs Schrader

As is true for a Presta valve, pressure inside a Schrader valve will hold the valve shut, but because the Schrader valve has a spring, it closes and stays closed even without pressure. Another difference is that the size of Schrader valve used for bicycle tires has a greater diameter than the Presta valve. The spring makes the Schrader valve better than the Presta valve for low pressure tires, but the larger diameter hole it requires can weaken the wheel rim. For this reason, Schrader valves are more common on mountain bikes--which have wider tires with lower pressure--than on other types of bicycles, particularly racing bicycles (which have narrow rims and tires and higher pressure).

A rim drilled for Presta valves may be converted to accept Schrader valves, by drilling it out with a 21/64" drill bit but care must be taken to carefully de-burr the resulting hole to prevent damage to the tire and inner tube."

Shadowduck

smiorgan wrote:

The spring makes the Schrader valve better than the Presta valve for low pressure tires, but the larger diameter hole it requires can weaken the wheel rim. For this reason, Schrader valves are more common on mountain bikes--which have wider tires with lower pressure--than on other types of bicycles, particularly racing bicycles (which have narrow rims and tires and higher pressure).

Now that sounds like a good explanation, thanks smiorgan. Your wiki searching powers are obviously greater then mine, I looked on there but completely missed that! :oops:

smiorgan

Maybe you were spelling it Schraeder