Help needed regarding inner tube valves

[cvcalhoun]

I got a flat today. And when I went to REI, they said they didn’t have a tube that would fit my wheel. I’m trying therefore to order new tubes online, but am having trouble figuring out exactly what I need.

The problem is that a Presta valve is too small for the hole in the wheel. However, a Schrader valve wrapped in rubber, like the one on the left, is too large. What I need is a plain metal Schrader valve, like the one on the right:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14350[/ATTACH]

The tube that got a flat–which had the correct type of valve–was a Specialized. But I’m not sure whether all Specialized tubes have that design, or whether there is some particular model I need to ask for. Does anyone know?

Of course, the next question is why someone designs a wheel that only works with a tube you have to special order. But that’s a rant for a different day.

Topic

[cvcalhoun]

@huskerdont 157635 wrote:

Without a spare bike, what do you do when your bike needs fixin’?

I patronize only bike shops that will fix things on the spot.

[peterw_diy]

@cvcalhoun 157614 wrote:

By preference? Or because that’s the wheels available?

Or because Rod runs a suspension fork he can use the inherently weaker Schraeder up front, but can’t afford to compromise rim strength in the rear of his hardtail setup? Like a mullet brake setup, but focusing on rim stress rather than braking power distribution? 😀

[peterw_diy]

@cvcalhoun 157636 wrote:

I patronize only bike shops that will fix things on the spot.

Bzzt. Wrong. The correct answer is “use bikeshare”. All forum members are required to join, regardless of their household bike count.

[cvcalhoun]

@peterw_diy 157641 wrote:

Bzzt. Wrong. The correct answer is “use bikeshare”. All forum members are required to join, regardless of their household bike count.

And regardless of the fact that the nearest bikeshare to me is a mile from my house? And that at the speed I ride, I’d have to change bikes about three times to get to work while staying within the half hour limit?

[LhasaCM]

@cvcalhoun 157642 wrote:

And regardless of the fact that the nearest bikeshare to me is a mile from my house? And that at the speed I ride, I’d have to change bikes about three times to get to work while staying within the half hour limit?

And given the distance between bikes along the CCT, I don’t think many could stay within the half hour limit and would have to pay additional usage fees. (That’s about what, 6 miles between the start of the trail and River Road? Up hill? On a Bikeshare bike?!)

[cvcalhoun]

@LhasaCM 157643 wrote:

And given the distance between bikes along the CCT, I don’t think many could stay within the half hour limit and would have to pay additional usage fees. (That’s about what, 6 miles between the start of the trail and River Road? Up hill? On a Bikeshare bike?!)

Yeah, the CCT on the way home would be impossible. I’d have to take the roads, which means a steep uphill for miles.

[Crickey7]

Yeah, the one bike thing and relying on getting things fixed on the spot wouldn’t have worked for me. I had two recent mechanicals in tandem that likely could not have been fixed without the shop ordering parts, a broken front shifter and a snapped derailleur hanger. The odds of a shop having a matching shifter, or the right hanger, in stock are not good.

[cvcalhoun]

@Crickey7 157645 wrote:

Yeah, the one bike thing and relying on getting things fixed on the spot wouldn’t have worked for me. I had two recent mechanicals in tandem that likely could not have been fixed without the shop ordering parts, a broken front shifter and a snapped derailleur hanger. The odds of a shop having a matching shifter, or the right hanger, in stock are not good.

I suppose I’ve been lucky. I’ve had only one instance in the past several years in which a) the shop needed to order something, and b) I couldn’t ride the bike while waiting for the part to come in.

[peterw_diy]

@cvcalhoun 157642 wrote:

And regardless of the fact that the nearest bikeshare to me is a mile from my house? And that at the speed I ride, I’d have to change bikes about three times to get to work while staying within the half hour limit?

Yes, regardless.

[Crickey7]

Admittedly, the largest reason for having two bikes is that I do most of my bike repair myself, and as a mechanic I am more enthusiastic than skilled. My effort to replace my internally routed cables alone sidelined one bike for a month.

[cvcalhoun]

@Crickey7 157674 wrote:

Admittedly, the largest reason for having two bikes is that I do most of my bike repair myself, and as a mechanic I am more enthusiastic than skilled. My effort to replace my internally routed cables alone sidelined one bike for a month.

Being neither enthusiastic nor skilled, I’m perfectly happy to leave this to my local bike shop. Particularly since I’ve had several experiences of paying more to do something myself than a mechanic would have charged, due to incorrectly diagnosing the problem and repairing several things that didn’t help before the thing that did.

[huskerdont]

@Crickey7 157674 wrote:

Admittedly, the largest reason for having two bikes is that I do most of my bike repair myself, and as a mechanic I am more enthusiastic than skilled. My effort to replace my internally routed cables alone sidelined one bike for a month.

Me too. Although I’ve fallen into the trap of “after this bike, and the other bike, there’s only one bike left.”

So now there are six.

[cvcalhoun]

@huskerdont 157680 wrote:

Me too. Although I’ve fallen into the trap of “after this bike, and the other bike, there’s only one bike left.”

So now there are six.

Whereas I fall into the category of, “after this bike, there is no more room in the shed.”

[TwoWheelsDC]

@cvcalhoun 157678 wrote:

Being neither enthusiastic nor skilled, I’m perfectly happy to leave this to my local bike shop. Particularly since I’ve had several experiences of paying more to do something myself than a mechanic would have charged, due to incorrectly diagnosing the problem and repairing several things that didn’t help before the thing that did.

I would be the same way if I only had one bike. Having multiple has been nice in the sense that I can tinker without too much fear, which has been really good for learning new skills. So somewhat ironically, spending money to buy multiple bikes has allowed me to save probably a similar amount of money in maintenance and parts (buying parts online is cheaper…sorry not sorry LBSs). Having the space for that is definitely a luxury though, and you gotta do what works best for you.

[Vicegrip]

@cvcalhoun 157687 wrote:

Whereas I fall into the category of, “after this bike, there is no more room in the shed.”

But there is room for another shed.

[Author]

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