tubeless valve leaking air
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My solution to removable cores is to put red loctite on them
. Otherwise forget using a thread-on Lezyne pump head.(Honestly, I have never understood why people go through the hassle of putting in sealant through the valve stem.)
But in this case, certainly having a removable core might save a little bit of money. (But at $4 for a stem — or maybe less for a tube that you cut the stem out of, this isn’t a big ticket item.)
@Harry Meatmotor 166255 wrote:
bikeshop trick: customer has flat tire –> after replacing tube, ask customer if they want the old tube –> if no, pull the valve core (if removable) and stash in workbench drawer.
non-bikeshop trick: call bike shop –> ask if they have a stash of used presta valve cores –> profit.
other bike shop trick: no tubeless valve stem? cut up old innertube, leaving 1 cm of butyl around valve stem. Viola! tubeless!
Nice! I’ve had little success removing the cores of my old tubes, most of which are Kenda or Specialized. I have a huge stack of them that I’ve been meaning to patch, but at this point (a few years?), I’ll just try to remove the cores and recycle them.
There was one time I was going to use a stem cut out of a tube, but the rubber base was nowhere near as thick or sturdy as a tubeless stem like the Stans, so I abandoned the idea and ponied up for a real one. I assume you’ve never had issues doing this though?
@hozn 166259 wrote:
My solution to removable cores is to put red loctite on them
. Otherwise forget using a thread-on Lezyne pump head.(Honestly, I have never understood why people go through the hassle of putting in sealant through the valve stem.)
But in this case, certainly having a removable core might save a little bit of money. (But at $4 for a stem — or maybe less for a tube that you cut the stem out of, this isn’t a big ticket item.)
The pumps I carry on my mountain bikes are thread-on Lezyne or Specialized, but it’s rare for the valve to get unthreaded on removal. If they do, I just screw it back in. I like the ability to be able to take them off out in the field for when I’m out in the woods. On longer rides or bikepacking trips, I’ll bring at least one 2oz bottle of Stans just in case of emergency.
I have a few wheel/tire combos that work fine tubeless, but they’re relatively difficult to initially seat because they’re so loose when first mounted. Sometimes I might have to use a tube initially or use both hands to pull the tire taut while using my foot on the compressor valve. (Note, this scenario is usually with 4″ or wider tires on 65mm rims or 3″ tires on 40mm rims
). Basically, it’d be very messy if I put sealant in initially.@Tania 166294 wrote:
…as an xmas present. So that then I can use it.
LOL, you’re not the first to do this
@drevil 166279 wrote:
Nice! I’ve had little success removing the cores of my old tubes, most of which are Kenda or Specialized. I have a huge stack of them that I’ve been meaning to patch, but at this point (a few years?), I’ll just try to remove the cores and recycle them.
There was one time I was going to use a stem cut out of a tube, but the rubber base was nowhere near as thick or sturdy as a tubeless stem like the Stans, so I abandoned the idea and ponied up for a real one. I assume you’ve never had issues doing this though?
I’ve been saying recently that I see no point in paying a premium for tubeless valve stems, but I just learned the other day that there is a meaningful difference in construction. I cut the rubber pretty close to the stem from an old tube and then continued to tighten the stem nut until eventually I pulled it through the rim bed … That was annoying to get out! But in general, if you don’t cut it too close and you don’t go crazy trying to over-tighten it, using stems from inner tubes works great. The downside is that if you leave enough tube around the stem to ensure you don’t pull through, it can be tricky to seat tires on narrower rims. E.g. my 18mm-internal-width rims would prefer less interference around the bead shelf, so I bought pack of 32mm valve stems to use on those rims.
@drevil 166279 wrote:
The pumps I carry on my mountain bikes are thread-on Lezyne or Specialized, but it’s rare for the valve to get unthreaded on removal. If they do, I just screw it back in. I like the ability to be able to take them off out in the field for when I’m out in the woods. On longer rides or bikepacking trips, I’ll bring at least one 2oz bottle of Stans just in case of emergency.
I have a few wheel/tire combos that work fine tubeless, but they’re relatively difficult to initially seat because they’re so loose when first mounted. Sometimes I might have to use a tube initially or use both hands to pull the tire taut while using my foot on the compressor valve. (Note, this scenario is usually with 4″ or wider tires on 65mm rims or 3″ tires on 40mm rims
). Basically, it’d be very messy if I put sealant in initially.I had a hard time getting cores not to unscrew and so eventually just read the internet where people said to use Loctite. Maybe I just wasn’t tightening them enough? Anyway, this method works fine for me, but I can appreciate that it is probably messier than if you’re able to get the tires fully seated without sealant in them initially.
@TwoWheelsDC 166281 wrote:
While I haven’t tried it the “Hans Way”, I think it would be very messy for me too. I’ve found that adding sealant through the valve stem is pretty clean and easy. But different strokes and all that…
Yeah, I’ve only done the valve core method a couple of times, but the valve got gummed up and it didn’t seem to make anything easier so I stopped. But it might have been cleaner to do it that way. Certainly seating tubeless tires is a messy operation with various soaps or waxes in addition to the sealant; I do it outside. I’ve gotten better about not spilling sealant (that stuff’s expensive!), but on hard-to-seat tires, I definitely lose some to the process.
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