The Goldilocks Principle is under assault, balance is lost. Without balance, we are reduced to savages. Steerectile dysfunction is spreading like wildfire; socks are quickly becoming knee-highs and the line between shorts and knickers continues to blur.
We spend considerable time making everything on our loyal steed fit and look perfect. Bar tape and tire color are carefully coordinated to frame and decals; the tape is wrapped and finished expertly. Saddles are positioned with a spirit level. Cables are cut to the shortest length possible to allow for smooth and friction-free braking and shifting. Cable ends are trimmed to the shortest sensible length. Tires are mounted with labels mounted directly above the valve. And yet the valve stems themselves have recklessly been allowed to grow ever longer.
The Prophet and De Vlaeminck didn’t ride around with 5cm of valve stem sticking out of their rims. Granted, they only had one length to choose from, but that one length stems were made in was obvious: as short as possible. Valve stems need to be managed just like everything else on our bikes. They need to protrude from the rim enough to allow for a pump head to be securely attached to it; anything more is ugly and dead weight. (Incidentally, if you are using a pump with a screw-on head like a Lezyne or Silca, then this means all you need is the threads of the valve core plus a few millimeters to allow for the head to securely thread on.)
For those among us riding deep section rims, forget the long-stem inner tubes. Buy tubes with 32mm stems with removable cores and use the shortest valve extender possible. Under no circumstances should one use an inner tube without removable cores. It is important, however, that upon removing the tube from its package and before installing it or placing it in your kit, that the core be removed and reinstalled using a small wrap of plumber’s tape; this will ensure that the core does not unthread with your pump head, causing a disappointing deflation of both spirit and tire.
Bring back the balance. Stop this long valve madness and get thee to your local bike shop for some fresh, short-stemmed tubes.
We are not savages, my children. We are the Velominati. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Goldilocks Stems/”/]
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What are these "valve extenders" you people speak of?
If I needed to extend valves, because I fell into a pair of sweet carbone deep section rims, which I haven't, I would buy the Lezyne extenders. Because they look the da' bah.
The idea of adding valve extenders to my kit seems to be fixing a problem that (for me) doesn't exist in the first place, but then again I ride with an EPMS so I suppose my argument is invalid.
Timely. I have had cause to wonder recently whether some folk I have seen are making up for a lack elsewhere with their valve length.
@ChrisO
Excellent point, old boy, the extenders transfer and if you have even a small degree of competence and a good extender, its no more likely to go wrong than any other adjustment/repair you might make on the road.
Not to mention the likelihood that I'd grab the wrong tube and then be really buggered.
(Queue me having valve stem issues on tomorrow's ride.)
It is literally fractions of hundredths of grams lighter! No denying it! Alu vs brass! I say again: literally fractions of hundredths of grams lighter!
@Chris
I don't ride Vittoria tires but now I kind of want to. That should shut down any discussion of valve stems leaking; the tires are designed that way for Merckx's sake!
@Gianni
You need to establish that need, my friend.
That said, the Lezyne extenders look like the kind of troublesome design that all these whiners are talking about; with this one, you'd open the valve before installing the extender, meaning that it could leak and also that the valve inside might rattle closed (which I've had happen in the past).
The Problem Solvers that I use are pretty sweet; you pull out the core, screw it into the extender, then screw the extender into the valve. It's fool-proof. I have them on several wheelsets and have been using them for years - with no leakages ever.
Again, queue my problems next time out on extenders.
Christ, now there's going to be a world shortage of short-stem tubes.
I have some serious issues, non of my local bike shops sell tubes with 32mm stems and removable cores.. What to do?
Much research must occur to find the short stems, even online!
Anyone riding those Fulcrum (or are the Mavic?) rims with the counter-weight on the other side of the wheel to theoretically balance the valve weight? Better?
Has anyone felt that their non-counter-weighted rims are out of balance?
@Gianni Do you use the "valve extender" to smoke the fake cigarette?