Buying a bicycle tube is getting just as complex as buying a hamburger these days. Ten questions later and you’re still trying to get back on the road, and all you really care about is getting one that will fit, not blow up on you and let you get back to the serious business of riding.
But there is one feature that will put a quick stop to any motion. That might be the types of bike tire tube stem. If you don’t get the right one not only will it not fit into the valve hole on your rim, but if you go to top up your air pressure you may find that your air pump fitting doesn’t work and you’re stranded with no way to adjust your bicycle tire pressure or fix a flat. Thus it is best to confirm the exact configuration of your of bike tire tube stem BEFORE you need to know what you are talking about.
It is also a critical piece of information when purchasing a bicycle pump as you need to know what fittings are necessary to match pump nipple to the types of bike tire tube stems that you expect to have on your bike.
There are typically two types of bike tube stems. The most common is the Schraeder valve, or sometimes spelt as a shrader or Schrader valve, you pick and the newer, sleeker design of a Presta valve.
The Schraeder valve is the old fashion design you are familiar with on your car tire. It is readily available at most local hardware stores and bicycle shops. It can be filled up with the standard gas station pump, and always has a valve stem that can be removed if you wish to add tire sealant for some level of puncture resistance if that is a feature that you desire.
Presta valves are newer and more aerodynamically designed. The slimmer profile requires a smaller port hole in the bike rim making it particularly important to the road rim manufacturer. The road rim is so thin that the size of air valves port hole can affect significantly the rigidity of the rim,
Too large of a hole to give access to the air valve for tire inflation can create a weak spot on the rim especially when discussing heavy riders or jumpers. The smaller the valve the smaller the hole. Thus presta valve rule here! They do have other advantages as well, but also do have their own problems. Nothing is ever a clean win!
Visit for a more complete discussion of the pro’s and con’s of the various types of bike tire tube stems and bicycle tubes in general, or for that matter anything in connection with bicycle riding.
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