valve extenders

[coylifut]

what's the secret to making those thing hassle-free or at least hassle-less. you screw them on top of an open presta and after a while it seems as if the presta knob wants to close. also the seal from the etension to the valve stem doesn't seem to have the best seal and it's difficult to get a alot of pressure in the tire. I never have gotten over the fact that you're riding around on an open valve with a peice of plastic on top of it.

anyway i'll be reglueing tires on these wheels fairly soon and I'm wondering if there's a better extension or other technique to make these em more user friendly. I suspect Too Tall and 11.4 have come up with a workable solution.

btw. I'm glueing on the 2006 Conti Competitions which don't seem to have much thread on the stem itself nor do they appear to have removeable cores.

Help

[Bruce K]

I have 2 words for you.....

Longer stems

With my HED ALPS wheels (55mm section) I run 60 mm valve stems and find I can get a pump on them most of the time (depends on the pump).

Now that they are making 80mm stems, there should be no issues at all.

Way easier and lighter than extenders.

I still keep a couple in my saddle bag for emergencies.

BK

[Lanternrouge]

One thing a lot of people do is use teflon tape to create a seal between the valve and the extender. It's not as good as having a real extender with a removable core, but it works. Just make sure that the valve isn't loose when you put on the extender, or else it might work its way shut and that makes inflate tires somewhat difficult.

[zap]

Teflon sealing tape works well.

Spinergy extenders allow you to close the valve. But even with the valve open, tire pressure will keep it shut.

Been using both, teflon tape & Spinergy extenders, for years with no problems.

[Too Tall]

Old school - use pliers to bugger the valve in an open position. If they rattle closed you did not open them and wind them beyond thread limits ( a little bit) in the first place.

New School - buy valve extenders that screw directly into the valve body and move the old core to the top of the extension. This is the best rig out there because now you can close and open the valve as needed. A bunch of companies make these...I get mine from worldclasscycles.com

[zap]

It appears that Spinergy extenders are no longer available but Topeak offers a valve extender thats very similiar.

http://www.worldclasscycles.com/topeak_valve_extender.htm

[sspielman]

Old school - use pliers to bugger the valve in an open position. If they rattle closed you did not open them and wind them beyond thread limits ( a little bit) in the first place.

New School - buy valve extenders that screw directly into the valve body and move the old core to the top of the extension. This is the best rig out there because now you can close and open the valve as needed. A bunch of companies make these...I get mine from worldclasscycles.com

I will second some of the earlier comments. The best (and only acceptable) solution is the type of extension that allows the valve core to be removed and replaced at the end of the extender. The TUFO models available from World Class Cycles fill the bill nicely...and are available in enough sizes that you won't look like a FRED with too much extender. Wrap the threads with a pass or two of teflon tape, and tighten the extender with pliers....I like to use the pliers over top of a rubber kitchen gripper...it helps with the tightening and avoids marking up the extender. I realize that some tubulars don't have a removeable core....but Veloflex's do...another reason to use them.

[Ken Robb]

oh, oh--won't this increase in rotating mass slow you down? :rolleyes:

[Too Tall]

Very funny Kennyboy...but true!!! Actually, if you use too long an extender or a crappy heavy one it can put the entire wheel out of balance. Bean there done dat.

[coylifut]

I picked up some Vittoria exenders today. I never have to mess with the plastic ones again. nice to be able to have the valve core on the top. I hope they aren't the crappy heavy ones.