Tubeless valves, your favorites?

[DHallerman]

I’m starting to gather materials to set up 4 bikes for tubeless.

With several reputable brands selling presta valves, which one(s) do you like best and why?

F’rinstance, is Orange Seal particularly good because it comes with different size/shape grommets to improve fit? Or is Muc-Off’s setup with a hex wrench more airtight? Or are plain valves, such as Stans or WTB, perfectly good enough?

Also, while on the topic: tubeless rim tape width...you want it 2-3 mm wider than the rim’s spec’d inner width, correct? Or tape same width as rim?

Thanks!

Dave, who notes these 4 tubeless setups will be with two 650B rims both from WTB and two 700c rims from Bontrager and HED

[kppolich]

Valves:
Orange seal valves are great, so are these:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/Tires/177828/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=truckerco-usa

Sealant:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Liter-TruckerCo-Cream-II-2-latex-mountain-road-bike-Tubeless-Tire-Sealant-Quart/261389474332

[DHallerman]

Valves:
Orange seal valves are great, so are these:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/Tires/177828/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=truckerco-usa

Sealant:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Liter-TruckerCo-Cream-II-2-latex-mountain-road-bike-Tubeless-Tire-Sealant-Quart/261389474332

What’s so great about them? What are pros and cons?

[kppolich]

What’s so great about them? What are pros and cons?

Valves:

Orange Seal:
Pro- Different lengths available, different rim bed profiles included out of the box.
Con- price and that orange nut that was 'standard' on them for a while.

Trucker:
Pro- A+ construction quality. threads and small parts such as the gromet and nut are superb. Price and color options.
Con- not many different lengths available, black currently unavailable.

Sealant:
Trucker:
Pro: More concentrated than any stans or orange seal. You won't have to replace sealant every 30 days with this stuff, more like every 90 days since it is more concentrated. Cheaper, more volume options to buy in bulk.
Con: None

[Clancy]

Valves:

Orange Seal:
Pro- Different lengths available, different rim bed profiles included out of the box.
Con- price and that orange nut that was 'standard' on them for a while.

Trucker:
Pro- A+ construction quality. threads and small parts such as the gromet and nut are superb. Price and color options.
Con- not many different lengths available, black currently unavailable.

Sealant:
Trucker:
Pro: More concentrated than any stans or orange seal. You won't have to replace sealant every 30 days with this stuff, more like every 90 days since it is more concentrated. Cheaper, more volume options to buy in bulk.
Con: None


$999 for a pair of black valves! Yikes, that’s Rapha territory.

[seric]

I've had good luck with Cushcore valves on MTB rims, the dual holes on the valves seem to seat tires more reliably with a floor pump. This could be all in my head. I didn't like Enve's stock valves since they tended to clog with sealant, I don't have this problem with the Cushcore valves even though it seems like the T-shaped air path would allow more sealant in.

[DHallerman]

$999 for a pair of black valves! Yikes, that’s Rapha territory.

Yeah, but that IS with free shipping.

[AngryScientist]

I started a thread in the same subject a few months ago. Look at ethirteen valves. They are the best

[SlowPokePete]

Lindarets.

SPP

[jtakeda]

I have experience with i9 and the stock shimano ones that came with my xtr wheelset.

I have to say the i9 ones don’t seem great for the rims I’m using them with. It could be due to poor set up but I set up both wheelsets and I think I did a good job on both.

The i9 has a finnicky rubber seal and is sensitive to how tight it’s screwed in, what I mean by that is it wanted to be tightened much looser than I would’ve liked.

All the gaps on the i9 set up got plugged with sealant. The stock shimano held air with no leak even with no sealant in

[DHallerman]

I started a thread in the same subject a few months ago. Look at ethirteen valves. They are the best

Thanks for the pointer to that thread and to e*thirteen - and their valves even come in red, perfect for one of the bikes I’ll be setting up.

And that pointer lead me down the wormhole of e*thirteen, a company previously unknown to me, and I see they sell wheels for mt bike downhill with, if I understood correctly, built-in 7-speed cassettes. 7-speed!

And I’m reminded that the worlds of cycling are more vast than I had known.

7-speed?

[yinzerniner]

The newest Schwalbe valves look very promising. Lots of little features than should help a ton with setup and long term maintenance

https://bikerumor.com/2020/07/22/schwalbe-adds-three-new-tubeless-valves-for-better-tubeless-set-up-on-almost-any-rim/