Is there any reason to leave these damn things on my bike?

[bikinchris]

On clinchers, you should use the nuts only if the rim is flat where the nut screws down. Otherwise, it will likely keep coming loose. Leave it off.
If you have a knocking sound coming from the stem because it is loose, wrap the stem with a round of electrical tape. That should take care of that.

Tubeless stems use an o-ring seal that helps keep it from coming loose.

[robt57]

I don't get them coming loose personally. Nor issues as it pertains to inflation new after a flat etc.

Having said this, I have a lot of smooth stem Latex in service. I use little O rings to fend off the rattles, which drive me more nuts that I am already.

[htwoopup]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

...

If you have a knocking sound coming from the stem because it is loose, wrap the stem with a round of electrical tape. That should take care of that.

...

Or, just put a small piece of electric tape on the rim with a slit in it for the valve hole. No knocking and you only have to replace it every couple of years instead of every tube change.


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[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by htwoopup

Or, just put a small piece of electric tape on the rim with a slit in it for the valve hole. No knocking and you only have to replace it every couple of years instead of every tube change.


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word, unless its tubular.. for tubs i slice a piece o lectric tape down the middle and wrap around the stem so's ye cant see is once shes glued up

[Johnny P]

Originally Posted by Dave

I always use no thread valve stems. The pump goes on much more easily. Nuts are not an option.

This.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by FriarQuade

When I ran a service department I would try my best to source tubes with smooth valves so customers couldn't use those things or ask for them.

It's gotten to the point that I don't bother to point out that the caps and nuts don't do squat and just stick em on when I change out tubes.

Not

Worth

The

Hassle

To explain why they're worthless

M

[ultraman6970]

If you use tubulars you dont have to deal with those things.

[smontanaro]

Originally Posted by SlowPokePete

Not really a reason for that black plastic cap either.

Caps are nice when color-matched to the bike.



Does anyone make tubes with non-threaded valve stems? I certainly don't come across them in the places I normally look.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by redir

IF you have a Silca style push on pump head they are usefull as they hold the valve in place as you push the head on. And that was me trying real hard to find at least one excuse to use them. I do like to keep the caps on my MTB and cross bikes to keep the mud out though.

Silca type pump..put wheel against your knee, wrap your left hand around tire and rim and pump head, then push down towards the rim/tire with your right hand on the pump..Full size pump..and throw those little gizmos away or use them like Mark M does.

If your stem rattles, poke a hole in a piece of electrical tape and valve thru it..

[colker]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

Does anyone make tubes with non-threaded valve stems? I certainly don't come across them in the places I normally look.

Yes. Kenda.

[smontanaro]

The one obvious use I can think of for those little lock nuts is that the stepped kind (such as Schwalbe provides) make it possible to cleanly use a presta tube in a rim with a Schrader hole. I know this won't be all that helpful for most folks here, but it can come in handy when lending aid to people you encounter who lack a tube or patch kit. (I don't normally carry Schrader tubes.)

I had one case where I flatted on a long ride, pulled out my spare tube and had it flat immediately (f*in Kenda cr*p). I was then stuck by the side of the road. I snagged a skinny tube from a passing group, but it was much too small for my chubby tires. I put the valve stem nut on before installing the tube so it didn't stretch too much in the area around the valve stem/tube junction. That got me to the halfway point of the ride where my wife met me with the car. (She complains about my obsession sometimes, but she's also an angel.)

[smontanaro]

Originally Posted by colker

Yes. Kenda.

See my previous response for my take on Kenda.

[sitzmark]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

Does anyone make tubes with non-threaded valve stems? I certainly don't come across them in the places I normally look.

Continental Race and Race Light tubes are not threaded** Easy to find in some locations and impossible in others. Amazon = 2 days.

**at valve. Maybe only 80s now.

[Bentley]

They prevent ripping the tube when you remove the pump head from the valve. I spin them down “snug” after I inflate.

[Lewis Moon]

I carry one in my spare kit. I use one of the Genuine Innovations CO2 chucks that press on to actuate, and after having a tube blow out the valve hole because I pushed the valve into the tire, I figured the little buggers had a purpose.