How to Determine Your Bike Tube's Valve

All bike inner tubes have one of two kinds of valves, Presta or Schrader. Learn to differentiate between them so you'll know which type of pump you need to fill your tubes.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bike Shorts
• Bike Helmets
• Bike Pumps
• Bike Tire Inner Tubes
• Bikes
• Bikes

Schrader Valves

1. Look at the thread on the outside of the valve. Schrader valves are threaded on the top half only.

2. Look at the top of the valve. Schrader valves have a middle pin surrounded by an outer ring.

3. Compare two different valves. Schrader valves are wider than Presta valves.

Presta Valves

4. Notice that the thread on a Presta valve runs the length of the valve.

5. Look at the top of the valve. A Presta valve has a movable nut that allows you to inflate or deflate the tube.

6. Compare two different valves. Presta valves are the skinniest valves.

Tips & Warnings

• You can buy an adapter to transform a Presta valve into a Schrader valve for easy fill-ups at any air compressor.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Tired of Being Tired? Fight Fatigue and Try FRS for FREE!

[coinmac]

on 5/17/2009 Some European bicycles, mainly from Dutch manufacturers, have another type of valve, the Dunlop valve. It is threaded all the way down the stem, like the Presta valve, but is similar in diameter to the Schrader valve. It has a nut that screws onto the outside of the stem and holds a one-way valve core into the stem. It can easily be removed by hand, allowing for the quick deflation of the tire or easy replacement of the valve. The valve core itself is smaller than the stem, is threaded, and has no center pin. Being a one-way valve, air can simply be forced into the tire without any leakage.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_stem