How to remove the valve core from a bike tire


How to Remove a Presta Valve Core Without A Tool

Learning how to remove a Presta valve core without a tool can be very useful especially when you need to replace the tubeless sealant, or seat an old tyre onto an old rim.

Riding bikes can require quite a few specialized tools, however, and it is quite easy to get caught out. There are a number of shortcuts and tricks of the trade that can be used in order to get around these situations. 

So how do you remove a Presta valve core without the correct tool and how easy is it to do? 

Table Of Contents

  1. How to Remove a Presta Valve Core Without A Tool
    • Solution 1 – Pair of Pliers
    • Solution 2 – Chain Tool
  2. What Is A Presta Valve?
  3. Are All Presta Valve Cores Removable?
  4. How To Tell If Your Presta Valve Core Is Removable
  5. What Is A Presta Valve Tool?
  6. Is Presta Better Than Schrader?
  7. How Durable Are Presta Valves?
  8. Can You Put Air Into A Tire That Has A Broken Valve Stem?
  9. Can Presta Valves Be Lengthened?
  10. How To Remove A Presta Valve Core Without A Tool
  11. How to Remove a Presta Valve Core and Replace Tubeless Sealant?

How to Remove a Presta Valve Core Without A Tool

Solution 1 – Pair of Pliers

Most people have a pair of pliers kicking around their home somewhere. This solution is not ideal as it can damage the head of the valve, but if you have nothing else it will do the job. Simply hold the head of the valve with the pliers and twist anti-clockwise to loosen and clockwise to tighten.

Solution 2 – Chain Tool

Most people that ride bikes should own a chain tool, and if you don’t it might be worth considering one. Simply slot the head of the Presta valve core into the end of the chain tool, and twist anti-clockwise to loosen and clockwise to tighten.

What Is A Presta Valve?

The Presta valve is a commonly used valve found on bike inner tubes. The valve is the system by which air is pumped into the tire.

The valve is made up of an inner body and an outer stem.

The Presta valve was invented by the Frenchman Etienne Sclaverand and is also known as the Sclaverand valve or the French valve. The name Presta comes from the Latin word for fast or hurry.

The outer valve of the Presta is narrower in diameter than the other most common valve used on tires – the Schrader valve. It is 6mm compared with the Schrader valve’s 8mm. The length is variable depending on what they are being used for.

The narrower diameter means that they need smaller holes on the bike rim. This means that they work better with narrow wheels without sacrificing strength. However, the narrower size also means that inner tubes equipped with Presta and Schrader valves are not interchangeable.

Are All Presta Valve Cores Removable?

  All Schrader valves are removable, but not all Presta valve cores are removable. However most Presta valve cores are removable.

How To Tell If Your Presta Valve Core Is Removable

Have a look at the valve stem. If you see that the valve is made up of two parts then that means it is removable. If the core is removable, that means that it can be used for a tubeless setup. Sealant can be added through the valve.

What Is A Presta Valve Tool?

A number of different companies make cheap valve tools that work with both Presta and Schrader valves. They attach to the valve and allow you to remove the core.

These tools cost about £10. They are easily available and small enough to take with you anywhere.

What Is A Presta Valve Tool?

Is Presta Better Than Schrader?

There really is no answer about which one of them is better or worse. Both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. Some people have particular preferences, while other people are more prone to simply use whatever is available.

Schrader valves are more common,  and sturdier and their core is much easier to remove. 

Presta valves do not have a valve spring, which makes them easier to pump. They are also much better on thinner rims due to their smaller size, which makes them well suited for road bikes.

Presta valves are also lighter, although the benefit of the lower weight is fairly negligible, and they can handle pressure better. They are also better at staying unclogged, which makes them well suited for mountain biking.

How Durable Are Presta Valves?

Presta valves are fairly robust. As with all things, they can break, but they are not known for being excessively brittle. In fact, if anything, they have a reputation for sturdiness. Just ensure you don’t bend the valve when removing the Presta valve core or it will break!

Can You Put Air Into A Tire That Has A Broken Valve Stem?

No, however, It is fairly easy and inexpensive to replace the valve core. Simply remove the broken valve core and screw in a new core, being careful not to strip the thread or damage the rim tape. 

Can Presta Valves Be Lengthened?

Presta valves can be lengthened if needed using extenders. This might be necessary with deeper rims, such as those on aerodynamic race bikes.

If you are looking to get extenders for your valve, it is worth noting that there are different extenders for valves with removable cores and those without, so make sure that you check which one you need and buy the correct one.

Presta Valve Core Extender 

How To Remove A Presta Valve Core Without A Tool

If you find that you need to remove a Presta valve core and you do not have the correct tool to hand then there is no need to worry.

A number of tools that you are likely to have lying around can be used to remove the core. 

Pliers, such as needle-nosed pliers, can be used to perform the job. Vice grips will also work. However, the best solution to remove a Presta valve core without the tool is a chain tool or a number 11 spoke key.

If you do not have these to hand, then a little bit of ingenuity with whatever you have to hand can work wonders.

How to Remove a Presta Valve Core and Replace Tubeless Sealant?

To start you will need to remove the Presta valve core and then remove the tire. You can see our full tutorial here: How To Fit Tubeless Mountain Bike Tyres | 9 Simple Steps

See our other tutorials here:

  • How to Replace a Mountain Bike Cassette (Step-By-Step Guide)
  • How To Fit An Internally Routed Gear Cable? (With Photos)
  • How To Replace A Shimano Disk Brake Lever? (Easy Step-By-Step)

How To Remove Valve Stem Core- Gear For Venture

Tire valve stems are valves located on the wheel of a vehicle, from which the tires are inflated. They contain a spring-loaded valve core, which is sealed by the air pressure inside the tire. Over time, valve stems can age, break, become brittle, or start to leak, causing severe tire problems and impairing the driving/ riding experience.

When the valve stems start to leak, the tire will no longer retain air. Depending on how severe the leak is, the tire may be slowly losing air, or completely deflated.

In most cases, the quickest way to replace a valve stem is to take it to a bike store, remove the tire, and replace the valve type. However, in cases where this is not an option, it is possible to remove a tire and replace the valve stem manually.

Today’s article will show you how to manually remove the valve stem core in both mountain bikes and larger motor vehicles such as automobiles.

Remove the valve stem

Your first step is to remove the valve cover. Because the cover is small and easily removable, put it in your pocket or another safe place so as not to misplace it.

Using the valve stem removal tool or a grooved metal valve cover, turn the valve stem counterclockwise, turning it several times until it comes out of the valve. You will feel a gust of air if the tire is under pressure. As with the valve cover, place the valve stem in a safe place as it is small and easy to lose.

After depressurizing the tire, remove the valve stem. Start with your fingers, rotating the stem clockwise, and end with the valve stem removal tool or the grooved metal valve cover. If you are replacing a damaged tire and your valve stem is not at issue, hold on to this stem. You will need it when re-pressurizing the tire, and again, it might be easily lost.

How to Replace a Valve Stem

Materials needed: Tube air pump, bike repair stand and valve stem removal tool. If replacing the valve stem on an automobile, you would also need a nut wrench, fine point pliers, tire iron, and jack stand.

  1. (On automobiles and large vehicles only) Loosen the lug nuts: Unfasten the wheel nuts for the wheel on which the valve stem is to be replaced using your jack and tire iron or nut wrench.
  2. Remove the wheel: Remove the wheel and place it on the ground. For larger vehicles’ wheels, place them with the outside facing up.
  3. Deflate the tire: Remove the valve stem cover, and remove the valve stem core with the valve stem removal tool to release air from the wheel.
  4. (On automobiles and large vehicles only) Remove the tire: Grab the tire via its removed lip and pull it up so that the opposite edge at the bottom of the wheel now touches the edge of the rim. Insert the tire sheet between the rim and the edges and pry upwards to remove the lip from the side of the rim. When the lip is above the rim, work the rim plate around the rim until the rim is removed from the wheel.
  5. Remove the valve stem: Use pointed needle pliers to remove the valve stem from the wheel.
  6. Fix the new valve stem: Take the replacement valve stem and install it, starting from the inside of the wheel. Once positioned, use the needle clamp to install it.
  7. Reinstall the tire: Fix the tire on the wheel by pressing it on the rim until the lower beads clear the edge of the rim. Immediately once the beads clear the lip of the wheel, run through the wheel until the tire is completely installed.
  8. Inflate the tire: After reinstalling the tire on the wheel, turn on the air pump and inflate it to the correct specifications. Check your manual for the appropriate pressure.
  9. Check for leaks: When the tire is inflated correctly, check for any leaks to ensure your tire is secure.

Bottom Line

In most cases, the easiest way to replace a valve stem is to take it to a bike repair shop, remove the tire, and replace the valve.

However, in cases where this is not an option, or you’re looking for a task in the garage, it is indeed possible to manually remove and replace a valve stem and tire with the appropriate tools and procedures. If you think there is a leak or damage to the tire and not just the valve stem, you should replace it altogether.

How to unscrew and replace a bicycle valve?

Contents

  1. Signs and Causes of a Bicycle Tube Valve Failure
  2. Ways to Diagnose a Valve Failure
  3. How do I unscrew the valve?
  4. How to replace a bicycle nipple?
  5. How to repair a nipple away from home?

You can't go far on flat tires. There are cases when, after the next trip the next day, the wheel is significantly or completely flat.

Do not immediately blame the puncture and start beading the wheel to repair the tube. It is most likely that the reason is in the nipple or, as it is also called, in the spool.

Signs and Causes of a Bicycle Tube Valve Failure

A nipple or spool is a device that manipulates the bicycle tire pressure adjustment. Its design is elementary - a special spool (valve), which is placed in a cylindrical tube with or without an internal thread (depending on the type of spool), which is soldered or mechanically attached to the bicycle chamber.

There are three types of nipples:

  1. Dunlop is an old style nipple. These days it is becoming less and less common, in the past most bicycle inner tubes were equipped with such a nipple. Outwardly similar to its "brothers": Schrader - an external element, and Dunlop - an internal one. The design of the nipple is a cylindrical tube with a vertical slot of 4-5 mm, into which a hollow tube with a thickening in the middle with two ribs is inserted, which is inserted into the slot of the outer tube and fixed with a special tightening nut. The inner part of the nipple on one side is equipped with a thread for the cap, and on the other end a rubber tube is put on, acting as a valve.
  2. Automotive Schrader or American valve. This chamber valve is installed on a wide range of bicycle tubes: hybrids, mountain bikes. The design is a little more complicated: a metal tube 40-60 mm long with internal and external threads, soldered or mechanically installed in the chamber, and a special spool. The latter is equipped with a metal rod with a spring, at one end of which there is a poppet-shaped valve. To screw in or unscrew the Schrader, you need a special key, which is usually integrated into the protective cap-cap.
  3. Bicycle Presta or French valve. This nipple has been used on sports bikes. The diameter of the outer tube is less than the first two representatives (6 mm), a distinctive feature is the external presence of the valve stem. The latter is equipped with a lock nut - in order to adjust the pressure, it is necessary to loosen the latter. French nipple requires careful handling.

The serviceability of the nipple is determined by its functional suitability, i.e. the ability to maintain internal pressure in the wheels - if the pressure in the chambers goes down, then repair or replacement of the spool is required.

Causes of a nipple failure can be different, ranging from a breakdown of the valve itself (mechanical damage, natural wear), and ending with elementary contamination.

Ways to identify valve failure

Tire pressure loss is the main symptom of valve failure.

The following methods will help identify the problem:

  1. Visually, this is the easiest and most effective way, it is recommended that they check the operation after each inflation of the bike tube. It is necessary to moisten the nipple with water and make sure that there is no bubble formation. In the absence of water, you can salivate your finger and attach it to the nipple.
  2. By ear. If the nipple is broken or dirty, then this becomes clear by the characteristic hiss. The method does not work if the bicycle chambers are filled with anti-puncture sealant.
  3. Contact. Pressing your finger against the release nipple, and holding it firmly, you can feel the pressure tactilely.

In the absence of the above signs of nipple breakage, you will have to dismantle the camera and further examine it - it is not uncommon for a defect to be found at the base of the nipple attachment to the bicycle camera. In this case, many cyclists advise to replace the camera, but this solution is not for professionals, but everything is in order.

How to unscrew the nipple?

As it may seem at first, this question is not worth considering. This is true if it is Dunlop or Presta. Unscrewing these nipples is not difficult. Even if they are a little stuck, ordinary pliers will help to unscrew them. But in relation to Schrader, as practice shows, not everything is so simple.

The fact is that in order to unscrew the Schrader spool, you need a special key, which is a rod with a diameter of 3-4 mm with a small (2-3 mm) cut in the center along the rod.

Such wrenches were widespread in the recent past, because they were integrated into the protective cap of the nipple, and were supplied with the cameras. Today, the chambers are equipped with plastic covers, with which the spool cannot be unscrewed.

Such a trifle becomes a real problem for some cyclists - after running around several bike shops, they find that there are no such keys, and in order to unscrew the nipple, they begin to make the tool themselves.

In this case, we can advise the following:

  • Medical tweezers will help unscrew the spool: it enters the cylinder, and the force to tighten the locknut is sufficient.
  • Make a key from a metal rod with a diameter of 3-4 mm. sawing it with a metal cloth, and then slightly expanding it with a needle file or flaring it with a screwdriver.
  • Go to a tire shop with a camera, and do all the manipulations with it on the spot.
  • Don't forget to get a nipple cap to help you unscrew the spool on the road.

How to replace a bicycle valve?

Since nipple spools are consumables, it is impractical to repair them. Their cost is low, and you can buy them at any bike or car shop.

But in some cases: in case of contamination or wear of sealing gum, it is possible to perform simple work to extend the life of the spool.

  • The valve on the nipple may bleed due to contamination, i. e. close tightly. To restore working capacity, you need to unscrew the spool and rinse it well.
  • If the pressure does not hold due to the wear of the sealing gum, then you need to unscrew the nipple and apply a small amount of any sealant to it.

These simple actions can cope with the task in the long term. But still, you should stock up on the road with the necessary (repair kit, patches, glue, etc.) so as not to get into an unpleasant situation along the way.

How to repair a nipple away from home?

If the tire began to noticeably flat on the way, and the puncture was not to blame, you can do the following:

  • Check the tightness of the valve.
  • Rinse with Schrader or Presta.
  • If there is a sealant, treat the spool with it.
  • Finely chop and tamp the rubber from the patches into the Schrader cap, then tighten firmly.

These steps can help you get home on your own. It should be remembered that the speed limit in this situation is recommended to be significantly reduced.

If the nipple in the chamber comes off with an enviable frequency, and the chambers replace each other too often, then the problem can be solved radically - degrease the inside of the tire, the chamber, replace the rim tape, sprinkle everything with talc.

This should prevent breaks. Also, before inflating the chamber, you should completely bleed the air and adjust (turning) the tire so that the pipette stands strictly vertically.

How to unscrew the nipple on a bicycle: reasons, recommendations

You can't go far on flat tires - this is an indisputable fact. And if a tire puncture can somehow be fixed in the shortest possible time, then a valve malfunction - such a small but important element can significantly change plans. How to unscrew the nipple on a bicycle? What is the goldsmith for? Why is this detail important to pay attention to? We will try to answer these and many other questions today.

Causes of failure



  • valve failure;
  • heavy soiling, due to which the nipple cannot fit snugly against the chamber.

Troubleshooting methods

  • Visual. In this way, the operability of the nipple should be checked after each pumping of the chamber. It is enough to moisten the valve a little: if bubbles appear, then there is a problem.
  • Auditory. If the nipple is out of order, this will be eloquently told by the characteristic sound heard when the air is released. But this method is not effective if the chambers are filled with sealants that prevent punctures.
  • Contact. Pressing a finger against a faulty nipple and holding it firmly, pressure can be felt.

I must say that the above methods do not always allow you to identify a malfunction. In some cases, you will have to remove the camera and examine it in detail. And most likely it would be advisable to replace the nipple on the bicycle wheel.

How to unscrew the nipple

It may seem to some that this issue does not deserve so much attention. And indeed, if you need to remove Dunlop or Presta, for example, then everything is simple here. Even if the nipple is a little stuck, you can pull it out with ordinary pliers. As for Schrader, here, as life practice shows, not everything is as simple as we would like.

These spools require a special tool, which is a rod with a diameter of 3-4 mm with a small (2-3 mm) cut in the center. It would seem a trifle, but it is this nuance that becomes a significant problem for those who do not know how to unscrew the nipple from the bicycle chamber. Help:

  • medical tweezers - they easily fit into the cylinder;
  • homemade key from a metal rod with a diameter of 3-4 mm;
  • give the bicycle to the workshop;
  • purposefully buy a cap for the nipple.

Still, avid cyclists are better off buying a special key or building it yourself. It does not take up much space, and its importance in some situations is difficult to overestimate.

How to replace a nipple on a bicycle

Nipple valves are a consumable item, so it is not practical to repair them. They don't cost that much, and you can buy them at any store that has at least a minimal range of bicycle parts.

In some situations, minor repairs can be made that can extend the life of the spool:

  1. The valve on the nipple sometimes bleeds air due to heavy contamination, that is, it does not fit tightly, as a result of which there is a decrease in pressure in the chamber - there will be enough to clean it.
  2. If the nipple is leaking due to wear of the rubber gasket, then a drop of sealant will correct the situation.

So, in simple ways, you can cope with the task. But it is worth once again reminding cyclists going on a trip that the necessary set of tools and spare parts should always be at hand.

How to change the nipple in the field

Anything can happen on the road, and a flat tire can be an annoying nuisance that can ruin all plans. If on the way you notice that the tire has started to deflate and the puncture has nothing to do with it, then you can take the following actions:

  1. Check the valve tightness.
  2. Rinse the nipple.
  3. If sealant is available, coat the spool with compound.
  4. Shredded rubber from the patches can be pushed into the Schrader cap and then tightened firmly.

This will help you get to your house or the nearest bike shop. However, remember that high speed and dynamic driving in this case will nullify all efforts.


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