My son recently got a really nice specialized bike used. It came with presta tubes on it, and a few extras. Last night he called me in the middle of the night to come pick him up because he had a flat and he could not get the pumps on campus to work with his tubes.
He said he could have probably ridden home on the low tire, but he was trying to fill it up but instead the pump kept releasing more and more air.
I personally see no benefit to presta valves, but there has to be some… right?
For casual riding there’s no benefit to a presta valve over schrader. If he were using the bike for heavy intensity MTB, the only benefit would be a smaller valve hole in the rim, creating a stronger hoop.
If the rim is wide enough, you can simply drill the valve hole open and use a schrader valve, assuming he’s got a rim diameter that schrader tubes are made for.
That was always my guess, the smaller valve hole in the rim is the only real ‘advantage’ but honestly I freaking hate presta valves. He can buy a cheap adapter that allows him to use a Schrader pump on a presta valve.
And if you buy one of those adapters, buy a 5 pack of them, and put them everywhere that’s obvious. They are small and easily misplaced
That was the problem he had last night, his valve adapter fell out into the grass in the dark. I told him to put an old shoe lace through it so it would be harder to lose.
I never thought of the rim hole being a different diameter. I think for now we will invest in a presta specific pump for him.
You have some options. First, you could just thread these adapters onto the presta valve(after opening the presta valve stem cap) and use a schrader-style pump, that’s your cheapest option but I’ve come across a very few schrader pumps that don’t work with this. They were unable to pass air to the tube. Tell him to be sure to close the presta valve after filling.
If he carries a backpack or has a free bottle cage mount on his bike, , he can carry a compact pump , they often will work with either valve. Full disclosure that it can take quite a few pumps to get the tire to the proper pressure.
You can also get a little Schrader adapter that threads on and just always leave it on the valve. You need to remove it to open the presta valve and then screw the adapter on and add air then remove the adapter to close the valve and then put the adapter back on for “storage”, but it’s still way better in a pinch than having nothing.
A tiny portable presta compatible pump can be attached to the bike too.
We have 1 of those adapters, he dropped it in the grass in the dark last night. I never thought about leaving them on the valves. But in the dark that would not have helped much. I am getting him to order a presta pump.
You might consider adding a small tool kit to the list. I’ve seen a couple that Velcro under the seat, that way tools and adapters are always available when he’s riding.