My first puncture

[mjr]

Just out of interest, why a Woods valve?

My sister had a bike with Woods valves in the 70s, but beyond that I've not come across them much. IIRC a presta pump would screw on, but I've just looked at a picture and I can't imagine a push-on pump would work with it. So if you were in distress and someone offered to help with a push on pump you'd be un-helped.

The reason is that the valve is designed so that air goes in and out by different routes (unlike Pesta and Schrader), so good ones are much less leaky. The impac ones have a ball bearing valve (a blitz valve to the Germans) and say to check pressure every fortnight, although I check weekly. They really do hold air well.

Push on presta pump heads work fine (both my shed and on-bike pumps are push on), although if the head washer needs replacing, it'll lose its grip on a Woods valve more easily than a Presta.

 

[raleighnut]

The reason is that the valve is designed so that air goes in and out by different routes (unlike Pesta and Schrader), so good ones are much less leaky. The impac ones have a ball bearing valve (a blitz valve to the Germans) and say to check pressure every fortnight, although I check weekly. They really do hold air well.

Push on presta pump heads work fine (both my shed and on-bike pumps are push on), although if the head washer needs replacing, it'll lose its grip on a Woods valve more easily than a Presta.

Plus you'll be able to use up that little rubber tube that came in the puncture kit in 1974.

 

[mjr]

Plus you'll be able to use up that little rubber tube that came in the puncture kit in 1974.

The ball bearing type doesn't have that! I just found and threw away another perished little rubber tube while fixing a puncture yesterday. They still come in Weldtite and Blackspur patch kits, among others.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Plus you'll be able to use up that little rubber tube that came in the puncture kit in 1974.

So that's what they were for.

 

[Pale Rider]

It's quite hard to get an accurate tyre pressure reading on a Woods valve.

Schwalbe say the squeeze test on a modern tyre is not reliable because of puncture protection belts.

Taking those two together, it's probably best to stick to schrader or presta unless you are not fussed about setting an accurate pressure.

Having said that, Woods - aka Dunlop - valves are still popular on trekking bikes in Germany and Holland.

 

[mjr]

It's quite hard to get an accurate tyre pressure reading on a Woods valve.

On-pump gauges seem to work fine: the pressure in the pump head increases until it's greater than the pressure in the tube, at which point the valve opens (in my case, by the ball bearing moving away from the opening) and the gauge tells you the pressure in the tube.

I suspect you can't easily use a non-pump gauge but the sorts of performance bike you'd use them on are likely to use Presta anyway, so the valve hole is too narrow to take a Woods valve (which is pretty much the same base width as Schrader).

Taking those two together, it's probably best to stick to schrader or presta unless you are not fussed about setting an accurate pressure.

Only if you want to engage in a bit of pumpy-pumpy more frequently - and both of them use valves that are held closed part-mechanically (by the schrader spring or presta nut), so the concept of "accurate pressure" is rather short-term by comparison.

I quite like being able to connect the presta head to all bikes and deflate an uncomfortable tyre slightly without removing the valve cap, too