A bike tire tube stem is the small metal valve on traditional
bicycle tubes that
allows you to attach a pump and fill up your tube with air. The
tube stem typically comes in two different designs, each with
its own advantages and disadvantage.
Schraeder
Bicycle Tube Valve:
These valves are also spelled as "Schrader" or "Shrader"
so don't let that throw you off, they are all referring to the
same valve that you are familiar with on a standard car tire.
I has been around for a long time. A lot of less expensive bikes
are still using these on their bike tire tube. Stem design is
quite bulky though, so newer bikes especially road bikes with
narrow rims, have reinvented the tube stem with a much slimmer
profile.
All schraeder bike tube valves have a removable core that allows
the insertion of tire sealant (ie. a chemical that resides in
the tube to seal small puncture holes on the fly). Be careful
here though as some tire and tube manufacturer will void their
warranty if a sealant is used, so ask first.
Bicycle Tubes with a schraeder tube stem have a couple of advantages:
- Readily available, when you get caught needing a replacement
- Can be filled at the local gas station without having to remember
the adapter fitting.
- Easy to remove the valve core and fill with sealant
- More rugged in design, thus more forgiving when filling and
a better choice for young children that are choosing to fill
their own tires.
That being said they do require more pump power to fill. The
air flow must first be able to lower the spring holding the valve
closed before it can begin filling the bicycle tube itself.
Related Information:
Bicycle Tubes
