Tube or Tubeless - that is the question

[bmcecosse]

I wonder what a 'metal valve holder' is ??? And the 'all weather' one?? My wheels just have a hole - either the tube valve, or the tubeless valve go through it........no 'holder' as such.

[les]

The holder is the bit that the valve screws into! It's either rubber or metal, the metal type is threaded with a nut to secure it to the wheel.

[bmcecosse]

Not seen a metal one on a Minor wheel.....The rubber 'pull through' valve assembly is what I have -and I suspect all other tubeless Minor wheels too........ It is the larger of the two sizes available that is required........

[autolycus]

Philthehill is, strictly speaking, correct. Confusion arises, perhaps, because the first tubeless tyres were crossplies, and the relevant British Standard (BS AU 50, Part 2, Section B) says this about the standard "drop centre rim", as fitted to Minors, "This type of rim is recommended for tube or tubeless diagonal tyres and tube type radial tyres only. This rim should not be used for tubeless radial tyres, unless a tube is fitted." So the handbook is correct in saying tubeless are OK - because it probably meant tubeless crossplies.

Four or five years ago I tried to find anyone in the tyre or wheel industries who could give chapter and verse on the reason for this. No-one could think of an example of a tyre de-beading unless the tyre had hit something massively hard, as with skidding sideways into a kerb. My decision - and I'm not trying to persuade anyone else to agree - was that the added safety of tubeless tyres from deflation following a puncture outweighed the small risk of generating enough lateral force at the tread to fetch a tyre off the bead. Ye Gods, it takes enough effort to shift one when there's no air in the tyre forcing it outwards, as when changing a tyre.

If you're fitting tubeless for the first time, make sure you or your tyre fitter have the right size valves - they're the larger diameter ones on some (all?) Minors.

Kevin