Valve Snob

I'm a believer.  I believe in Schwalbe tire tubes.  Well, to be fair, I believe in metal valve stems.  Schwalbe just happens to be the brand my LBS carries.

My road to conversion came to an end yesterday when yet another Giant Schrader valve split when I attached the pump nozzle to its fragile, threaded mouth.  That was the sixth tube rendered useless by a sensitive valve stem.  There was no doubt about it anymore, it was time to change brands.  I admit, I had been in denial.  Maybe it was that crappy floor pump I picked up at Walmart last year.  I replaced it with a fancy and overpriced BBB model.  Maybe there was a rough spot in the rim's bore.  OK, there can't be a rough spot in every single bore of every rim in on the Varsity, Trek, and the Diamondback.  Nope, I had to face facts- the problem was the stems.  While the cause for the rubber failure may have been the temperature fluctuations in our shipping container, there's nothing to be done about that.  It was time to move on.

It always seems to happen when I'm running late.  While I have full intent and purpose to get down to the bike garage and check my tire pressure earlier in the day, inevitably I will be rushing at the last minute.  Friday was one of those days.  I already wasted five minutes looking for my gloves and my husband was waiting at the bus stop 4 towns south for our afternoon ride.  I was frazzled.  It looked like rain, so I grabbed the Trek off the rack and nudged the pump's nozzle over the valve.  I hadn't even locked it down when that awful sound- Pssssssfpppphhhhh hit my ears and that familiar hole in the valve stem appeared gaping open, laughing at me.

"Now you're never gonna make it!  Might as well just cancel.  I, the faulty valve stem, have defeated you yet again.  Muwahaha"

Not be beaten by a stupid little tube, I jumped on the Varsity despite the impending rain and the worn out 40-something year old saddle clamp that keeps slipping.  I was late, but I got to the bus stop and we went for our ride.  Thankfully, it didn't rain.  Unfortunately, after all that, I forgot my gloves.

One thing was certain, however.  From now on I'm only buying tubes with metal valve stems.  No more floppy stems that have to be forced into the pump.  No more crappy valve caps that sheer away.  None of this splitting open when I'm running late crap.  Nope, no matter if they're Presta or Schrader, I'm using tubes with a metal stem.

That's that.