# The rubber tube in a puncture repair kit



## abo (6 Jun 2011)

Whats it for???


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## Bromptonaut (6 Jun 2011)

Repairing a woods valve?


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## itchyrider (6 Jun 2011)

*They where for Maintaining - repairing woods valve
<a name="woods">
Woods Valve*
A type of valve very rarely seen in the U.S., which has a bottom similar to a Schrader and necks down to about the size of a Presta is the Woods valve, also known as the "Dunlop" valve. Woods valves were formerly popular in the British Isles and Asia. You can pump them up with a Presta pump. 











Woods valveSchrader valvePresta valve


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## chillyuk (6 Jun 2011)

I thought it was a condom for the less well endowed.


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## abo (6 Jun 2011)

Ah cool, thanks for that. And lol @chillyuk


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## corshamjim (6 Jun 2011)

I came across a Woods valve fairly recently (well. errm actually about 10 years ago) on a cheap unicycle my twin sister bought me for Christmas. Unfortunately I didn't persevere long enough to learn ride it and it eventually rusted and wasn't worth repairing.


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## abo (6 Jun 2011)

The peugeot I was given (and not started work on yet, oops) appears to have a woods valve on the front and a schrader on the rear... Think first purchase will be a new inner tube!


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## hotmetal (6 Jun 2011)

OMG I haven't seen a Woods valve since I last saw a '70s Dawes Kingpin! Do they still put those bits of rubber tube in puncture repair kits? I can't imagine anyone trying to repair a valve for which they'd probably have to buy a new pump anyway… any sensible person would get a modern inner tube for a couple of quid and be done with it. I suppose the manufacturers of those repair kits simply keep on churning them out without wondering whether anyone actually uses the valve tube...

Edit. I didn't realise you could pump them up with a presta valve pump either…


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## rusky (7 Jun 2011)

A friend in Belgium got a folding bike from Halfords (yes they are cursed with them there too!) & it had Woods valves on both wheels.

I found out that a presta pump would blow the little rubber piece into the tube rendering it useless!


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## abo (7 Jun 2011)

rusky said:


> A friend in Belgium got a folding bike from Halfords (yes they are cursed with them there too!) & it had Woods valves on both wheels.



A-ha, the repair kit I currently have (with rubber tube) was given to me by my father in law; it came in a little frame bag with a little pump, bottle and bike multitool. He was given it when he hired a bike in Belgium...


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## mark barker (7 Jun 2011)

hotmetal said:


> OMG I haven't seen a Woods valve since I last saw a '70s Dawes Kingpin! Do they still put those bits of rubber tube in puncture repair kits? I can't imagine anyone trying to repair a valve for which they'd probably have to buy a new pump anyway… any sensible person would get a modern inner tube for a couple of quid and be done with it. I suppose the manufacturers of those repair kits simply keep on churning them out without wondering whether anyone actually uses the valve tube...
> 
> Edit. I didn't realise you could pump them up with a presta valve pump either…


I've got Woods valves on my 10 month old road bike... They confused the hell out of me when i came to check the pressures! I can't work out how you're meant to pump them up with a presta valve pump, I've needed an adaptor to use any pump so far.


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## tyred (7 Jun 2011)

I have numerous bikes with Woods valves, mostly vintage bikes but also my 1990s MTB which came with them and still has the original inner tubes.

The type which used the little rubber tubes are cool because you can repair them but are hard work to blow up and often lose pressure (spit into the rubber tube to seal it for another while). Most of the ones you'll see today are like a mini-schrader type valve inside and work absolutely fine but you can't check the pressure but my thumb is all the pressure guage I need for a roadster. I've never had a problem blowing them up with a pump meant for presta valves. I certainly wouldn't bin perfectly good tubes just because they have Woods valves.

I would never put modern valves in my vintage Elswicks. Just looks wrong (even though they were most probably exported to the States with Schrader valves).


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## John the Monkey (7 Jun 2011)

"It's a snorkel for bees."

-(c) Mr. Paul


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