what is going on here?

[clutterydrawer]

This will turn out to be another of my questions with a really obvious answer but never mind.

ALL I'm trying to do is put in a new inner tube, which I must have done thrity times or more in the past, and I can't get the **** valve through the hole in the wheel. It's too big. Surely holes don't get smaller and valves don't grow, I feel like I'm going mad.

Although I am seriously considering scrapping the bike and walking my 22 mile daily commute as I've had 6 punctures in the last week.

 

[Landslide]

Apologies if this is telling you how to suck eggs...

Are you trying to put a Schrader (car type) valve in, and did you previously have a Presta valve (skinnier, with a little widget you have to unscrew before inflating)?

See this page for illustrations (scroll down to "Valve")

If so, beware that a Schrader (or indeed Woods) valve won't fit through a hole drilled for a Presta valve.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

get some schwalbe marathon + tyres...bit of a pig to fit but once on they are bullet proof...I rode heavily loaded all over Europe and not a single puncture

 

[Paulus]

As expressed by landslide, have you got the right tube? A quick look at the tube you took out and the replacement you are trying to put on should reveal all. It could also be that the rim tape has moved slightly and is covering the hole in the rim.

 

[PatrickPending]

to make sure you could try putting the valve through the hole with the tyre off to make sure it actually will (or won't) go through.

 

[Cubist]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I want to replace a Presta tube with a Schraeder on my daughter's old bike. The difference looks like about 1 to 2mm dia between the two. Would carefully drilling the hole wide enough to accept the Schraeder do irrepairable damage, bearing in mind the wheel is a not particularly expensive machine-built alloy affair?

 

[Randochap]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I want to replace a Presta tube with a Schraeder on my daughter's old bike. The difference looks like about 1 to 2mm dia between the two. Would carefully drilling the hole wide enough to accept the Schraeder do irrepairable damage, bearing in mind the wheel is a not particularly expensive machine-built alloy affair?

Sure, just drill it out.

 

[threefingerjoe]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I want to replace a Presta tube with a Schraeder on my daughter's old bike. The difference looks like about 1 to 2mm dia between the two. Would carefully drilling the hole wide enough to accept the Schraeder do irrepairable damage, bearing in mind the wheel is a not particularly expensive machine-built alloy affair?

As someone else said, just drill it out. SOME rims are too narrow to get by with drilling, as it can weaken the rim, but on your "daughter's old bike", I doubt that it's that narrow. This is commonly done. I prefer Schrader valves, myself. In fact, I bought a new bike that has some pretty narrow rims, and was wondering if I could get by with drilling them, and, upon closer inspection, realized that they were already drilled, and had a bushing in the hole to bush it down to Presta size. All I had to do was remove the bushing. Just be sure that after you drill it, you use a fine, round file, to remove any burrs around the hole that could damage the new tube.

 

[jimboalee]

Drill it

I've done it. Converted my old Rigida alloy singleskin 27 x 1 1/4" from Presta to Schrader.
The reason was my workplace had a 'car' type pressure hose, and I couldn't resist using it.

Anyway, anytime in the future, you can convert back by asking for a pair of plastic ferules fron your LBS.

BTW, for really long Audaxing, its better to have Schrader, cus garages have airhoses.
Schrader DO hold 120 psi.

 

[clutterydrawer]

It's a tube I've used before! And it's identical to the one on the back wheel, which is fine.