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Tried to fix a slow leak on my commuter and made things way worse last night
I was patching a slow leak on my rear tire (a Schwalbe Marathon, 700x35c) and I think I pinched the tube with my tire lever. Now the valve stem is actually bent and it hisses air from the base. Anyone know if you can replace just the tube valve core on a Presta valve or is the whole tube trash now?
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fiona3321mo ago
Ah man, bent valve stems are the worst. I think it's a whole-tube situation unfortunately (those presta cores are glued in on most tubes). Funny how one small mistake snowballs into a bigger problem, kind of like when you try to clean one spot on a shirt and end up soaking the whole thing.
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brooke4841mo ago
Yeah "one small mistake snowballs into a bigger problem" really hit home... I used to think you could just swap out the valve core on any Presta tube no problem. I watched a YouTube video once where a guy did it with pliers and a little screwdriver and I figured it was standard. But after actually trying on a few different brands I learned the hard way that most cheap tubes have the cores glued in or pressed in so they don't come out without tearing the whole base. It's a total pain because you think you're saving five bucks and then you just end up with a useless tube and a bent stem you can't fix. Now I always check the tube packaging before I buy to see if the core is replaceable or I just grab a new tube and move on.
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