Fillmore Valve – did the worst bit of bike tech just get better?

I’d be interested to see how nicely these play with Cushcore or other inserts that sit right up against the rim…

It seems pretty universally agreed in the mountain bike world that Presta valves are horrible. Fiddly little bits of tech that leak, clog, spontaneous …

You wot?

Yeah, Presta was fine until tubeless sealant came along.

Don’t worry about the price. Cheap copies coming from Alibaba in 3..2..1..

Weird… are you people not using tubeless sealant? Because all the issues this seeks to address happen regularly for me.

Use Stans, have been tubeless for donkey’s years on several bikes (MTB and road). Never had a Presta valve clog, or break, or leak. The only issue is, as above, inserts can impede the air flow (which, realistically, just means a bit more pumping effort required).

It’s worth pointing out that it doesn’t look like you can remove the valve core (for tubeless setup) on these?

I don’t think I’m the target market for these things, but if some people find them helpful, that’s great.

1. They don’t admit that much air which reduces flow rate and can hinder tyres seating
2. The little pip on the end can bend and break off
3. You have to remove the core to get sealant in, and this can be hard when it’s gummed up.
4. Conversely, if you want to undo the pip to let air out you can sometimes remove the core by mistake.
5. Doesn’t always seal that well on the inside of the rim

Can’t really argue with any of that. Most of the time I can seat a tyre with the valve cores in place and a high volume pump but this doesn’t mean that there is no room for improvement though.

I’m resigned to replacing the gummed up presta valve cores on our mountain bikes every year or so these days. It’s one of the (small) prices of tubeless. I’ve forced the nut off the end of the thread, so that I can disassemble the core and give it a good clean, but that’s all a bit rubbish considering the price of a new, clean, intact core.

Great that this also throttles airflow less – should make it easier to inflate tyres quickly to get them seated. Yes you can always remove the presta core to reduce the throttle anyway….

Would I consider them on a new build? Yes (assuming <£10 each). Would I ditch the valves on my current wheels? No…

I really like the look of these. I’m sure anyone who uses Lezyne hand-pumps will too. No more random core removal by the trailside.

Are presta valves perfect? No.

Are they £40 worth of imperfect? Also No.

Nailed it…

Are presta valves perfect? No.

Are they £40 worth of imperfect? Also No.

+1

TBH I’m surprised it’s taken ~20 years since tubeless came out to develop a new valve.

But £40? Lifetime guarantee or not that’s a lot.

Looks nice, not sure it does much more than the current setup, but the one thing that would stop me buying these is that it doesn’t appear to be able to be used to pour sealant in, so would mean reverting to having the tyre off the rim a little, so unseating it and having the nightmare of inflating it up unseated and with sealant in it!

If I want fancy valves I’ll use Milkit. Let’s you add more sealant without having to let your tyres down all the way so reduces faffage of reinflating problem tyres

Its not £40 cos Presta valves aren’t free.

True. Only £36 then.

Its not £40 cos Presta valves aren’t free.

Don’t be coming in here stating facts.

Just checked, DT Swiss valves 8.99 each (call it £18 a pair).
Muc off £21.99 a pair
Lifeline £9.99 a pair
Schwalbe £16

So comparing to the CHEAPEST ones I could see it’s £30 more. Compared to Muc off it’s 18 quid more.

*If* they work as claimed and you suffer from any of the problems (I get gummed up valves, which can be a pain when you find out and need to pump up the tyre on the trail for example) then it may be considered an acceptable cost.

But if you’ve never had an issue or dont care then the headline price is a bit steep.

True but I normally only replace the core which are about 50p

I’m not sure this is the solution but Presta valves have no place on a mountain bike feels like the last hangover from road biking left they are fragile I once broke snapped 4 in a row on a ride in the lakes in the pouring rain it was proper grim and now with tubeless they are prone to blocking. If you were start with a blank sheet of paper you’d never come up with the Presta valve, it should go the way of quick releases, rim brakes and threaded headsets if you ask me.

The other option is just to fit Schrader tubeless valves, options include Nutrak, Stans, Joe’s etc etc.

Easy to run a drill through the valve hole I. The rim if it is presta only. Carbon excluded obvs.

Better – but still less good than Schrader (2 of which can be had for £9)

I don’t buy the not needing an inflator claim, I dont see how this makes any difference at all to seating tyres; consequently, if I cant remove the valve core will it work with my ghetto tyre inflator, probably not. Also the ‘dust cap’ is integral part of the system now rather than an annoying thing its fine to lose.

Weird… are you people not using tubeless sealant? Because all the issues this seeks to address happen regularly for me

Get the pitch forks out – we still use tubes (with Presta valves) .

We also have QR on the rear wheels 😁