id like to start riding again this summer after tooooo long looking at my flat tyres thinking i must get round to sorting those some time……

one of the valve pins seems bent, the others really stiff, probably with goo, so ive stripped them and intend buying a couple of new valves.

tyres took some getting off, and when i did some of the gunk was still runny, but most had dried, some of it onto the beads of the tyres as you can see below.

now im not too hung up on the weight aspect of the tyres with all that dried goo, i figure that itll mebbes be ensuring ill be less likely to get a puncture, but what about the bits on the tyre beads? is that ‘a good thing’ and will squidge onto the rims when i put them back? and if not, whats the best way of cleaning the beads up?

also, wheres the best place to buy a couple of new valves, its been a while :-/

many thanks.

Just give the tyres a quick wipe out with some rag.
Don’t worry about anything thats stuck on.
Presta valve cores of Ebay for a couple of quid.

As said use some new presta valve cores instead of buying new valves

I always pinch them out of knackered inner tubes i find so i have spares if mine get too gunked up

ah right thanks. just had a look on ebay and yes theres plenty of them, but even if they say delivered from london or manchester etc, the seller usually seems to be from china.

are these the ones you mean, or were you thinking of english sellers?

cheers

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/lifeline-presta-removable-valve-core-pack-of-4/rp-prod161980

thank you very much, ordered.

just an update and further question if you dont mind……

the overhaul has vastly improved the set-up, one tyre now stays up constantly, but, the others a little more troublesome still. it seems to stay up but then goes down overnight and the last time i pumped it up again i could still hear a slight leak from the valve.
the first time it did this i up-ended the wheel so the gunk would have covered the valve, and it seemed to stop it, but, still went down overnight.
this morning it did the same, but no amount of wiggling and shaking the wheel would stop the leak.

my question is, should i try and tighten the nut on the valve any more to ‘squeeze’ the rubber base into the hole a bit more? im just conscious that if i try and tighten it too much, it may deform/tear the rubber base and ill make it worse. whats your view on this? i could also put more gunk in, just to ensure it hasnt all been used sealing holes already.

advice appreciated, thanks

Air leaks through the valve even if it’s coming from somewhere else in the rim – might need to retape the rim. I’ve found that more gunk does help, but also riding the bike helps to get the beads settle and the gunk to disperse better.
(That said, I do believe dried gunk is BAD on the bead… definitely can cause leaks ime.)

thanks mate, ill try the easiest first, more gunk, then ride it for a while. i really hope it doesnt need retaping, thatd be a right faff :-/

cheers