Protecting tyre valves
 

On my last trip I had two tyres go flat because the tyre valve developed a small hole where it joins the tube. They were good quality Michelin tubes and on my previous trip I also had one tyre do this.

So is there anything to do to stop this happening? When I replaced the tubes with new Michelin ones they had little plastic bits that seemed to be designed to stop this happening (2 black bits of plastic that clip together to form a protective barrier around the valve). Any experience with these? Do they work or just cause more problems?

I guess the obvious answer is to move to tubeless rims (my tyres will do tubeless) but that would involve ditching 6 very good rims and buying 6 new ones so I'm not that keen on that idea unless the advantages far outway the disadvantages.

Hi Darrin,

Strange one with the tubes....are the valve stems 'straight' or are they angled when the holes develop ? - could it be tyre creep -like a bike tyre ??? are the tyres tight on the rims and the bead difficult to break -if so its not that !!!

have you checked the seat where the tube valve stem goes through the rim ?- any rough edges that pinch or hole the tube, that need sanding down ? - did it occur on different rims or same ?

Ive been using tubeless now for a long time - and really think its much better - I still carry emergency tubes -but strings are fine for most punctures. You need a decent compressor to reseat though.

Having one less part in the system means theres less to go wrong -and with less friction/heat build up tyres run cooler and last longer IMO.

Cheers
Grif

Cheers - the valves are all straight and everything seems well fitted. A couple of the rims I had spray painted myself so I shall check that the edges don't have little hard blobs of paint on them.

Other than that could it be sand/dirt getting in there and rubbing?

When you run on tubeless, and thus use tubeless rims, how do you get a tube with a valve in there and pumped up? Surely there is no hole for the vavle to poke out of?

mmm sand in there - It could be -but more likely something catching I would think....look at the damage on the tube and you should be able to tell the difference - if its sand it will look perforated -a single sharp rub point will cause more of a hole/tearing....

I just pull out the tubeless valve stem with some pliers and make sure the tube stem that I have fits through the hole befor I leave ! - the base of the stem size and shape varies a bit between tube manufactors - some old Disco steel rims are fairly cheap and easy to find - they are 7 inch so fine with 235+ tyres.(I run BFG Muds on Defender and BFG A/T on Disco)

let us know the results and what you decide on.

Cheers
Grif

Darrin,

When you deflate a tyre it will have a tendency to rotate on the rim. No problem with the tubeless type, but the tube valve will stay put and tear on its stem. It seems likely this is your problem. If so, I don't think there's an easy way to cure this problem rather than checking regularly and reseating the tyre.

Thanks guys,

I never deflated the tyres on the whole trip so I doubt thats it, but when I fix the tyre this week I will have a look.

"I just pull out the tubeless valve stem with some pliers and make sure the tube stem that I have fits through the hole befor I leave ! - the base of the stem size and shape varies a bit between tube manufactors"

Sorry but I have no idea what a tubeless valve stem is! or what you mean at all ;-) In very simple terms please!

I use Michelin 7.50 R16 XZY's

Darrin, tubeless tyres and tubed tyres both need a valve to put the air in! They both use the same hole in the rim!!!
The difference between a tubeless and tubed rim is the lip where the beading sits. The tubeless rims have a extra lip to 'grip' the tyre. This is why it is so hard to brake the bead on a tubeless rim. Search on the internet for the profile view of wheel rims. You'll see that tubed rims are quite simple, and tubeless are a little more involved.
The plastic thing on the valve that you are talking about is possibly a spacer if you have narrow valves. On most Landies they have fat neck valves, but some inner tubes come with thin neck valves stems so these have a collar to stop the valve stem moving about too much in the large hole in the rim.

Go tubeless!!

Cheers,
Matt

If the valve is rubbing on the edge of the hole, you could try drilling it out by a few MM, then making sure that the "inside" of the hole has a nice champfer on it so there are no sharp edges to catch.

Tubeless valve stem
 

Darrin,A tubeless valve stem is the type of valve used for tubeless tyres, it looks just like a tyre tube valve stem on th eoutside of the wheel rim, but on the inside it has a half sphere to keep it secured onto the rim. Is this clear enough?I have recently had Michelin tubes and XZY tyres put on my split rims. The tube stems seems to have a swivelling ability, the valve stem of the tubes can move (swing) parallel with the rim, is this similar to the type you are having trouble with?Chris