How to Use a Presta to Schrader Valve Adapter- and Why Presta Is Better 

Wow, thanks! I acquired a euro ebike that has Presta valves & my pump is for Schrader only. I stopped in my local bike shop & the guy was trying to convince me to spend approx. $100.+ to have him switch out my valves & tubes from Presta to Schrader 😐. I asked him about an adapter & he claimed they didn’t sell them, he didn’t know ANYthing about that, & no one at the store did either. 🚩 (Red flag!). Been biking for decades & I sensed I was not being told the truth. So here I am on RU-vid learning about this less than a dollar part!!! Unbelievable! THANKS 🙌

Being 'older' riders and just up grading our old bikes, my wife and I went to put air in the tires before riding and guess what? a valve we'd never seen before. Called the bike shop and they said bring the bikes in to get air, 20+ miles away, went to Walmart of all places after watching your video and got two adapters for $2.00. ( No one at the bike shop mentioned the valves when we bought the bikes) Thank You.

This solved my problem! Thanks for the help! That adapter is key

Thank you, we keep bending presta valves whilst topping up on trails :)

Thank you isn’t enough. Nobody has ever shown me to put the adapter directly on the valve… what a difference. Sincerely from 🇨🇦

Really helpful video… and the tip at the end about closing the valve and putting the adapter back on for the double seal is something I’m going to try myself when I get my adapters delivered. Thank you

Coolski, got it going. Had two adapters one smallet and one larger. If you look closely at the valve it has two different threads. The small one did not work, but the larger one did. No need to tighten too much. And you need to be careful not to screw the little thingy with your converter. Test with a pen or similar

Thank you for posting this video. I just recently got back into biking and didn’t realize a presta valve was a thing until I saw this on my Trek Verve 3

I finally purchased a nice bike (Specialized) and never knew how to use a Presta. This was very helpful. Thank you.🚴

Very well done video that answers the one question I had about closing screw after inflation

Thank you! I’m new to road biking! And this was super helpful and your video matched the title!

I have a Specialized Fat Boy, and couple of times I've had to replace a tube. Even with a good quality floor pump, it's exhausting work to inflate the tubes from scratch. During the Florida winter months I take longer rides and I dread getting a flat tire because it means having to pump it up with a small hand pump even though it's designed for fat bike tubes. I dread ever having to inflate a tube with the hand pump, and I've been looking at the adapters and perhaps carrying a battery-powered pump on the bike. I wondered how the adapters work, so I'm glad to have found your video. Thank you.

Just bought a Gazelle bike that had the adapter fitted. It really confused me! Interestingly, the bike shop sold me inner tubes with Schrader valves. Thanks for explaining what was going on.

Excellent tutorial! Thanks for the tip on the adapter

Great video, I bought a 2020 Giant Talon bike when the pandemic hit and I only rode it for a few months, put it away and was never able to pump up my tires. Now I know what I need

Short, sweet, and helpful. Many thanks.

Thank you. Explains a few things with regards to my grandchildren's bikes. As for " old school", everthing started somewhere. 😎🐯

very good! that is exactly the info I was looking for. Keep up the good work

Thank you, that was a great video and covered what I was after.

Thanks for showing up close how to put it on and in what order. Seems very basic but it’s my first time handling a Presta valve .. on a bike worth 8k … full of sealant in the tubeless tire . The visual helped give confidence

Very informative my guy! Thanks

I first used my bike frame mounted pump on a Presta valve after changing a flat on the road. I aired up, unscrewed the pump and out came the Presta valve core. I put the core back in with a little damage to it and limped home. I searched online and found out about these adapters. Now I feel safer on the road. At home I air up with a floor pump and no adapter since the adapter is too wide for the floor pump clamp on nozzle. I also bought a Presta valve core tightening tool with some spare cores.

Thanks for the tip of keeping the adapter on the valve!

Thank you I've just ordered adaptors .👍🏻👍🏻 Really helpful video . 🤗

Thank you so much for the good explanation. I can ride my bike again. Helped so much with this video👍

Thanks Scott... just what i needed to see!

Omg thank you for this video because one I have a Ryobi pump just like the one in your video and two my full suspension bike has tubeless tires..very helpful..!!!

For chrissakes.....lol. Thank you for the video! These simple, detailed explanations are the best!!

Exactly what I was look for, thanks for the help!!!!

Useful video, thanks for making!

Thanks for the straightforward information. 😊

Scott, you are spot on about that Ryobi inflator. I've had the analog version and it's been bulletproof. Actually, the whole Ryobi One-Plus ecosystem is an amazing value, and Home Depot has those... and probably lots of other stores sell these Ryobi products, but Home Depot has pretty much everything that Ryobi offers in that line, and Amazon, not so much. And no, I don't work for HD or Ryobi. Also, the Ryobi inflator already comes with a Presta adapter, it's the gray plastic thing, slipped over the basketball needle. But buying more Presta adapters is a good idea anyway.

Thank you! This was very helpful.

thanks for the info, i lol'ed when you showed your ryobi pump 😃

Thanks for the info. It was very useful to me. Cheers.

Thank you for teaching me how to inflate a tire with a presta valve. No adapter needed with my Bell Air Attack 650 pump which can do both valve types.

thanks for the video time index. really saved time

These things are such a pain in the rear. I already have many tools and gauges for a Shrader valve. Even using adapters doesn’t work correctly for some things like my gauges. The first upgrade to my new bike will be to change to Shrader valves.

Yes it helped, I’ve never seen a presta valve before. Now I don’t have to break it.

Thanks for the content! It is really helpful, i am kinda new to presta 👍👍👍

Thanks great tips straight to the point i have the same electric pump and have a presta valve bike now this tut helped alot.😚

Thank you very very much for sharing this with us.actually I didn't know Twist and open up this before the air blows.

Really nice presentation. Well Done.

Tnx Scott. Even my wife will be able to use the adapter now. Rather annoying that the adapters are not included, or at the very least mentioned when buying a pump.

i had 4 tubes pop in less than a week, finally on the fourth swap my bike shop found a problem with the tire, so we fixed that, but he didnt have any 27.5" x 3.0" tubes in schrader, so i got presta, and they made it so much more confusing than it had to be for me to learn how to inflate it 🤣 Thanks for the help for my first air refill

I hate pumping up my bicycle tire that has a Presta valve. And I know how important correct tire pressure is for a good riding experience. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks cutie! This helps me a lot. I’ll grab a presta adapter tomorrow.

Thanks! Very helpfull!

This was super helpful 💪🏾💯

Super helpful!

I did not know such a thing existed... I smashed it.

crazy i came to this video because I have one of those Ryobi pumps and was trying to find an adapter for my presta bikes so I could use it. Then you wipe the exact one I have out. Haha nice.

Thanks for the details

Not going to lie to you I had the skinny and facing towards the tire not away from the tire that was my biggest problem thank you so much.

So helpful. Thank you

Thanks man. I needed the help!

Nice one very helpful 👍

Great explanation

Thanks super helpful!

I like the leave it on the bike idea

thanks this was helpful!

That helped a lot. I got a new tire and I have no idea how to put the air in the tire but it has one of those little adapters on it

Thanks a million my good man, such a good tutorial 👌 👏

Thank you for the help

Very helpful . Thankyou

Thank you. Great help!

thats a great help

I have Presta in the front and Shrader in the rear. I'm an auto detailer and have the larger Ryobi pump with the adaptor; I wasn't sure about the screw part. I'm not sure I understand the reason for the difference, although I got the Presta by mistake because it has the numbers my bike's tire does. It's okay though, the tube is fine, just different. I hear they are for higher-end bikes, but mine came from an online sale for $85. Presta met my budget. Should be called "Presto"! Thanks for the tips!

Very helpful

Thanks man!!

Thanks Scott

Nice one mate!

Thank you!

those Ryobi inflators are great..... tires, balls, beach rafts etc.

Brillant, thanks

Both valves work fine. Both will hold pressure. Both will not unintentionally let out pressure. My car, mountain bike, Onewheel, Sur Ron and BMX bike all have schrader valves. No issues. I have however had the little screw cap come off a presta valve and it wouldn’t stay closed. A shcrader valve, when under pressure, will always close. Just my $0.02. But great review on the adaptor as it’s what I’m looking for since my mini pump and c02 inflator only allow for presta valves.

Thanks Buddy 👍🏻

Thank you 🙏🏽

Excellent perfect video

Good tip

I feel like the presta valves are very delicate, I leave my schrader adapters on.

Thanks!

GREAT DIMO THANK YOU

The best bike pumps for dealing with Presta valves are the German topeak pumps. They lock on very nicely. I have no choice but to use Presta valves. On my 42mm deep Aero wheelset. They require 60mm long presta valves. Luckily for me a knowledgeable guy in a bike shop. Told me about Topeak bike pumps. And I have a mini morph one. Its AWESOME. And Ive never had a problem. They tend to hold the air better than Schrader inner tubes in my experience. I had 100 PSI in my tires. And they only dropped to 89 PSI in a month. I remember Schrader tubes dropping to less than 50 PSI over a similar time period...

Hated presta, now I love them

Thks, yes helpful.

Very cool

New to cycling and have had less issues with Schrader, and presta valvles are for looking cool. Hard to pick which ones better.

The Ryobi inflator actually comes with its own presta adapter. They put it over the needle valve adapter in the accessory tray so they can fit three adapters in two slots. It's not the best quality since it's plastic. But it's there.

I'm going to give people a "hack" I found out about a few years ago that most people don't know about. Hate to correct the content creator on this one, but I do not see any inherent advantage a Presta valve has over a Schrader valve, and here's why: On any air gauge you can buy at any bike shop, any gas station, big-box department store like Dollar General, Family Dollar, or Wal-Mart, or any hardware, auto parts, or tool store (i.e., Harbor Freight), what you will find is what looks like a small tip on the back side of where you put the gauge on a Schrader valve to check air pressure. What that tip is for, believe it or not, is as a release tool for the Schrader valve in case you over-inflate your tires! In other words, a pump puts air in, and that tip on the back side of the air gauge presses in the valve to let air out. So no, you do not need a small screwdriver to release the air from a Schrader valve, because if you've got an air gauge, you also have an air release tool already that is built in to the gauge. Happy cruising!

You're the best man, thanks for saving my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The adapter is nice, but it won't work with most schrader gauges, so while you can inflate, you can't check your tire pressure. Really shines a light on how having a second standard, even if slightly more "user friendly", is ultimately quite hostile by the simple fact that it is a second, slightly different standard, requiring adapters and sometimes two of the same tool. If you have a choice, always get schrader valves on your bike. It'll make your life a lot easier.

That's awesome, I came here to see if I was doing it wrong and apparently we have the same setup lol I too use a Ryobi compressor like that one with the digital gauge, except it doesn't give me the most accurate reading, I notice when I pull the trigger or even let go of it it starts reducing in PSI. I don't think the tire is losing air but I feel like the compressor isn't giving that accurate of a reading? I'm doing exactly what you're doing. The only thing is I can't see your reading in the video, there is a glare. any suggestions? thought about even getting the next compressor up from Ryobi and trying that. it comes with a gold medal adapter unlike this one with a plastic one.

Awesome

Hi Scott, I have the same type bike pump that you showed early in the video and I can't figure out how to use it on a presta valve. Any chance you could explain that for me?

and Presta valves look so much nicer than those old Schrader ones IMO, I have just converted 2 old Mavic M231s to presta, which can easily be done with grommets or old plastic valve caps

Thanks! Would you know why air tip unscrews, but it’s loose and when I put the adapter on, it pushes the tip in? Any ideas

I like these simple videos to confirm what I already know. I'm normally left with one other burning question like. "Are their fake presta Valve adapters, and how can you tell the difference??"

Hi how can you convert a presta valve to schrader valve every time i try to pump my tire the threads break off the top of the valve is there a tip for the pump that supports the whole valve and not just the little threaded part at the top or is there some kind of fitting that will screw on the weak presta valve to give it more support when filling the tire thanks

Thanks 👍