Valves for bike tires come in exactly two flavors: Presta and Schrader. It’s binary, either/or, and both types have strengths and weaknesses. That is, until now. Clik Valve is the first new valve in … hell, I don’t know how long it’s been since someone tried to rethink the lowly tire valve.
I’ll start with the basics: The core of the system (no pun intended, but am thoroughly aware) is the valve core. Clik Valve takes the Presta stem as its starting point. The bore of the valve core is larger than with a standard Presta and there is less material in the valve core, which increases airflow by 50 percent. A top-down view of the valve core shows a small pin that opens the valve when depressed.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person on this planet who slid a Presta pump head onto a valve stem without depressing the valve once to make sure it would open and then, upon the first stroke of the pump, had the head go flying off. I’m also not the only person who ever scraped their knuckles when my fingertips slid of the Schrader pump head as I was flipping the lever tight. Clik Valve makes those experiences things of the past, kinda like chain record stores.
The top of the valve features a tapered collar onto which the pump head clicks. That is, it locks on when depressed. The fit is secure to the point of being worry-free. Click it on and start pumping. To remove the pump head simply give a small tug, as in so small that there’s no chance of the user’s hand flying backward and bladed spokes cutting their fingers. All of this is reinforced with a satisfying audible click.
So how good is the airflow? Clik Valve claims that you can use your pump to seat a tubeless tire, eliminating the need for chambered pumps or compressors. Before I endorse their view, let me say that I’ve encountered some rims that made seating a tire difficult even with a compressor, but as rim designs continue to evolve, that happens less and less. I can verify that it is possible to seat a tubeless gravel tire without removing the valve core, though I did charge the chamber on my Topeak Joeblow Booster and use that to unleash an initial blast of air to help seat the tire. The difference relative to my previous experience is that I didn’t need to remove the valve core in order to achieve enough airflow to seat the tire, saving me from the time-wasting steps of removing the valve head, letting all the air whoosh out, reinserting the valve core, tightening it and then pumping the tire back up to the desired pressure. In the grandest of schemes, little spuds, but srsly, fewer steps is mental energy I get to reserve for more important stuff, like negotiating dinner with my boys.
A complete Clik Valve kit, which includes a pump head that replaces the existing one on your pump, two alloy valve stems, two brass valve cores and two replacement rubber rim bases, goes for $46. Stems come in 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100mm lengths. A set of two complete tubeless valves goes for $28. Not exactly cheap, but not a big investment. But what about those of us with upward of a half-dozen sets of wheels who may be thinking: “Yeah, but converting all those wheels?” I have good news on that front.
A set of two Presta valve cores goes for $12. A pair of Schrader adapters runs just $9. If, like many of us, you’ve got a pump with one of those two-way heads, they make a Schrader pump head adapter will tack on $12.95. In other words, it’s possible to set up two bikes with Clik Valve for as little as $36.95.
To keep prevent anything from fouling (blocking) the valve core, Clik Valve includes one of two different valve caps. They make an alloy, thread-on version that doubles as a core removal tool as well as push-on plastic caps that click into position, same as the pump head.
Final thought: No more replacing worn-out pump head seals.