Cycling UK Forum

I've just brought home the latest addition to my fleet, a beautiful Gazelle Toer "opafiets".

Spent a bit of time fitting accessories to it (battery powered lights to back-up the dynamo ones, coffee cup holder etc.) Then thought I'd better check the tyre pressures and found (after some googleing) that the tubes have Woods valves.

I consider them to be a pain in the saddle area and it seems I'm not the only one to have issues with these historic relics

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=104302&hilit=woods+valve

Why the hell does anyone still manufacture the damned things, they're a sod to pump up and the pressure is near impossible to check with a gauge! As soon as I need to replace the tubes I'll be fitting Schraeder valves.

Whinge over!

Very common on Dutch bikes I understand - after finding them fitted to my Bakfiets long john. I was a bit perplexed at first about how to pump them up but have found the clip on presta valve pump fittings do the job with no hassles. In fact I now find Schrader a bit of a struggle, since if the pump fitting isn't fully on it doesn't press the valve in to let in the air.

My Gazelle Impala came with Woods also called Dunlop valves in the Netherlands. The Dutch and Germans use them but the last bike I had with them was in the 1960s.
For UK use I replaced the inner tubes with Schraeder valves.
I still take the Gazelle back to the Netherlands. Best for flat lands rather than the Derbyshire hills

resus1uk wrote:My Gazelle Impala came with Woods also called Dunlop valves in the Netherlands. The Dutch and Germans use them but the last bike I had with them was in the 1960s.
For UK use I replaced the inner tubes with Schraeder valves.
I still take the Gazelle back to the Netherlands. Best for flat lands rather than the Derbyshire hills

The Gazelles certainly require a different style of riding even to a modern(ish) hybrid. Thankfully my bit of London is relatively flat as long as I stay away from Highgate

IMHO Woods valves are perfectly functional pieces of kit.

They in fact have several advantages over Schrader valves, not all of which are apparent on first acquaintance.

Note that familiarity with any one type does not make it 'better' per se; I well recall encountering a bicycle with Schrader valves on it for the first time (having had Presta and Woods prior to that) and thinking 'what a stupid design for a bicycle valve' .

However, decades later, part of me still thinks that; Schrader valves are still my third choice of valve on my own bikes.

cheers

Brucey wrote:IMHO Woods valves are perfectly functional pieces of kit.

They in fact have several advantages over Schrader valves, not all of which are apparent on first acquaintance.

Note that familiarity with any one type does not make it 'better' per se; I well recall encountering a bicycle with Schrader valves on it for the first time (having had Presta and Woods prior to that) and thinking 'what a stupid design for a bicycle valve' .

However, decades later, part of me still thinks that; Schrader valves are still my third choice of valve on my own bikes.

cheers

Certainly in the old days of screw on pump connectors they were particularly stupid; you could lose half the air unscrewing the connector off the valve stem.

If you don't like Woods valves, a Presta valve should be a straight fit on the same rim.

Bmblbzzz wrote:If you don't like Woods valves, a Presta valve should be a straight fit on the same rim.

I think you mean Schrader. Prestas are narrower.

My main bike has Woods valves. I may convert the other non-Presta ones to them as tubes fail. They seem to stay pumped up better, I can let a bit of air out if needed without even removing the valve cap and I can leave the single-headed pumps set to Presta/Woods.

I don't understand why the OP has problems checking the pressure with the pump gauge - they seem no worse than Presta in that regard. Bad gauge, maybe?

Yes, Schrader, of course. I was thinking of their compatability with Presta pumps. Which tends to suggest that Woods valves combine the best of both types! Or maybe the worst. Or maybe not.

My dad bought me a new bike for my 13th birthday - Hercules with 3sp SA and steel mudguards. It was bright red and I loved it.
Wish I had a photograph of it.

From what I remember ............ dad had an eye for a bargain ................. it was an "export model" and as such had the brake levers on the wrong side ........... and Schrader valves!
This was November 1965 and I don't think bikes generally had Schrader valves in those days.

I hated them, and within a few months I'd saved enough pocket money - and had enough punctures - to replace the tubes, but had Woods valves instead. I was much happier with the Woods, because pumping up bike tyres with a normal peg-pump and Schrader valves was terribly difficult.

I saw a modern Woods valve recently - the removable core contained a ball valve, but they weren't always like that.
When I was 5 or 6 I had a tricycle with pneumatic tyres (and a boot - I loved it!) The inner tubes had what I later learnt were Woods valves but the core of these was a simple hollow stem with a blind inner end and a side drilling to let the air in. All that stopped it coming out again was a rubber sleeve slipped over it. A simple elegant solution IMO, but unfortunately one that seemed to require constant maintenance. The rubber perished quite quickly...
I bet that approach could work quite well with modern materials, though I doubt you would be able to use a pressure gauge unless there was one fitted to the pump.

I bought a cheap puncture repair kit a few months back and I was very surprised to find it came with bits of tubing for old-style Woods valves like the kits of many years ago. As Dave says, the newer valves are often a different design. I don't recognise the problems that the OP is having with his Woods valves which might just be poor valves. I've had a few shoddy inner tubes supplied with bikes in recent years. It's probably an easy cost to cut.

In my head a proper Dutch bike comes with Woods valves, 28x 1 1/2 tyres and either rod or hub brakes.
Schrader, 700C, v-brakes - pah!

You still get the little rubber tube in Tip-Top puncture repair kits!

Do you really? I'm impressed. I must confess it's the first puncture outfit I've bought in a couple of decades, so I am out of touch. I've been using the Tip-Top sheets of patches. This cheap puncture outfit was a 'just in case' measure when I realised I hadn't brought mine with me. Inevitably (having bought it) I didn't need it but I can't exactly complain about that can I?