Crooked Valve Stem

[Dissent]

I bought a bike and it has crooked valve stems on both tires. There are rim locks on both tires and they are tight. I tried deflating the tubs and removing the cores but I can't shift the dang tubes to straighten the stems.

Any ides short of taking the rim/tire apart?

[npm]

Deflate the tire, loosen the rim locks, break the bead and turn the tire/tube on the wheel until it is lined up.

[JoelH.]

How crooked are they? Can you still air them up? If so, I would leave them. With rim locks, it's probably just tube creep. Your probably not going to straighten them without dismounting, and take it from me they could creep right back.

[ptgarcia]

Put some soapy water or some other lube around the bead to make it easier.

[ptgarcia]

How crooked are they? Can you still air them up? If so, I would leave them. With rim locks, it's probably just tube creep. Your probably not going to straighten them without dismounting, and take it from me they could creep right back.

I would straighten them out, otherwise the next time it moves it can tear the stem and cause a flat.

[JoelH.]

Deflate the tire, loosen the rim locks, break the bead and turn the tire/tube on the wheel until it is lined up.

Oh,....or you could just do that:blush:.

[JoelH.]

I would straighten them out, otherwise the next time it moves it can tear the stem and cause a flat.

I stand corrected. 👍

[jsdak]

At least for the front tire, get it off the ground, spin as fast as you can (in the same direction the stem is pointing), then lock the front brake quickly. Might take a couple tries to get it straight again.

[txrider06]

At least for the front tire, get it off the ground, spin as fast as you can (in the same direction the stem is pointing), then lock the front brake quickly. Might take a couple tries to get it straight again.

lol have you done this with success?

[highmarker]

pull the core to deflate, break the bead on both sides and lube with soapy water or windex, wd 40 etc, Pull the tire around to center the valve stem. It's a 5 minute job.

If you fnd you rim locks aren't holding, they may be for a different width rim and were installed by mistake. Another old trick (sorry I'm an old fart), is to put a hunk of old tube rubber between the tire and the rim, just where the rim lock pinches down.

[Dissent]

Awesome, so how do you break the bead? Can it be done by hand?

The tire holds air just fine but I can only air it with my big compressor with a garage style air chuck, I can't use my portable pump that needs a longer stem to clamp down on to. Ran into that problem yesterday in the desert. All I did was let more air out which slowed the day a smidge. 👍

[ptgarcia]

I just stand on the bead to break it.

[jsdak]

lol have you done this with success?

Of course, that's why I mentioned it. 👍

[Dissent]

Ah, simple enough. I'll give it a shot. Thanks to everyone for the help! 👍

[fttam]

I would straighten them out, otherwise the next time it moves it can tear the stem and cause a flat.

Always a possibility. And if it happens, its not all that much fun......

[highmarker]

you can break the bead with the bike on the stand, just use your tire irons

Awesome, so how do you break the bead? Can it be done by hand?

The tire holds air just fine but I can only air it with my big compressor with a garage style air chuck, I can't use my portable pump that needs a longer stem to clamp down on to. Ran into that problem yesterday in the desert. All I did was let more air out which slowed the day a smidge. 👍