Schwalbe wants its new Clik valve to become the industry standard for bike valves, replacing Presta and Schrader valves.
Despite existing for almost as long as the bicycle, Presta and Schrader valves are too complicated in the eyes of the Clik’s inventor, John Quintana.
Quintana wanted to create a new valve that was simple enough for his children to inflate their bicycle tyres, and the Schwalbe Clik Valve (SCV) is the result.
Earning its name from the noise the pump head makes as you click it on the valve, the SCV also promises increased durability, better airflow and less clogging from tubeless sealant, compared to existing designs.
Presta and Schrader combined
Launching at Eurobike, Schwalbe says the SCV avoids the pitfalls of Presta and Schrader valves and combines their best features.
“I think a lot of people would agree that existing valves – whether Presta or Schrader – have got their intrinsic problems,” says Schwalbe’s Tim Ward.
Schwalbe says these problems include the nut of a Presta valve being fiddly to unwind, getting bent or corroding, as well as the threaded exterior wearing out the rubber seal in your pump.
Schrader valves require a bigger hole in the rim and a lever on the pump head to hold it in place when inserted on the valve.
“I think a combination of those things led [Quintana] to believe that after 100 years someone could come up with something better,” says Ward.
“Once people use it, I think they’ll be converted,” he adds.
The outer dimension of the SCV is the same as a Presta valve.
However, as with a Schrader valve, when you put your pump head on the SCV, the poppet valve opens.
This means you don’t have to unscrew a nut, as with a Presta valve, or lock the pump head in place.
The poppet valve also extends enough to let out air with your finger.
There’s no need to use a valve cap with the SCV, but one is available, which also has an advantage over other caps.
Ward says: “The valve cap pushes on and off, so it doesn’t need to be threaded onto the valve.” Threading a valve cap can lead to it getting stuck.
You also don't need much of the SCV valve to be exposed to click a pump head into place. Ward says this could mean people use shorter valves which may offer a weight or aerodynamic advantage.
When pumping up a tyre with the SCV, Schwalbe claims the airflow rate is increased by 50 per cent compared to its SV Presta valve. This could be advantageous for tubeless setups where greater airflow can make it easier to seat a tyre.
Available as a conversion kit
The SCV standard is available as a tubeless valve and will be on Schwalbe inner tubes from next year.
Schwalbe provides an SCV conversion kit which means you can convert other valve types – including the less common Dunlop – to the the new standard.
Switching valves to SCV should be easy, according to Ward: “In terms of converting tubeless valves that are Presta all you’ve got to do is remove the existing valve cores and put the new cores in.”
The kit includes either a pump head or pump adapter that can be integrated into most existing hand or track pumps.
Schwalbe says pump manufacturer SKS already has a pump with the SCV pump head in its lineup, which is also launching at Eurobike, and other manufacturers will release pumps with the design.
Becoming an industry standard
Schwalbe says it wants the SCV to become the new industry standard and Ward spells out what this means: “If it’s going to be an industry standard, it needs to be a global standard. It will take a while to spread out.”
Ward says there will likely be Presta and Schrader valves for a long time yet, but that Schwalbe is committed to this new standard and improving bicycle tyre valves, with the brand backing and bringing its resources to Quintana’s vision.
“If you don’t make some brave steps, you never change anything, do you?"
