I got a used set of Planet X tri spoke carbon wheels with Zipp Tangente tires on them… the little bit that I’ve been able to get out between snow just for a tiny ride, I love them! The only thing, they do not stay inflated after a day or so. The guy I got them from said that it is simply the nature of when you use valve extenders, that the tires just don’t hold the air as well and eventually will deflate, so I would just need to pump them up the morning before a race (or before any ride for that matter). I have been doing some research of my own, and I feel like he probably just didn’t use teflon tape when he was installing the valve extenders, because it doesn’t seem to make sense to me that the tires wouldn’t stay inflated.
Is there any truth to what he said? That it is simply the nature of valve extenders that they will slowly lose air? If not, is there a way to remove the extenders and add teflon tape (if he didn’t) without having to fully take off the tubulars and get them reglued and everything? Thanks for your help everyone!
they will slowly deflate after about a day… and then 1 or 2 days after, they are 100% flat. I don’t know if they are latex… they are Zipp Tangente tubular tires
gotcha… I felt like they shouldn’t lose air like they are… and I have a feeling that maybe he didn’t use teflon tape when installing the extenders so the seals aren’t air tight and are slowing losing air… I sent him an email to ask if he used any so we will see when he gets back to me.
If he did not use any tape and I wanted to remove the valve extenders and add some tape myself… would I have to fully take off the tires, add the tape and then re-glue the tubulars? or is there another way to maybe fix the issue? thanks!
yeah… I am learning that quickly! This is my first set of tubulars so I guess I had to learn at some point! Better to experiment now while my bike is inside staying warm than when I am out on a ride!
gotcha… I felt like they shouldn’t lose air like they are… and I have a feeling that maybe he didn’t use teflon tape when installing the extenders so the seals aren’t air tight and are slowing losing air… I sent him an email to ask if he used any so we will see when he gets back to me.
If he did not use any tape and I wanted to remove the valve extenders and add some tape myself… would I have to fully take off the tires, add the tape and then re-glue the tubulars? or is there another way to maybe fix the issue? thanks!
A bad seal on the valve extenders will only cause difficulty when you are inflating the tire. Once it is inflated, the extender doesn’t matter. The loss of pressure over 2 days probably due to latex, which is normal.
Are you removing the valve core before the extender is attached? This will allow you to close the valve after the tire is inflated when it is reinstalled at the end of the extender.
I am sure you have latex tubes. I have the same wheels and I lose air after 1-2 days. I pump them up morning of the race, which I think is good practice any way. By the way, I have latex tubes, valve extenders, Teflon tape on the threads and glued them up myself. They lose air because of the latex tubes just in the amount of time you stated.
If you can open and close the valve from the end of the extender, then the core was removed from the tire/tube and reinstalled after the extender was installed.