One of the things you’ll need to decide when buying inner tubes is the valve length. Too short, and you can’t insert the inflator head. Too long, and it’ll look ugly.
So what’s the ideal valve length to use?
This article will cover how valve length is measured, the common length available and how to determine the ideal length for your wheels.
How to measure the valve length?
The length is measured for the entire length of the valve.
What are the common valve lengths available?
The majority of valves start from 40mm and go up to 80mm long. We can broadly categorize the length as,
- Short. Below 50mm for low-profile rims
- Medium. 50 to 70mm for mid-profile rims
- Long. Above 70mm for high-profile rims
Here are some of the commonly used inner tube brands and the valve lengths available.
- Continental – 40, 60, 80mm
- Kenda – 32, 48, 60mm
- Michelin 40, 52, 60, 80mm
- Specialized – 48, 60, 80mm
- Silca – 40, 70mm
For tubeless valves, the lengths are slightly different as one end of the valve will sit beneath the rim.
- Effetto Mariposa – 40, 70, 100mm
- Muc Off – 44mm, 66mm, 80mm
- WTB – 34, 46mm
- Zipp – 60, 80mm
What is the ideal valve length for my wheels?
The ideal valve length is at least 10mm longer than the rim depth so that you can insert the inflator head to pump up the tires. That doesn’t mean the longer, the better. While it works, it’ll look ugly.
The table below shows the ideal valve length vs rim depth.
| Rim depth | Valve length |
|---|---|
| Below 30mm | 40mm |
| 30 to 50mm | 60mm |
| 50 to 70mm | 80mm |
| Above 70mm | 100mm |