BBB’s new CoreCap valve adaptors promise improved airflow and durability versus standard Presta valves, but are they all gain and no pain?
Having received a set, I thought it was worth sticking them on a bike and gathering some initial impressions to see what all the fuss is about.
Let’s find out.
The core problem
Before we get onto how easy it is to install and how it performs, let’s quickly recap what the BBB CoreCap is and how it works.
The CoreCap is an adaptor for existing Presta valves with removable cores. It promises improved airflow and durability by increasing the diameter of the airway, and by having no external moving parts.
A spring-loaded valve sits inside the CoreCap, and is promised to improve airflow by up to 300 per cent compared to a standard Presta valve.
BBB CoreCap first impressions
Getting the CoreCap on your bike simply requires removing the valve core from your Presta valve and screwing it on.
BBB says the CoreCap can be screwed on by hand, but you’ll almost certainly need a removal tool to take off the Presta valve core, or at least a set of needle-nose pliers.
As promised, it’s an easy task. Once the CoreCap is screwed on, you’re ready to inflate your tyres.
Although the CoreCap doesn’t need a proprietary pump head, its increased diameter means it won’t work with existing Presta heads – which sadly ruled out my Silca Hiro-equipped Lezyne track pump.
The thread-on Schrader chuck on that same pump (which the Hiro chuck attaches to) fit and inflated perfectly, but also bled a significant amount of air from the tyre on removal and had a tendency to unscrew the CoreCap from the valve stem.
Given this, I wouldn’t recommend using thread-on pump heads like those found on many Lezyne pumps (including my own mini-pumps). It may be possible to stop the CoreCap unscrewing with a little threadlocker and by screwing it on extra tight, but I wouldn’t want to find out this didn’t work while trying to fix a roadside puncture.
Likewise, you don’t want it seized on in case you need to remove the valve and insert a tube while out riding – because the valve almost certainly won’t fit back through the rim hole with a CoreCap in place.
- Read more: How to repair a punctured tubeless tyre
Fortunately, I also have an old Topeak JoeBlow Sport with a dual-valve head and that worked perfectly (albeit in a less mechanically pleasing manner compared to my Hiro-equipped Lezyne pump).
Whether the airflow was 300 per cent better was, naturally, impossible to discern, but there was tangibly less resistance to each pump of air.
One nice detail about the CoreCap is the valve core sits slightly proud of the stem, meaning you can press it down with the tip of your finger to bleed some air – as with a standard Presta valve.
The CoreCap also negates the need to unscrew a valve core head to inflate your tyres, which saves a couple of seconds and will doubtless be a welcome feature when fixing a puncture with cold hands during a winter ride.
Goodbye Presta valves?
On first impressions, BBB’s CoreCap appears to do just what it promises.
So will I be switching all my bikes to CoreCaps? No, I won’t.
While Presta valves clearly have their flaws, I’ve come this far without ever really having to worry about them. And while £14.99 / €16.95 isn’t a huge amount of money, it would obviously start to add up if I were to convert all of my bikes.
I’d also want to factor in the price of a nicer Schrader pump head for my Lezyne track pump, as well as a new mini-pump that doesn’t use a thread-on chuck.
In the end, it would likely be a fairly expensive process, and when you can get packs of Presta valve cores online for only a few pounds, I’m just not sure it’s worth it.
Presta valves clearly aren’t perfect, but they're also fine – I’ve bent and/or clogged the odd valve core here and there throughout my 15 years or so of road cycling, but they’re not something I ever give much thought to.
When setting up tubeless tyres, for example, I add the sealant to the tyre before seating the last section of bead, then simply remove the valve core to seat the beads. Although the CoreCap may improve airflow compared to a Presta valve core, it clearly won’t be as good as an empty valve stem.
To be clear, CoreCap is an improvement on standard Presta valve cores, and were I starting from zero, perhaps I could be persuaded to make the investment – it seems likely they’ll last a long time, after all.
Likewise, if you already have nice Schrader-compatible pumps (one for at home and something to carry with you while riding), it’s simple to make the switch if you can stomach the cost.
It certainly has me intrigued to try similar options, too, such as Schwalbe’s Clik, the Reserve Fillmore, Bontrager's High Flow and so on.
For now, though, I’m on the fence with this one.
