Bridgeport angled tyre valves corroding?

[Bendeigid]

Hello,

I am going to have new tyres (Pilot Road 3) installed on Tuesday. I wanted to have Bridgeport angled valves (already bought) installed at that time.

After speaking to the shop I had been told that they would install them if I wanted to but would certainly not recommend them. The reason given was the fact that due to road salt they corrod easily. Apparently Triumph used to fit similar ones on some of their bikes and the dealer has seen them corrod to such a level that when touched they have fallen off because the corrosion went right through the valve stem at the rim (weakest part? salt collecting underneath the gasket which can not be cleaned out easily?).

The dealer recommended instead short snap-in valves and to carry an angled screw-in tube with you for using on forecourts.

I am now uncertain which way to go. While some of the claims about using the Bridgeport valves seem plausible to me I certainly don't want to put myself at danger of loosing the valve while driving.

So what are your experiences with them?

[Bendeigid]

So no one has any views on this or experience with this?

I would have thought as they are sold in the KatStore that some one here would actualy be using them.

[Badfaerie]

Folks are just getting back and recovering from the rally, so there might be a lull in responses.

We just got ours and only have one set installed at the moment, waiting and installing them with the tire changes. I've had a set of regular valve stems fall apart on me and that wasn't much fun. There has been a lot of good about them on here, which is why even I decided to spend the $$ for them.

If you are in an area where there's a lot of snow and you ride you bike in the winter, I can see that might be a problem. But your in Durham, is that NC? I don't see you'd have much problem there.

[Wolfe_UK]

But your in Durham, is that NC? I don't see you'd have much problem there.

We have a Durham here you know. It's a bit nippy and prone to rain and snow, given how it's in the North.

[steves]

You are going to have an issue with ANY MC component which is subject to winter conditions and especially salt.

I would expect that if you take the time to at least rinse the salt off the wheels that the bridgeport valves will still out-last a rubber valve stem by at least 2-3x's.

The issue with AL in the winter is pitting. The Bridgeport valves are anodized AL with no top protective layer, so they will over time start to corrode and pit as would any metal.

For the record, Triumph is still using similar AL valves on their bikes.

[Wild-Bill]

I run the standard, short rubber valve stems and just replace them every time I mount new tires. They're cheap and easy to change. It's a little bit of a pain getting a pressure gauge in there past the rotors but I've got an air chuck that grabs at a 90 degree angle from the hose so filling tires has never been a problem.

[thetable]

I have the black one on my kat for several years, and didn't have any issues, and yeah, it's been through nearly every condition.

[Badfaerie]

We have a Durham here you know. It's a bit nippy and prone to rain and snow, given how it's in the North.

Actually I didn't know there was one there, but I figured the one in NC wasn't the ONLY Durham in the world.

As for what Steve said about the aluminum pitting, I'd think there would be issues with the rims and other metal parts before the stems fell apart.

[loudnlow7484]

Most cars with tire pressure sensors have aluminum valve stems (they are one piece with the sensor). They don't seem to have many problems.

[Bendeigid]

Thanks for the advice so far. Sorry I didn't realize that there was a rally on in the US.

So the overall consensus seems to be that it is unlikely there is going to be much in the way of trouble other than what you would expect with aluminium in our weather and there should certainly not be a problem like the dealer described.

I guess I will ask him then to fit them anyways and keep an eye on it.