slickrock
Active member
A PM from a fellow member inspired me to give feedback on the Big-Bore.
I purchased the long Hybrid version in black. While I typically like colored stems, I chose black because the Hybrid version of the valve is a little bulky looking and didn't want to draw too much attention to it, but in the end I think I was just being too conservative. For its size, though, it still is seems lightweight for what it does. And speaking of size, I would err on getting the long version or the extra-long version unless you know your rim is shallow. My bike with Bosch Gen 4 motor uses the stem magnet, which eats up stem length - it just made it with Deemax rim, with just enough of base stem protruding to allow the head to screw onto the stem. Setup was straight forward and has a hex fitting at the base so you can use the provided LN wrench to provide counter torque then fitting the valve head on.
Functionally, the valve has a ridiculously high air flow. It is basically a coreless valve, and seemingly fills even faster than removing the core on a presta stem, perhaps because Schader pump fittings offer more air flow to begin with. If you use a air compressor, be careful, as it will instantly fill the tire to max inflation. It's also much easier to manually pump the tire as there is so little resistance to inflation flow. I also use one of those cool little battery powered mini air compressors, and the extra flow allows the pump to operate not only more quickly, but more quietly with improved battery life.
Design-wise, it's a brilliantly simple idea - basically a ball valve - a much simpler high flow design than say Fillmore valve, which uses a shaft down its entire length. The Hybrid ball valve thru-opening is so large that it seems impossible to clog when juicing up the tire. An additional and important design feature is that the base is shallow enough, so it doesn't protrude past the rim flanges. Previously, I used the Funn high-flow valve (now discontinued) and it, along with the Filmore, have too tall of a base and I always worried that if I high a rock in just the right place, all the force would drive through the stem it would break my carbon rim.
The operation requires two-step process, and depending on your pump a two-hand process: first attach the pump to the valve and then open the valve to either measure the pressure or begin inflation. This may seem more tedious but it's actually easier, especially for presta, because you don't need to unscrew the sealing nut on the core - because there is no core with this valve. Additionally, you waste no air fitting the pump to the valve when attaching it at the beginning (ball valve closed), nor waste any air when detaching (ball valve re-closed), compare to a standard presta or schrader valve. This is huge if all you want to do is check tire pressure - just open and close the valve and get your pressure read without losing air. And if your pump has a screw-on attachment instead of a rubber friction attachment, the benefits are even greater, since the tendency to lose air is even higher when using a standard core valve stem, not to mention that valve cores often unscrew when detaching this kind of nozzle.
The only downside I see is if you don't secure the pump nozzle to the valve correctly and it causes the the nozzle to fall off, then you dump all nearly the air in tire in a couple of seconds if you have the valve fully open. Of course, if you have a finicky nozzle attachment, you can open the valve just slightly and mimic the kind of flow you would get with a typical core valve.
Overall, a really good product and has held up so far for about 3 months now.
I purchased the long Hybrid version in black. While I typically like colored stems, I chose black because the Hybrid version of the valve is a little bulky looking and didn't want to draw too much attention to it, but in the end I think I was just being too conservative. For its size, though, it still is seems lightweight for what it does. And speaking of size, I would err on getting the long version or the extra-long version unless you know your rim is shallow. My bike with Bosch Gen 4 motor uses the stem magnet, which eats up stem length - it just made it with Deemax rim, with just enough of base stem protruding to allow the head to screw onto the stem. Setup was straight forward and has a hex fitting at the base so you can use the provided LN wrench to provide counter torque then fitting the valve head on.
Functionally, the valve has a ridiculously high air flow. It is basically a coreless valve, and seemingly fills even faster than removing the core on a presta stem, perhaps because Schader pump fittings offer more air flow to begin with. If you use a air compressor, be careful, as it will instantly fill the tire to max inflation. It's also much easier to manually pump the tire as there is so little resistance to inflation flow. I also use one of those cool little battery powered mini air compressors, and the extra flow allows the pump to operate not only more quickly, but more quietly with improved battery life.
Design-wise, it's a brilliantly simple idea - basically a ball valve - a much simpler high flow design than say Fillmore valve, which uses a shaft down its entire length. The Hybrid ball valve thru-opening is so large that it seems impossible to clog when juicing up the tire. An additional and important design feature is that the base is shallow enough, so it doesn't protrude past the rim flanges. Previously, I used the Funn high-flow valve (now discontinued) and it, along with the Filmore, have too tall of a base and I always worried that if I high a rock in just the right place, all the force would drive through the stem it would break my carbon rim.
The operation requires two-step process, and depending on your pump a two-hand process: first attach the pump to the valve and then open the valve to either measure the pressure or begin inflation. This may seem more tedious but it's actually easier, especially for presta, because you don't need to unscrew the sealing nut on the core - because there is no core with this valve. Additionally, you waste no air fitting the pump to the valve when attaching it at the beginning (ball valve closed), nor waste any air when detaching (ball valve re-closed), compare to a standard presta or schrader valve. This is huge if all you want to do is check tire pressure - just open and close the valve and get your pressure read without losing air. And if your pump has a screw-on attachment instead of a rubber friction attachment, the benefits are even greater, since the tendency to lose air is even higher when using a standard core valve stem, not to mention that valve cores often unscrew when detaching this kind of nozzle.
The only downside I see is if you don't secure the pump nozzle to the valve correctly and it causes the the nozzle to fall off, then you dump all nearly the air in tire in a couple of seconds if you have the valve fully open. Of course, if you have a finicky nozzle attachment, you can open the valve just slightly and mimic the kind of flow you would get with a typical core valve.
Overall, a really good product and has held up so far for about 3 months now.
