Home > Other Fun Stuff > Gadgets & Hacks

Found: Exodux Tubeless Valve Stems w/lockring driver mech cinch down leaks

exodux-tubeless-valve-stem-tool
15 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Exodux, a company better known for their bike racks for use with trucks, have turned their product design attention beyond the matter of bicycle shuttling, and towards the bicycle itself. Their latest product is the simple tubeless valve stem, but this time, they come with a twist. Exodus’s Tubeless Valve Stems feature a simple but, as far as we know, new mechanism for cinching down the locking ring with sufficient torque to prevent slow leaks.

Exodus Tubeless Valve Stems

exodux-tubeless-valve-stem-mountain-biking

The Exodus Tubeless Valve Stems themselves are composed of a machined aluminum stem with a removable core, just like the plethora tubeless valve stems you’ll see on the market. They are “high-flow”, meaning their internal diameter is sufficient to allow rapid entry of air into the tyre to seat it, tubeless. At 40mm long, they should also be sufficient for most mountain bike wheel rim depths.

What’s different about the Exodux Tubeless Valve Stems is the mechanism by which the lockring is cinched down onto the rim outer. To prevent a slow and utterly infuriating leakage of air from the valve stem, it is essential that the torque on the lockring is sufficient to pull enough of the valve stem through the rim to create a tight seal that is 100% flush to the inside of the rim. Often, it is difficult to achieve such torque by hand, especially if the lockring is of a poor design and doesn’t offer enough purchase to grip. Some brands have attempted to make the process of tightening the lockring by hand easier with oversized and irregularly shaped lockrings; Peaty’s, for example.

tubeless-valve-mtb

Exodux have gone a step further, 3D printing a lockring with a brass threaded insert, complimentary in shape to a small tool, also 3D printed, used to tighten the lockring. The pentagonal lockring driver also features a valve core tightening tool portion. The tool should make tightening the lockring a heck of a lot easier than having to fumble about with a tiny piece of, often, circular metal with insufficient purchase.

In theory, the design of the Exodux Tubeless Valve Stems seems sound, but I can’t help but wonder whether the material lockring material and tool are of sufficient strength to tolerate the torque that they’ll be subjected to.

exodux-tubeless-valve-stem-mountain-biking

Put the Exodux Tubeless Valve Stems to the test for $23.99 per set. Each set comes with two tubeless valve stems and one tool. You can order an additional tool for $3.99, when you lose the original. The valve stems are available in anodized black only, but you can choose from red, black, blue, translucent lime and hot pink colors for the lockring and driver tool.

Exodux.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

15 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
J'Anky Teal
J'Anky Teal
4 years ago

This feels like a solution to the symptom (of a damaged seal) rather than the problem (a damaged seal). Finger tight is more than enough in a clean valve hole.

captain derp
captain derp
4 years ago
Reply to  J'Anky Teal

agreed. the problem isn’t getting enough torque (if anything too much torque will damage the seal) its ensuring you get a good seal.

a quick fix i’ve found for valves that don’t fully seal is to take a piece of inner tube (people still have those sitting around right?) cut it to about 1/2″ x 1/2″, poke a hole in the middle, and push the valve stem through before installing in the rim. it may need to be trimmed a little narrower so it doesn’t interfere with the tire bead (on narrower rims) but in my experience it has always fixed a valve that doesn’t seal properly.

Patrick Cavender
Patrick Cavender
4 years ago
Reply to  captain derp

Nice tip, thanks!

David
David
4 years ago
Reply to  J'Anky Teal

Understand all the comments on the necessity of this product. But unlike younger riders, older riders like my dad (and maybe some 6/70s riders as well) really struggled to turn (or maybe lack of finger agility) the valve tight enough…. So a bit a lever to help is always welcomed.

emailphiliprowegmailcom
emailphiliprowegmailcom
4 years ago

Pretty low quality 3D prints. Looks like only 2shells and still using infill on such small parts. This level of 3D parts should just be cost of postage to replace. The CAD time on this is sub 10mins, I’d be surprised if the print time was much more. What the material? ABS? how’s it handle UV exposure?

SoCo
SoCo
4 years ago

Fine prototype, but 3d printed abs does not belong on a part of a bike where failure will leave you stranded.

Fluent In Campagnolo (@RoadBikeSnob)
Reply to  SoCo

I’ve got PETG printed parts used on robot cells running 24/7 with 0 hiccups. I’ve printed parts holding on my wiper blade assembly that have held up fine. There is absolutely nothing to be worried about.

But yeah, the print quality here could leave you not trusting the part.

James A Chilson
James A Chilson
4 years ago

Please people, just stop. Stop cranking out your parts in crap print resin in low resolution printers. If we need some parts made of bird spit and sawdust, we’ll let you know. Maybe go back to focusing on costume jewelry?

Mark
Mark
4 years ago

Huh, I don’t see any Peaty’s presta nuts when doing a web search.

Maybe my Google-fu isn’t that good, but besides the Problem Solvers versions, I do see a product from many inline sellers remarkably similar to this Exodus product, except made in aluminum.

suede
suede
4 years ago
Reply to  Mark

https://www.peatysusa.com/collections/valves

Problem Solvers is better, but you still have to purchase valve stems. I like the Muc-Off, really don’t like valve stems that rely on rubber bonded to the base.

Sam
Sam
4 years ago

This is an unnecessary solution to a non-problem. Tubeless valve nuts do not need to be tightened with a tool. 90% of the time (or more) that someone believes their valve is leaking, it’s actually a failure of the tubeless tape–usually, the tape beginning to peel off the rim somewhere. I’ve lost track of the number of customers who’ve brought in wheels with valve nuts cranked so tight they require channel-lock pliers or vice grips to remove, complaining that their tire won’t hold air when their sealant is dry or their tubeless tape is compromised. It is exceptionally rare that a valve nut is the cause of a leak, but I guess that won’t stop someone with a 3D printer from hawking mechanical snake oil…

Ryan
Ryan
4 years ago

Most local libraries have better print resolution than this…they didn’t even clean the edges up. Looks really bad for PR photos.

Collin S
4 years ago

Agreed with everyone else here. Layer height/resolution is horrible. Price is I guess on par with other alloy valve stems, but the standard valve nut has always worked fine for me. Basically the 3d printing stuff is just a distraction.

Mic
Mic
4 years ago

A ridiculous solution to a problem that doesn’t exist if you know how to install/remove tubeless valve stems.

Valve stems have rubber (or silicone) that compresses (and easily).

Step one: Insert Valve Stem

Step two: Use thumb, or if you have poor strength, use tyre lever to apply some pressure to back of valve stem.

Step three: thread nut down until it just touches your rim (no need to tighten and scratch up your rim!)

Step four: relieve pressure from back of valve stem.

To remove it’s as simple as installing but applying pressure and screwing the nut off easily.

No special tools, no having to crank on anything, no accidental turning of the valve stem, no scratching of the rim.

Exodux
4 years ago

I’ve commented to these posters concerns.For some reason they did not post. This is the third attempt.
Anyway, as far as print quality, the pictures do not due the parts justice, maybe the fact that they are magnified 500% or camera quality.
Yes, finger tightening the valve nut is usually suffice…..until it isn’t. These were designed from a instance where dried sealant, dirt and probably the cold weather made it extremely difficult to remove the valve nut.
We’ve had this in production for 6 months and had prototypes being used almost a year before that.

As far as 3D printing is concerned, it is part of the future for not just prototyping but for actual production in the bike industry.

If anyone has any concerns, please email me directly at info@exodux.com

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.