Jerry asked:
> Speaking of Schraeder, I believe most of the English and French old alloy frame
> pumps had a short hose with a Schraeder head. I understand this for the English
> pumps, but was always puzzled about the French pumps. I was under the
> impression that the French never used Schraeder valves in their domestic market.
> Is this incorrect? Or were these pumps only fitted to bikes for export?
When I was living in Paris in the early 70's, there was not a single Schraeder valve to be found anywhere. The same held true for the Netherlands and Italy. There were and still are valve types other than Presta available. Perhaps the most common valve is a Presta sized one that doesn't have the center part of the Presta. I do not remember the name of this valve. If you look in the old TipTop and other brand repair kits,there was always a little rubber hose, that was a replacement valve core for these valves. It did however use the same pump as a Presta valve.
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Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ