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Orange Seal Versa-valves

8
£19.99

VERDICT:

8
10
The best tubeless valves I've used yet, at a price
Weight: 
4g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Orange Seal Versa-valves are the best tubeless valves I've tried so far. They're well designed, easy to seal and sturdy. If you're struggling to seal your rims with other valves on the market it might be worth forking out the rather salty £19.99 for a set of these.

  • Pros: Easy to fit, sturdy
  • Cons: Expensive

These valves specifically address some issues I've had with other valves. Firstly, you generally need to do them up tight to get a seal. That can be hard with the small lockring that you normally get, which often has me resorting to pliers, which can scuff the ring. The Versa-valve locking ring has flats machined on each side so you can do it up with a 9mm spanner, making the job a whole lot easier.

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Secondly, I've had valves fail when the rubber grommet that seals the rim has pulled away from the shaft, having been bonded on. That can't happen here: the alloy shaft has an extended flat section the top, and the grommet just slides on and is held in place by that. You can choose from two types of grommet – conical and half-cylinder – and both are included, as are spare valve cores and a valve core tool.

The choice of grommets means they should fit pretty much any rim; I fitted them to Hunt rims and Reynolds rims and got a seal easily in both cases. The only issue was on the Hunt rim, where the asymmetric rim shape meant that the locking ring didn't sit flush and the rubber O-ring poked out a bit, but it still sealed fine.

The Versa-valves are available in four lengths up to 80mm so you should be fine with anything up to a 50mm section road rim. Orange Seal has clearly considered the issues with current valves and its solutions are very neat and work very well. They're expensive – £19.99 is more or less top dollar for tubeless valves – but they perform very well, and if you struggle with sealing your rims they're probably worth the extra tenner over a cheaper set.

Verdict

The best tubeless valves I've used yet, at a price

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Orange Seal Versa-valves

Size tested: 32mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Orange Seal says, "VersaValve consists of a valve stem with a large, sturdy base plate that can be fitted with different shaped rubber grommets. The large base plate ensures a solid contact with the rim bed and the adaptable grommets guarantee an airtight fit on all shapes and depths of rim. VersaValve will work on most rims: mountain, road or CX. Grommets are easily replaceable and the various stem lengths mean valve extenders are no longer necessary on deep section wheels."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Orange Seal:

Universal fit. One valve for all rim types

Ideal for road, mountain, CX, and ALL presta valve applications

Four lengths: 32mm, 48mm, 60mm, 80mm

Replaceable grommets

Handy paired packaging includes VersaValve stems, two types of grommet, extra valve cores, RVC tool

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
10/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well: sealed every time and easy to use.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Design addresses three problems very well.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Expensive.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They're more or less the most expensive ones out there; basic tubeless valves can be had for less than half this.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

They're the best designed tubeless valves I've used, but you pay for that privilege.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 45  Height: 189cm  Weight: 92kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Merida Scultura

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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