BBB Corecap valve caps – first impressions

I recently wrote about the introduction of BBB Corecap valve caps and mentioned I was planning to try them out.

I now have some first impressions after the UK importer – Windwave – unexpectedly contacted me and offered a couple of sets to try out. This was very kind of them; I guess I’m an influencer now..!

All that aside, the BBB Corecap has genuinely caught my eye. I’ve got two sets – one is the BBB Corecap upgrade kit in purple, which consists of replacement valves and locknuts and the other is a pair of BBB Corecap AL tubeless valves in bronze.

Fitting BBB Corecap valves

I was immediately pleased to see the packaging is 100% recyclable, arriving in neat cardboard boxes.

I decided to try the upgrade kit first because – obviously(!) – I plan to put the bronze tubeless valves on my bronze Merida road bike. For that I need a set of tubeless tyres and much better conditions to ride in than the current rain-soaked roads.

The Corecap system replaces the usual Presta valve and is very easy to fit. You just unscrew the old valve core and then screw the new Corecap onto the valve shaft.

The main difference is the Corecap screws to the outside of the valve shaft whereas the Presta system screws to the inside.

Airflow

This allows a greater airflow into the tyre when inflating it as there is less material blocking the airway – BBB claim up to 300% greater throughput.

It’s hard to quantify this claim of course in a cold garage in the middle of January but it certainly felt very easy using my track pump, which has a valve head that can handle both Presta and Schrader valves (as most track pumps can).

I wasn’t able to test what it would be like trying to seat a tubeless tyre as my Maxxis Minions were already seated.

Normally I use my Beto jetair booster with a valve core removed and don’t find that to be a great hardship. If I can achieve the same thing without removing the valve so much the better.

We’ll see later in the year when I switch to summer tyres.

First miles

I set this up over the weekend, fitting the upgrade kit to my existing Uberbike tubeless valves and it really took no more than ten minutes. Since then, the tyres have held air and I took the bike out last night for a very (very) muddy night ride around the Surrey Hills with no problems.

So based on my experience so far, I’d say the Corecap valves easily meet their design brief – easy to set up, easy to pump up, durable by design and look good.

For the full tubeless valve kit I have similar expectations. They are very much in line with modern tubeless standards, with the valve spreading the air laterally as well as directly into the tyre via holes in the valve base.

The base is round so should be compatible with virtually any rim.

Some thoughts

Looking further ahead, I will be interested to see how the valves cope with mud and muck.

Valve caps

Unlike Presta valves which are screwed in and then covered with a valve cap, the Corecap does not have a valve cap out of the box.

This means the sprung valve is exposed to the elements and I wonder how it will be over time. I feel pretty comfortable about it to be fair as it’s easy to wipe clean.

The Corecap is threaded to take a Schrader valve cap so the option is there to cover it if you wish.

I tried it with one off my car and it was fine, but that might depend on the cap design. The valve spring is slightly proud of the Corecap body so there might be a chance you could press on the valve and release air.

That does give me another thought – where it makes sense to supply the full kit with matching locknuts, maybe the upgrade kit could come with suitable valve caps instead?

Most people upgrading will already have locknuts on their valves and its an unnecessary step to replace them to get the benefits of the Corecap system. Having said that, if valve caps are functionally unnecessary then why bother?

Pump action

Another thing I’d like to check is how the valves cope with my mini pump if I need to add air out on the trails.

My old Topeak pump has Presta/Schrader compatibility but needs to be screwed on and there is a potential risk here of unscrewing the Corecap itself during removal. We shall see if that’s a problem.

In extremis you could screw in a spare Presta valve core if anything breaks although again, I’ve no reason to think it will.

Valve removal

Finally in the event of a catastrophic tyre failure where I’m forced to use an inner tube?

My first thought is I’m not sure I would have a tube on me these days anyway! But if need be I would have to remove the Corecap before I could get the valve out of the rim.

Will the Corecap remain easily removable over time to enable this? It’s a consideration that I’ll investigate further in a few months I think.

In summary

So there you have my first impressions. The Corecap valve system has been very easy to fit and initial experiences are positive, with a few angles to explore over time.

Oh and purple caps on oil slick valve stems look great!

The full tubeless BBB Corecap AL kit looks decent and price-wise – at £25-ish – is in line with other kits on the market. I look forward to trying that out and with 32mm tyres my Merida road bike will lend itself well to a tubeless setup.

Thanks again to Windwave for the opportunity to try the Corecap system – it’s always nice to know people actually read this stuff!