SCHWALBE CLIK VALVE REVIEW

July 3, 2025

Schwalbe announced Clik Valve almost a year ago, aiming to replace the archaic Presta valve and become the new standard. When the Clik Valve press release came in, we thought “well that’s neat!” However, we went about our business and the release was quickly forgotten.

While I was perusing the Schwalbe website looking at which tires to run for our 2025 eMTB Shootout, I remembered that they had Clik Valves and figured I would ask them to send us enough to outfit all our bikes. After 2 weeks in the Utah desert, how did our impressions of them develop? Are they going to become the new standard, and should they?

ABOUT THE SCHWALBE CLIK VALVE

The Clik Valve was designed by John Quintana as a means of making an easier way for his children to pump up their bicycle tires. John found that Presta Valves were “simply too complicated for his kids with the “old” valves (both technically, and for reasons of space on the children‘s bike).” Schwalbe was an instrumental part of getting Clik Valve off the ground, and since the product announcement, Clik Valve has become its own brand.

Clik Valves take aim at eliminating some of the common frustrations many of us have likely experienced with presta valves. For example, air leakage, valve core unthreading, and at worst the fragile presta stem getting bent or even snapped. The Clik Valve head doesn’t require a lever, so it is able to fit in tighter places like kids bike tires and moto tires. They’re also claimed to offer 50% increased air flow, which should provide easier tubeless setup and less resistance when inflating.

Schwalbe offers the Clik Valve in a variety of options and kits. A pair of Clik Valve cores on their own can be purchased for $12.99. But as a first-time buyer, opting for a $16.99 conversion kit that includes the adapter or $19.99 with a new pump head is wise. Full Tubeless Clik Valve stems are also available for around $30.

THE DIRT

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, I reached out to Schwalbe to ask if they would be interested in supplying Clik Valves for all 12 of our test bikes in the 2025 eMTB Shootout. Schwalbe was more than happy to oblige with the request…Drew was less stoked. He thought they were going to be gimmicky and be more of a headache than it was worth, especially since it was something new to try during one of our biggest projects of the year.

Since I had to swap all the tires on our test bikes anyway, swapping out the presta valve for Clik Valves was a quick change. With the Presta valves pulled to release all the air pressure from the old tires, the new Magic Mary Gravity Radial and Albert Gravity Radials were swapped in. I set the bead with the core removed and an air compressor, finishing the swap by threading in the new Clik Valve. I put the Clik Valve Adapter into our presta-chucked floor pump, heard the satisfying “clik” and topped off the air pressure to our desired settings. I repeated these steps 11 more times.

During the 2025 eMTB shootout, we are constantly switching bikes. Each must be set up again with each rider’s preferred air pressure. Not having to unthread each presta valve and fiddling with the air chuck saves seconds, which is not a lot in the grand scheme of things. However, when you are saving seconds per bike, with 7 bikes going out at a time, twice a day for 12 days, that time really adds up!

It wasn’t just time that was saved, though. The Clik Valve reduced the resistance when pumping, especially notable on smaller hand pumps. With no fragile presta stem to worry about damaging, it also gave us peace of mind when pumping using a hand pump. Not once did we have an issue with the Clik Valves, and they even proved to work just fine with a push-on or lock-on Presta pump for the times we didn’t have the Clik head to hand.

By the end of the shootout, I would say everyone has turned into a Clik Valve convert…even Drew. He even wants to put Clik Valves on his Triumph motorbike, because it’s too tight to get a standard floor pump chuck into position.

The Wolf’s Last Word

We’ve been convinced that Clik Valve should be the new standard when it comes to tire inflation. They work incredibly well, the “Clik” sound is oddly satisfying, and they are a more affordable option than some of the high flow presta-like valve stems on the market today. Though we were cynical at first, we can now honestly recommend making the swap.

Price:
$12.99 (Valve Only)
$16.99 (Valves with Adapter) Tested
$19.99 (Valves with Pump Head)

Website: Schwalbetires.com

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