2 valves per wheel, that's the system Santa Cruz used in Unbound Gravel

The American cyclist from Santa Cruz, Keegan Swenson, finished in the top ten at Unbound Gravel despite a tough day marked by a crash at kilometer 130 and a flat tire that compromised his race. But one of the things that caught the most attention in his race was a curious technical detail: each of his wheels had two valves.

Two valves per wheel, why?

At first glance, the Santa Cruz Stigmata CC bikes that Swenson and his teammate Tobin Ortenblad used were like those in the catalog. Both were riding mud tires with Reserve wheels. But they hid a modification that was anything but common. Each rim had two valves placed on opposite sides of the rim, something surprising.

Swenson did not want to explain anything about this system even when the Cyclingnews media asked him about it, but Ortenblad had no problem detailing it.

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According to him, the wheels were set up with a conventional tubeless system, with sealant liquid. The second valve belonged to an inner tube installed inside the tire, uninflated, as an emergency solution. In case of a puncture that couldn't be sealed, the cyclist could inflate the tube and continue riding without losing too much time.

"It's just in case," explained Ortenblad. "If the liquid and the plug don't work, you can inflate the tube and keep rolling." However, he confirmed with laughter that the modification is not part of an official Reserve product, but a homemade experiment: "We drilled the wheels ourselves."

Although the technology seemed designed to save a race, Swenson did not use it during his flat tire and chose to swap wheels with his teammate Tobin.

Only time will tell if this system ends up being produced officially and if it will eventually reach the market.