Presta Valve

OK. Is there a trick to these? Tonight got home from work and was wanting to ride before it got too dark. Needed to top off the tires and ended up making a mess of the valve trying to get the pump's head off the valve. I then found I didn't have a spare tube and no ride-- No time to run to LBS and back before it got dark.

I'm wondering here is there a trick to the Presta valve to get air into the tire and the bike pump head (floor pump with quick release) off the valve without loosing a ton of air? I was trying to rush getting the pump off and in the process, I think it hung up on the threads of the valve, but either way trashed the tube.

Tips or techniques wanted!!

Shannon

Valve at 12:00. Unscrew the valve stem nut and tap the valve stem to break the seal. Push the pump head straight up onto the valve, then hold it with two fingers of your non-dominant hand (palm on the top of the tire) while you pump until the seal breaks and air goes into the tire. Then pull the pump head hard, straight down, so it comes off quickly.

After I unscrew the little lock-y bit, I always tap the stem and let a smidge of air out of the tube. Kind of like breaking the seal; let some air out so the pump will seat better and let air go in easily.

I usually pump 5 lb/in2 extra, as I assume that's about how much sneaks out of the freshly filled tube while I'm removing the pump head and before the stem blocks the air flow.

I gotta say I'm a pro at breaking off these fun little valves. I finally learned I can't pull and rip my pump off the stem one handed. My DH patienty shows me repeatedly and I think I've finally got it. Use two hands one on the rim on the bottom of the valve and the other on the pump head. Gently wiggle and pull (my pump is super tight) sometimes I kinda twist it but I try really hard not to horse it off the stem anymore

This video may help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9byRp9e2USU

Good Luck,
P2

I am so done with Presta valves. Since buying a road bike I got a little bedazzled by everyone telling me they were the bee's knees, so I've uncritically bought tubes with Presta valves for my mtbs as well. They're a royal PITA, I keep on pulling them crooked, they leak way too easily when I'm installing new tires so I end up trying to stuff a limp floppy noodle into the tire, our floor pump keeps getting a bad seal on them, and now completely refuses to get a seal on them. On the other hand the occasional Schrader valve we have works perfectly, doesn't leak, and can be filled at any gas station without having to remember to bring that little crossover doodad. I'll have to keep buying Presta for my road rims, but otherwise I am back to Schrader.

That noise you hear when you take the valve off is not air coming out...
I have found that the ease of this really depends on the pump.

Thanks for the video link, P2. I just switched to presta valves and couldn't figure out how to fill the tires. The georgena terry videos are all do much more understandable than anything else I've found on you-tube.