LBS does not realize how utterly clueless I am

Yesterday when I got home from work, I went to take the bike out for a bit of a spin. I'm going into the LBS Saturday to talk to them about the seat issue but I thought before I do that, I'd like to do a bit of riding just around the neighborhood and really study what is going on. You know, what is my body position in the saddle, is this something I'm doing wrong etc etc.

Ah but first I need to top off the tires a tad. I got the air compressor and - oh it's a presta valve. I knew that yes I did but it didn't hit me that the air compressor only works on a schrader valve. Never fear I'll break out the handy hand pump that is attached to my frame and NOPE no converter. I even went to a how to change a tire seminar at the LBS but when we got to the part where we actually aired up the tire again the guy did it for me.

I think he was assuming that any idiot would know how to do that part. Yea well not so much. My husband was running errands so I shot him a text to stop by and pick up a converter. He said it was kind of funny, he walked in the store and very carefully read the description "I need a presta to schrader..." and the guy cut him off, laughed and handed him this bucket of the things they keep at the register. Oh NOES a whole $0.99 each I simply will not pay. He bought me a handful of them.

We also just realized that the hitch pin for the bike rack is specific to the bike rack and not a generic one that you can pick up at AutoZone. The bad news is that I left it on the hitch cover of my old car when I got a new one. The good news is that I gave it to my dad because it gets better gas mileage than his F-150 so I can get it back.

Eventually I'll get it all together.

The plan all along was to do a sprint tri in May. I thought about putting off the purchse of the road bike until closer to the race, but I'm starting to think I did the right thing getting it now so I have time to figure everything out.

haha nice

I did manage to totally flatten the tire fiddling with it so I went from probably being ok to ride around the neighborhood to not a chance. This of course happened after I was all suited up. I changed and just tossed my bike clothes on the bed. My husband found them and said it was sad, like a little kid holding a baseball glove looking out the window watching it rain.

oh shut up

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Originally Posted by aponi

haha nice

I did manage to totally flatten the tire fiddling with it so I went from probably being ok to ride around the neighborhood to not a chance. This of course happened after I was all suited up. I changed and just tossed my bike clothes on the bed. My husband found them and said it was sad, like a little kid holding a baseball glove looking out the window watching it rain.

oh shut up

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LOL!

As Mureinn said, don't feel bad. I spent an entire year walking into the LBS saying "This might be a stupid question, but......"

And just today, I changed a flat on my bike, so I felt all proud of myself. That is, until I tried to fill the new tube with air. I don't know why, but i just cannot get the darned pump head to seal right. I've been using it for almost 2 years, but all of the sudden I'm having trouble. I think it took me longer to fill up the tire with air, then it did to change the tube :(

Oh well, keep your sense of humor up, it helps :)

You can buy a Schrader tip adapter to fit on a presta valve to fill the tires. I bought one and will only use this to fill tires after snapping off a few presta tips. Have not had it happen once since I now use the Schrader tip. I usually just leave it on one the valve heads so, I always know where it is. I also got one with my new floor pump.

I ask my LBS a ton of "stupid" questions. Why? That's the point of a LBS. Otherwise, I would just only shop on the internet. But I try to pay back for the LBS knowledge that they share with me by buying from their shops instead.

Hey, you're way Ahead of a lot of People if

(I'm sorry, I have no idea why this stupid stupid keyboard is giving me Capital letters all the time but I'm tired of going back and editing it) ...

if you actually know they're called Schrader and Presta. Most bike riders I know, as opposed to bike enthusiasts, just Call them "you know, the thin little valve" and "those fat valves like on a car" :-) Most pumps should take both valves, but you may have to unscrew the tip and flip it, or something. But then, you have pumps that Lock in different ways, so no, they do not make Things easy for us.

On the other hand, buying vacuum cleaner bags is a major research Project, at least over here, so I Guess the bike industry is not the only one out there trying to confuse us.

(WHY THE RANDOM CAPITALS??)

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Originally Posted by aponi

I did manage to totally flatten the tire fiddling with it

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I still do this every once in awhile. I call it "Out with the old air! In with the new!"

You don't want to ride around on stale air, right? :)

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Originally Posted by Penny4

And just today, I changed a flat on my bike, so I felt all proud of myself. That is, until I tried to fill the new tube with air. I don't know why, but i just cannot get the darned pump head to seal right. I've been using it for almost 2 years, but all of the sudden I'm having trouble. I think it took me longer to fill up the tire with air, then it did to change the tube

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Could it be the pump? I ended up replacing the head on my Joe Blow -- problem solved.

I totally flatted the tire the first time I tried to take advantage of "free air" at an LBS. I still don't know what happened.

As far as stupid questions, I asked a lot of mine in this forum, with great results, and no one was ever snotty.

+1. Pump gaskets have a limited life. Most pumps are rebuildable so you can just unscrew part of the head to install a new gasket. But clamping on a new head works, too.

Well, I took it to the store where i bought it and of course it worked fine when they tried it :rolleyes:
However, right before i left the house to go to the store, I had taken it apart to see if anything looked broken (not that I knew what i was looking at), so perhaps it just needed to be tightened or something. Anyway, I did buy a new pump head while I was there in the event I need to replace soon.

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Originally Posted by Trek-chick

You can buy a Schrader tip adapter to fit on a presta valve to fill the tires. I bought one and will only use this to fill tires after snapping off a few presta tips. Have not had it happen once since I now use the Schrader tip. I usually just leave it on one the valve heads so, I always know where it is. I also got one with my new floor pump.

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+1 on always using the Schrader tip adapter. Also always carry one on the bike with you if something happens just about anyone's pump will fit a Schrader but not every frame pump someone carries with fit a Presta. I throw an adapter in my underseat tool bag and then any pump will fit it. Yes I learned this the hard way when I was a newbie and a guy told me I was low on air but his pump didn't fit a presta.