Tire Inflation Issue

Forgive me in advance, I know I've read about this somewhere on here, but I guess I"m not typing the right words into the Search box.

Tomorrow, I'm doing a group ride & went to air up my tires for the first time. I have Presta valves &quickly figured I had to unscrew the little bolt thingie, but nothing happens except I'm letting air out. I even have a converter thingie to take the bike to a gas station air pump, but I can't even check tire pressure correctly!!!

What in the world am I doing wrong??

P.S. I'm going to continue to search the boards in hopes of finding the answer.

Are you fully inserting the valve into the pump? It sounds like you might not have it fully pushed in.

Do you pump your tires before each ride? That should be something you do before you head out each and every ride.

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

Do you pump your tires before each ride? That should be something you do before you head out each and every ride.

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:( I haven't been, but since reading these forums, I know I should. Which is why I went out and bought a tire pressure gauge. Kirk & I finally figured how to inflate the tire--you were right, I didn;t have the valve pushed in enough, but we still can't get the pressure gauge to work, so I still don't know if I have enough air in the tires.

First thing, tomorrow morning, go to your LBS and buy a floor pump. Look for models that have a built-in pressure gauge - these make it super-easy (and kinda fun, actually!) to pump up your tires before every ride. I have two - I keep one in my car, so if I'm driving to a ride I can pump up before we start.

Look at the max PSI listed on the sidewalls of your tires. Basically, they should be pretty hard. At about 100 psi, mine have just a teensy bit of give if I push hard on them.

Presta valves are tricky. You might be doing something not quite right - but I've had that problem when it was far from my first time. ONe thing I learned was to move the valve so it was at about 1:00 - though I would have thought having hte tire pump thingy pointing down woudl have worked better. I can't fill the tire with the pump thingy on the bottom half. (On the other hand, a friend's tire can only be filled on that half.)
It's only a mild "rookie" thing to throw yourself at the mercy of the group for helphing you manage filling the tires. (We had a lady once say "I don't know what is wrong with this tire guage, it says my pressure is 25 psi!" on her third ride, where she'd been riding a good 15 mph on her hybrid with us... oh, yes, she *was* doing that on 25 psi!! When her tires got inflated she said, "I don't even have to pedal!" So... be new! Watch how people react... you'll be able to tell who the newbie-friendly folks are and who you'll want to ride with :-)

Some of the problems can be pump specific (and hard to explain in words).

I have a topeak floor pump that has a schrader valve and a presta valve. When you put it on you have the lever pointing towards the valve you are using, then you flick it to the other side to secure it.

On the weekend I didn't push it all the way to the other side (probably more like 3/4) and the gauge didn't work properly. I managed to wreck two tubes by blowing them out before I figured this out (and so had to take the risk of riding on Sunday without a spare - although I did have a patch kit - which must have been enough to keep the cycling gods onside because I didn't get a flat)

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Originally Posted by pikato

:( I haven't been, but since reading these forums, I know I should. Which is why I went out and bought a tire pressure gauge. Kirk & I finally figured how to inflate the tire--you were right, I didn;t have the valve pushed in enough, but we still can't get the pressure gauge to work, so I still don't know if I have enough air in the tires.

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I had the EXACT same issue two nights ago. I have a floor pump with built-in pressure gauge. Ended up figuring out how to inflate but I couldn't get the gauge to work properly!

I ended up taking the advice of of a site I found through google: Flick the tire - when it's close to being properly inflated, it should sound like a "ping" and not a "thump".

Don't know if that will cause any problems with overinflation, but my ride went fine the next morning. I need to practice on getting the gauge to work!

Ok toss the ping/thump theory out the window! I finally picked up a pump that worked and omigosh - my tires should be inflated to 100psi. The front was at 60 and the rear at 40!

http://www.tinklebelle.com/Smilies/images/yikes.gif

OK, I was going to make a crack about thumping watermelons, but I guess I'll pass.

More seriously, and in the same hard-to-explain vein, when my tires are inflated correctly they "click" going over sidewalk-type cracks. If they "thump" I need to pump them up.

"If you thump, time to pump!"

I rely on the guage, myself, and try to remember to pump 'em up every time.

I got a pump with gauge on it & it is a breeze to use. Now I only need to figure how to hook up my computer & I should be set!!

Presta valves - not all that hard..

Take of cap, unscrew release bolt, press down valve - hear "ssssss" you are good to go, secure pump nozzle and pump. If you don't hear "ssss" keep unloosening the bolt.

If you don't know what the release bolt is - picture this - there is a male part to the valve and a female part . The male part attaches to the pump. The female part is a small round washer at the base of the male part. You have to lossen that otherwise no air in. Now remember to tighten it when you are finish or air goes out.

If you can't get it figured out, go to the LBS and ask them to show you. Don't be embarrassed. Trust me, people have brought in worse questions.

Here's something you may have happen: sticky valves. Maybe it's the Florida heat or the Florida humidity, or maybe it's just the brand of tubes I've been getting lately, but my valves have tended to be sticky this summer. That is, I unscrew the valve, press down to be sure I've got it fully open, then attach the pump head, and...the tire doesn't fill with air. In fact, the air that I'm pumping must stay only in the pump hose, because I see the gauge being pegged to the right.

In these cases, usually I can flip the lever on the pumphead a couple of times and the stubborn valve will then open. I mention this because it may be happening to you or someone else. Weird, but manageable.

I got this "Joe Blow" by Topeak:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ance&n=3375251

Just used it tonight. My husband hooked up the valves and I pumped -- it was fast and easy.

Plus -- this is the first time our tires have been properly inflated. (Or at least according to the guy at REI.)

Since the tires said min: 50 - max 85, my husband figured somewhere in the middle was best. Around 60. Well, the guy at REI said max for pavement, and minimum for dirt. So I inflated mine to 80 pounds, took a spin around the block and yippee! It is so much easier to ride!

So when I place the air nozzle/hose/whatever on the tire valve, the lever on the pump is straight then when I want to lock it on to start pumping air I flip it down to 45degrees?

I have mastered the letting air out skill.

On my pump, you put the nozzle on while the lever is closed (ie flush up against the hose). You push the nozzle onto the valve and then open the lever up to lock it. It is exactly the opposite of what I would have thought until DH showed me how to do it... I felt like such a girl. :p

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Originally Posted by rij73

and then open the lever up to lock it.

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So at this point is the lever straight up (aligned with the valve stem) or is it at a 45degree angle to the valve stem?

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Originally Posted by zencentury

So at this point is the lever straight up (aligned with the valve stem) or is it at a 45degree angle to the valve stem?

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On my pump (Planet Bike), the lever is straight up when it's locked onto the valve.

Most pumps I've used it was straight up, in the same direction as the stem of the tube.

Well at least I'm glad to see this isn't just my problem. :) I am having a devil of a time with the pump I have, which works fine on my hybrid. And I was able to fill my tires with my brother in law's pump, but can't keep doing that. Now I will go home and try again. My last resort, bring in either my brother in law or friend who can show me what the heck I'm doing wrong.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

So at this point is the lever straight up (aligned with the valve stem) or is it at a 45degree angle to the valve stem?

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Yep, straight up, aligned with the valve stem.

Well, now it's dark out :mad:and I have to go to work:mad:and it's supposed to rain for the next two days:mad::mad:
I'll send myself this thread in an email:p

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Originally Posted by pooks

I got this "Joe Blow" by Topeak

Just used it tonight. My husband hooked up the valves and I pumped -- it was fast and easy.

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I have one of these as well. I specially requested it as the only thing I wanted for Christmas after struggling, swearing, throwing fits at our old school Silca. My husband was really resistant - loved that classic pump, didn't need any fancy pants new fangled thing kind of attitude... well, the Silca has been sacrificed for parts :rolleyes:

I can pump up my TT tires to 140 psi with no problems with the Joe Blow.

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Originally Posted by Possegal

Well at least I'm glad to see this isn't just my problem. :) I am having a devil of a time with the pump I have, which works fine on my hybrid. And I was able to fill my tires with my brother in law's pump, but can't keep doing that. Now I will go home and try again. My last resort, bring in either my brother in law or friend who can show me what the heck I'm doing wrong.

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Sorry if that sounds obvious, just in case:
Pump works fine with your hybrid but not on your road bike? What type of valves are there on your road bike? Usually hybrids have tubes with Schreader valves and road bikes almost always have Presta...

Some (few) pumps work with both at the same time; for other pumps you have to unscrew parts and rescrew in a different order; for other pumps there are two sides, one for Presta, one for Schreader.

I am pumped out.
As embarrassing as it should be, I'm gonna end up taking the bike to the shop and demonstrating my flawed technique.
At least I bought the pump from the shop. If I hadn't I don't think I'd have the nerve.

Some presta pumps are not all that easy and some with dual fitting (fit shrader) can cause problems. So don't feel bad if you have to take your floor pump into LBS and have them show you.

Eden,

140psi??? Is it continental tires?? You said you are small around 5 feet so you must be pretty light. At140PSI the tire is going to feel like a solid tire or worse like riding on the rims. No? I've only inflated my tires to 120PSI and it felt so rough while riding. Granted for TT you want to minimize the rolling resistance but :eek: 140PSI??

smilingcat

I was having terrible problems at one point with my pump; I just couldn't get it to work. So rather than get more upset (and having deflated my tires too much to ride), I took it to my lbs and asked for help learning to use it properly. So they tried it. And tried it. And realized it was broken!

They gave me a new pump (I'd bought mine there), made sure I was comfortable using it, and off I went!

They've always been great with my questions, and encouraging, but I was still embarrassed to ask how to use the pump. And then I wasn't :)

Based on this chart, which a very kind soul, I forget who, scanned from an old cycling magazine and posted here on TE once, I pump my road bike tires to about 90 psi. Seems to work fine for me. Compared to my cushy mtb tires a road bike feels like a "hard ride" anyway. I use 60 on my mtb on the road, and 40 off-road.

I've seen that chart before on here. I come out as needing to inflate to only 75psi. That doesn't even reach the low number printed on my tire, so I was afraid of keeping the pressure so low. Perhaps I shouldn't be? I'm pumping them up to 90 these days, and the bike feels comfortable.

don't worry about sounding obvious. :-) but yes, different valves and different parts with the pump. that part i'm doing right. i think it may be that i'm not getting the pump securely on the road bike as i stop too soon while attaching because i think i'm deflating. then when i pump, no change in the gauge and quickly the pump sort of pops off. but may be i need to deflate a bit first, if that makes any sense?? i'll be pestering my friend to come help me this weekend, next step could be to the bike store either for help or a new pump.

i swear to God i'm a fairly smart girl, this issue not withstanding. :)

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Originally Posted by Possegal

don't worry about sounding obvious. :-) but yes, different valves and different parts with the pump. that part i'm doing right. i think it may be that i'm not getting the pump securely on the road bike as i stop too soon while attaching because i think i'm deflating. then when i pump, no change in the gauge and quickly the pump sort of pops off. but may be i need to deflate a bit first, if that makes any sense?? i'll be pestering my friend to come help me this weekend, next step could be to the bike store either for help or a new pump.

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It's hard to get the hang of it sometimes. But I think you're self-diagnosing right (i.e. not hooking the pump low enough on the valve).

One thing that might make things easier is prep the valve by letting out a bit of air. You unscrew the top part of the presta valve, you press it just a little, "pchhhtt pchttt" (you get the idea) and then snap in your pump head, lock, and pump away. When you attach the head to the valve, some air DOES go out into your pump (creating an air sound or not, depending on the pump), which allows you to read the tire pressure on your pump's gauge. When you pull the head out there should also be another very short air-rushing sound as air left in the pump exits (not on every pump for some reason).

Good luck!