Airing Tires

[Suzanne]

I'm fairly new at cycling. Is there a trick to airing up the tires. It seems I never quite get them as tight as the bike shop. And when I release the bike pump, the air comes out. Is there a difference in the types of pumps, I have one that was about $25? Also, is there a good tire gage to check to see how much air is in? I have a road bike.

[han-grrl]

I know with my pump i lose about 5 pounds of pressure, so i typically put in about 5 PSI higher than what i want. I use a good floor pump that i bought at Mountain Equipment Co-op (i guess REI is kind of the equivalent in the US)
Actually my pump looks a lot like the Nashbar floor pump (www.nashbar.com)
It works pretty good, although i need help from my fiance to get it up to 125 PSI
what pressure are you pumping your tires to?

good luck!

Han

[DoubleLori]

I use a Silca floor pump with a Topeak combination Presta/Schrader head (you flip a lever to pick which kind of valve you are using). All of my bikes have Presta valves and they are extremely easy to pump and lose virtually no air when removing the pump head. I have no problem pumping my tires up to 120 psi even though I have no upper body strength.

[han-grrl]

you should see me pump up the tires to 120 psi on my bike, at around 110 psi, my feet are off the floor, and it is taking my WHOLE weight on the pump, fiance always has a good laugh

[Karen in NY]

When you disconnect your pump from the valve, that whooooooosh you hear is the left over air inside the pump hose - don't worry you are not really losing air from the tires.

[Barb]

I just got a new floor pump and MAN is it hard to get it off the valves! It's a Serfa pump with dual heads. I tried it on my presta and schreader valves and have the same problem. I flip the switch (yes, in the proper direction!) to release and have to tug and tug before it comes off the valve. I also noticed that it is really hard to get it on the presta properly, so that the air guage registers. Am I just a pump dork or should I return the pump?

I also noticed that I feel no pump pressure until the handle is all but 3-5 inches from being pushed in all the way.

[jobob]

Nope, you are by all means not a dork (unless I am too, but we won't explore that here )

The first floor pump we bought was a Wrench Force. My husband got it into his head that he wanted to put a Silca head on it (at least that's what he calls it), that's the kind that you jam on the presta valve stem without any sort of clamp or switch mechanism. First time I tried to pump up my tires while he wasn't around, I couldn't pull the #$%$^ head off the valve stem. When spouse returned (at which time he managed to pull said #$%$^ head off the valve stem, with great difficulty, I might add!) I informed him that we were going to get a floor pump that *I* could use.

We went to the LBS and they recommended a Joe Blow (no relation) Sport. That one works like a charm, I have absolutely no trouble putting the pump head on or taking it off. It also has dual heads. Two thumbs up.

By the way, I haven't seen anyone mention this, but often when I try to pump up my tires when they don't need very much air (say if it's only been a day or 2 since I last pumped them up), the presta valves seem to want to stick closed, so in reality I'm not actualy adding air to the tires. So whenever I pump up my tires, I always let out a little air beforehand. A bit of extra work but it's good for the arm muscles, I suppose.

- Jo.

[Barb]

I'm heading back to my LBS for an exchange. I don't have time for rocket science just to inflate tires!!!!