Adding air

[bikinNkc]

I feel so stupid for needing to ask this question but can't bike if tires aren't inflated properly.

Here's the prob...New bikes (only have 60 mi on them) but need air in tires. Bought a pump from ****'s Sporting Goods but when I aftering adding air and removing valve, air escapes before I can get the (*^%% thing off. So I check the pressure and it's back down to 80 or so.

Do I have a bum pump, are these Presta's just a pain and I need to practice more? Is there some secret trick I have been given since I'm SO new?

Help!

Heather
Deflated in KC

[KnottedYet]

Is the pump one with a flip-able inner nozzle thingy for Schraeder or Presta? Or is it one of the self-adapting kind?

I had a self-adapting one, which was a royal pain.

Now I have a Giant floor pump that I keep flipped to Schraeder and use an adaptor that I screw onto the Presta valves to make them just like Schraders when I fill the tubes. (I have bikes with both types of tubes.)

[OakLeaf]

My first guess is, if it's an off-brand Chinese pump from So & So's sporting goods, it's the gauge on the pump that's wrong.

If I understand you, you're inflating the tires to the specified pressure on the pump gauge, then you're checking them with some other (almost certainly more accurate) gauge?

Try overinflating your tires per the pump gauge (if it's difficult, you definitely need a good pump), *then* check them with your good gauge.

FWIW I got a self-adapting pump last year and it's fine, no problem, easy to use. Whether it'll withstand the wear after a couple more years of being jammed on Schraeder valves, we'll see.

[KnottedYet]

Oooh, Oakleaf, what kind of self-adapting pump do you have? Can you post a link?

[Grog]

Here's the prob...New bikes (only have 60 mi on them) but need air in tires. Bought a pump from ****'s Sporting Goods but when I aftering adding air and removing valve, air escapes before I can get the (*^%% thing off. So I check the pressure and it's back down to 80 or so.

Make sure you're pulling the pump head straight away from the valve, not in a diagonal movement.

You can try with your valve at the highest position on your wheel and pulling straight down.

Please give more details about the pump...

[OakLeaf]

I have a Specialized Air Tool Comp that gets used on both Presta and Schraeder valves - that one does take a bit of a push-pull to get on and off the valves, but NBD. As I mentioned, I've only had it for less than a season, so I don't know how well the gasket will last.

At my summer home I have a Serfas TCPG. That's also a self-adapting pump, although it's never seen a Schraeder valve, it's just what the shop had for sale. It goes on the Presta valve and comes off easily.

(I see on Serfas' website that they now offer a women's specific pump It's lavender and printed with flowers. So much less phallic than a regular pump )

Neither one of mine was expensive ($40 and $30). I tried to rebuild my old Silca pump with new gaskets, but it just won't push more than about an indicated 95 lbs, with a lot of effort. Maybe there's rust inside the bore or something, poor old thing.

Honestly I've never calibrated the gauges on either of my new pumps. For the kind of riding I do nowadays, the pump gauge is accurate enough. The tire feels hard to my thumb, the tire and spokes make a nice "ping" when I smack it, close enough for a "B"-level club ride


Anyway, +1 to what Grog said, too.

[Pedal Wench]

There is always some air that you'll hear escaping, but it's coming from the pump, not the valve. Are you sure you're getting the tire all the way up to 100 (or whatever you prefer) before removing the pump? And, like someone else said, remove the pump head in a quick, smooth, straight action.

[coyote]

Presta's are a pain. I usually end up totally deflating my tube just trying to get the pump on. Some times I miss the 'sweet spot' and end up resetting the pump. I bought a schader adapter but the darned thing does not work with my floor pump. Oh, well. I'm hoping with time I'll get better at this.

[Kano]

I have a Specialized Air Tool Comp that gets used on both Presta and Schraeder valves - that one does take a bit of a push-pull to get on and off the valves, but NBD. As I mentioned, I've only had it for less than a season, so I don't know how well the gasket will last.

Me too! I was going to post last night, but had to look at my pump to see! Yes, I agree -- a bit persnickety to get the widget on the presta gizmo, much easier on the schrader gizmo, but it works well for me, now that I've got the knack. We're on our third season with it -- and as Oak said, about $30. It's got a pressure gauge built in, down there on the floor, just far enough away so that I can read it with my contacts in! (no reading vision in those, but who needs that while biking?)

Karen in Boise

[SouthernBelle]

While Meg was airing her tires up this evening before our ride, she was having the same problem. She had pressed the nozzle down firmly and pulled up the lever. I think her problem was that she was pressing it on too firmly. Try just pushing it on enough to cover just what needs to be covered and not as far as it will go.

HTH,