Airing Tires

[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.