Quote Originally Posted by pooks
Okay, I have a question about all this, too!

The book I bought on riding said to check your air before every ride. Um, no, I haven't. We aired up the tires (using an air compressor hooked up to my husband's car -- he carries it in the back end all the time) when we first assembled the bikes and haven't checked since. (That has been about ten days, now, and I've ridden 31 miles and he's ridden half that.)

How often do you check?
You need to calibrate your thumb. Then you can check before every ride and it only takes 2 seconds per tire. That's my technique. Every tube leaks slowly, and the leak rate varies by tube thickness and material. It's a function of time, not of how often or how far you ride. Most bike tires need a few pump strokes every 3-5 days to maintain pressure, depending on how wide your acceptable tire pressure range is. So if you ride everyday, you don't really have to check your tires every ride, but if you ride once a week you should.