Cool! Must be smarter than the pump

[roguedog]

Dang, this is cool. THis is the first time that I've been able to pump up my tires without deflating them first and spending like half hour or so fussing with this!

Now I know why people look at me like I'm a rtard when I say I don't know how to pump up my tires.

I bought a Joe Blow Pro from the REI used gear sale and tried to pump up my tires.. what a fuss! They'd deflate and I'd have to hold the head just so so the air wouldn't leak out, which makes pumping a fun thing. Then I read about the little adapter thingy and went and purchased that. Better but still a pita.

Then I went on a Melo Velo ride and talked to the girls there and told 'em my woes. I knew I wouldn't be the only one seeing as I'm not the only one on this board. Well, one of the ladies said that she'd heard it was easier when the tire valve was at the top of the wheel instead of the bottom and to kinda "open up the valve" by hitting it a couple times to hear some air escape.

It also helped that someone explained that the lock was when the tab on the pump head was up not down. This seems *** backwards to me but whatever works dude!

So I dubiously tried all those things tonight and I'm not sure which one was the magic pill but it worked! So I thought I'd write this up for anyone else that might be a pump challenged as I am!

Also.. I think I've read that some of you pump up your front tire to a diff pressure than the rear. Any reason why? I just pump 'em both up to bout 120.

[velogirl]

Then I went on a Melo Velo ride and talked to the girls there and told 'em my woes. I knew I wouldn't be the only one seeing as I'm not the only one on this board. Well, one of the ladies said that she'd heard it was easier when the tire valve was at the top of the wheel instead of the bottom and to kinda "open up the valve" by hitting it a couple times to hear some air escape.

Also.. I think I've read that some of you pump up your front tire to a diff pressure than the rear. Any reason why? I just pump 'em both up to bout 120.

Congrats! I hope you enjoyed the ride, RD. I actually teach that in my bike maintenance classes -- valve up. Two reasons. One, why should you have to bend over/squat when you pump up your tires. Second, with the valve up, you can use your hand the tire to seat the pump (can't do that when the tire is on the ground because the valve is at the bottom). This gives you a better seal and also helps stabilize the valve stem (with is a fragile part of the tube).

I run 105 in the front and 110 in the rear (and I weigh almost 160 pounds). More weight is on the back of the bike which is why we run a higher pressure there. 120 is super-high, especially for most women who don't weigh much. Try dropping your pressure a little bit and I bet you'll get a more comfortable, responsive ride. For most smaller women, I'll recommend 95 in the front and 100 in the rear (or even 90 and 95).

[Thistle]

I learn something everytime i log on! I have always done my tyres with the valve at the bottom, then an experienced friend did them with the valve at the side, so i tried that but was too scared to ask why!

Now i'm going to do them with the valve at the top I never thought of different pressures in the front and back! What a great idea!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If the valve is at the top when you use your presta pump, it's also easier to pull the chuck straight down and off when you're done. If you pull the chuck off from the side or up from the bottom, your bike can move unexpectedly and might fall over if you don't catch it.

[roguedog]

Congrats! I hope you enjoyed the ride, RD. I actually teach that in my bike maintenance classes -- valve up. Two reasons. One, why should you have to bend over/squat when you pump up your tires. Second, with the valve up, you can use your hand the tire to seat the pump (can't do that when the tire is on the ground because the valve is at the bottom). This gives you a better seal and also helps stabilize the valve stem (with is a fragile part of the tube).

I run 105 in the front and 110 in the rear (and I weigh almost 160 pounds). More weight is on the back of the bike which is why we run a higher pressure there. 120 is super-high, especially for most women who don't weigh much. Try dropping your pressure a little bit and I bet you'll get a more comfortable, responsive ride. For most smaller women, I'll recommend 95 in the front and 100 in the rear (or even 90 and 95).

I did enjoy the ride and I even dragged a friend along. It's a gorgeous route. Oh! And I even have picks of Rose's first lead group at: http://picasaweb.google.com/roguedog8/MeloVeloWRose Not sure fi she wanted to post it on the velogirl website or something.

So when is the next bike maintenance course. Would love to go!

When you say "smaller" what do you mean by that? Ok,, newbie question. If I don't pump them to the recommended pressure does that mean I have a higher likliehood of a flat?