Pumping Up Tyres?

rossbarney2003

I have recently been having trouble with my tyres. I was about to go out for a cycle when I realised that I haven't checked my tyres and that I don't even have a bike pump!

Well anyway I noticed that they were kinda soft so I asked my friend to bring round his floor pump. I unscrewed the caps then realised that the bit u pump the air in to is different to eg a mountain bike tyre (How stupid am I? lol) so it wouldn't fit. I did some research and found out that I needed a pump that would fit a presta valve. I popped down to the local shops and bought one. I got home, followed the instructions, nothing happened.....no air was going into the tyres. Am I doing something wrong? There was like no pressure in the pump at all.

Also It says that my tyres should be at 90psi. My pump has a guage on it and it doesn't even change no matter how long I pump. Is it something I am doing or is the pump broken?

Oh and if I get a pump with no guage on it, how do you know when its at the right psi?



Sorry for being such a pest. I really am clueless haha.

redddraggon

Have you undone the presta valve before putting the pump on?

Have you used the lever on the pump head to lock it onto the valve?

If you get one without gauge, you don't really know what the pressure is at. Get one with a gauge.

on the road

First, try putting the connection on the pump close to your face and start pumping, you should feel some air, if you don't then it's faulty. Second, unscrew the valve nut and push it to let a bit of air out, sometimes it sticks and won't let any air in untill you push the valve in. If that doesn't work then you'll have to take the tube out and see if the valve has come away from the tube, if it has then it's a new tube.

Mog Uk

http://matthewsbikes.com/techcorner/prestavalve.htm

Step 1 and 2 are what you should be doing....

rossbarney2003

redddraggon wrote:

Have you undone the presta valve before putting the pump on?

Have you used the lever on the pump head to lock it onto the valve?

If you get one without gauge, you don't really know what the pressure is at. Get one with a gauge.

Yep I did all that, and I did try putting the connection close my face and pumped to see if anything came out and nothing did......I'm popping back to the shops after work so i'm gonna get it replaced.

In the mean time (since both my tyres are totally flat since I pressed the presta valve on both tyres....) i'm gonna use the presta valve adapter thing I got with my new pump so that my friends floor pump with the gauge will fit my bike.


Is there anything else I should know about pumping up tyres? lol and thanks for all your help so far

heavymental

Don't worry about a guage. Just pump them up until you can only just slightly squeeze it between your finger and thumb. Some people run them completely rock hard but thats personal preference.

Also, get a little pump (like a topeak pocket rocket) and repair kit and stick them in yopur pocket when you go out. On some rainy dark night infront of the fire, get used to taking off the tyre and putting it back on and familiarise yourself with how the repair kit works so you can fix a puncture when you're out in the middle of nowehere without keeling over with hypothermia.

rossbarney2003

The pump I bought has a bracket for attatching to my bike. Is that good good enough or would u still suggest getting a smaller one to put in my pocket? The bracket also has a wee bit on it which holds glueless patches. I thought that was pretty kool, even though I have no idea what to do with them.

I also have a little tool kit thing which comes with all the stuff I need for repairing a puncture and other things that tend to go wrong when out cycling.


Is there anything else I should be carrying when out for a cycle?

on the road

Throw the glueless patches away, they don't work.

Mog Uk

rossbarney2003 wrote:

Is there anything else I should be carrying when out for a cycle?

A pump, couple of spare tubes, patches and tyre levers, this should cover you for most 'disasters'

rossbarney2003

Mog Uk wrote:

rossbarney2003 wrote:

Is there anything else I should be carrying when out for a cycle?

A pump, couple of spare tubes, patches and tyre levers, this should cover you for most 'disasters'

I everything there apart from spare tubes. I'll pick some up on thurs since i'm off work.

Thanks soooo much for all your help

mrushton

I'd suggest not going out at all until you are familiar with getting your wheel out of the bike (front and rear) and being familiar with getting your tyre/tube on and off using the levers you are going to carry - you do have a set of levers? Soma do some nice steel cored ones or I'd recommend a VAR lever or a speed lever. The VAR will allow you to lift the tyre edge into the well. Get yourself a quality pump - Blackburn/Topeak etc and check you know how to use it. Are you using deeper rims? if so you'll need long valves. Take some disposable gloves. Stuck at the roadside in the pouring rain miles from anywhere is not the time to learn about this.

rossbarney2003

mrushton wrote:

I'd suggest not going out at all until you are familiar with getting your wheel out of the bike (front and rear) and being familiar with getting your tyre/tube on and off using the levers you are going to carry - you do have a set of levers? Soma do some nice steel cored ones or I'd recommend a VAR lever or a speed lever. The VAR will allow you to lift the tyre edge into the well. Get yourself a quality pump - Blackburn/Topeak etc and check you know how to use it. Are you using deeper rims? if so you'll need long valves. Take some disposable gloves. Stuck at the roadside in the pouring rain miles from anywhere is not the time to learn about this.

Yeh I have all the stuff I need for changing a tyre, and I know how to take the the front wheel off (not sooo sure about that back one :oops: ).

Is there any chance you could recommend a good pump from wiggle? I like buying all my stuff from there cus of the free shipping and I find it hard to go out cus of work and uni somtimes.

heavymental

Your pump will be ok, just that I prefer to go minimalist so a pocket sized pump is good....like the Topeak one I suggested earlier. You may decide that too in time but as long as you have something to pump your tyres up for now, don't worry too much.

Get used to using your tyre levers as quite often you can snap cheapo ones as you lever the tyre off and then you're stuck. Hence its a good idea to give it a go at home a couple of times, especially as some tyres can be a btch to get off/back on certain rims. I use a Pedros Milk Lever that I've had for about 15 years! It bends but doesn't snap. If you've got yourself a specific biking jersey it will have pockets on the back and its easy to shove it in there. Don't worry that you'll be carrying a load of kit with you, its all small and easy to pick up and stick in your pocket on your way out the door.

I always shove some cash and my phone in there aswell so I can get some food or call the cavalry if things go really pear shaped. I'm no mobile mechanic so unless its a puncture or something very minor I'm in trouble...but the more familiar you are with your bike the more you'll be able to fix on the fly. That just comes with time and experience....unless you decide to get greasy and teach yourself the ins and outs. A windproof or extra layer of some kind is useful too, although you'll probably have it on already if you're out at this time of year.

Anyway...summer soon Ross, you should be flying by the time it comes around.

rossbarney2003

Cheeso i'm still having problems. My friend gave me a shot of his floor pump. I started pumping away and the tyre was slowly filling up (Finally!), but the pressure guage thing keeps dropping, then going back up etc. The tyres are also no where near as hard as they were when I put it in for its first service.......

*Edit* Hmmmm it only seems to be the front tyre thats not pumping up right....the back tyre pumped up nicely but the front tyre doesn't seem to want to. Air has gone into the tyre cus it has inflated so much, but even though the pressure guage reads 90psi the tyre stills feels kinda soft.....

on the road

Are you sure you haven't got a slow puncture?

rossbarney2003

on the road wrote:

Are you sure you haven't got a slow puncture?

Knowing my luck I probably do....

I'm gonna try and sort it out tomoro after my uni exam

il_principe

Yeah sounds like you have a slow puncture. Make sure you thoroughly check the tire and rim for thorns or glass when changing/repairing.

In terms of "travel kit" you are nearly there, I'd suggest 2 additions - a multitool and a CO2 inflator. I try to always carry:

2 Tubes
Park Tool super patch kit
Topeak Minipump
Innovations Airchuck SL Co2 Inflator
Multitool
Mobile Phone
£10
Park Tool tire levers
Cleat Covers - in case I'm forced to walk!

Sounds like a lot but all that kit has saved my bacon in the past! I stuff all mine in a mini saddle bag and my jersey pockets.

rossbarney2003

jashburnham wrote:

Yeah sounds like you have a slow puncture. Make sure you thoroughly check the tire and rim for thorns or glass when changing/repairing.

In terms of "travel kit" you are nearly there, I'd suggest 2 additions - a multitool and a CO2 inflator. I try to always carry:

2 Tubes
Park Tool super patch kit
Topeak Minipump
Innovations Airchuck SL Co2 Inflator
Multitool
Mobile Phone
£10
Park Tool tire levers
Cleat Covers - in case I'm forced to walk!

Sounds like a lot but all that kit has saved my bacon in the past! I stuff all mine in a mini saddle bag and my jersey pockets.

Im buying a saddle bag and I have plenty of pockets so i'm sure i'll manage to carry all the stuff lol.

rossbarney2003

Sorry for the double post, but today I took the front tyre off and checked the tube for a puncture. I inflated it (yet again it would iflate so far then stop), checked for bubbles in a basin of water, but couldn't see a thing.

I deflated the tube again, then thought i'd try inflating it again. For some reason it inflated fully this time, so I put it in the basin of water to double check for a puncture but I still couldn't see anything. I then put my wheel all back together and this time it inflated the the right pressure. Now both my wheels are at the right pressure.

Can anybody explain to me what happened lol? I get a feeling that when I was screwing the presta adapter over the valve that it was screwing that little thing that holds in the air in, stopping the air from going into the tyre properly.....

trekvet

on the road wrote:

Throw the glueless patches away, they don't work.

Strange you didn`t qualify that; this chap needs all the help he can get.

I use Park glueless patches (3 or 4 anyway) and they are still on and still take 100psi., but then I do rough up the tube well. I also remember not to touch the surface of the tube nor the sticky side of the patch before pressing it very firmly in place. I wonder why mine work when yours don`t?