Track pump with no gauge

bice

I have a track pump from Argos which I have used for years on commuters. I just pump away until I get tired and the tyre feels really hard. It's worked, and I have had few punctures.

With road bike (Trek 1.7) I got a puncture at the weekend probably because the tyres weren't quite hard enough. I knew it, but was a bit rushed. Do I actually need to acturately gauge my tyres? I have now just pumped the road bike up as hard as I can - ie there is a good retort of pent up pressure when I take the clamp off the tyre. Can you actually over inflate anyway? I would have thought the valves on the pump, or the rubber tubing would collapse through high pressure before the tyres?

Can I get away with this? I do have Schrader pressure gauges, but they do not work with Presta valve adapters, and I only use Presta valves as, I think, they are so much better. (I have torn an inner before trying to get a pump off a Schrader - although they are convenient if you use an electric pump.

Beeblebrox

Sounds like you should just buy a decent track pump. They're no more than about £20 and are well worth it - there are maximum pressures on the tyre walls that ought not be exceeded. It's probably quite hard to blow out a tyre with a hand pump, but it's not recommended to try.

Mister W

AFAIK Planet-X are selling the On-One track pump at half price. I've got one and it's excellent quality. At £20 it's good value. At £10 is a complete and utter steal.

mhuk

Planet-X ones are out of stock. Ordered yesterday and had a phone call today

Ribble do one for about £14

synchronicity

Track pumps are a must... yes it's possible to over inflate a tyre. Some rims have maximum pressure recommendations.

ride_whenever

Just for information (and it is awesome)

youtube

LeighB

I have a track pump without a gauge and in the past I have gone a bit overboard and blown a couple of tyres off the rim. When the tube blows it sounds like a gun going off! Problem is when I was younger I had sprint rims with tubulars and I think you could get them to take a bit more pressure than clinchers.

JGS

To get the best out of your bike you need to make sure your tyres are pumped up right. This affects traction, handling and also how much effort you need to put in. Even a £20 track pump can make a world of difference. It's nearly christmas, why not stick it on the list for Santa?

Headhuunter

Whacking extraordinary levels of pressure into a tyre is not necessarily the answer anyway. Yes, you may have slightly fewer punctures but if the tyre is unable to absorb small bumps and pits in the road surface, effectively the extreme tyre pressure is going to cause you to slow not get faster. The bike bounces up and down off imperfections in the road surface rather than absorbing them smoothly, which means you have to push that little bit harder to overcome the constant boucing. With slightly less pressure, the bike effectively "glides" across small bumps in the road. Even in skinny road tyres, if you go much higher than 110-120psi you're slowing yourself down.