Bicycle Mechanics - 20 lb weakling when Pumping tires

I'm fairly new to the sport so sorry if it is a dumb question. I searched the forum and could not find the answer

I have bought a decent floor bump. I like my tires 100/110 psi.. I cannot get enough force on the pump to get it past about 85(and that practically kills me). I need my husband to pump it past that.

I am 5'9 1/2 and weight 125. Does anyone have any tricks to this or can point me to the link that answers this question? I hate depending on my husband for something as little as this. There has to be a trick..

I did ask 2 different people who have been riding for awhile and they said I have to put my muscles into it... I have prett much sat on the top of the pump and still can't get it..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Air compresser work real nice.

If it is a presta valve unscrew the valve top first, them press down and let a little air out. This opens up the valve, it should then be easy to pump it up to the desired pressure.

even tho the pump is rated high enough maybe it just can't
reach that without undo work?
What kind of pump? I'd suggest a Joe Blow, Zefal, Silca or any
of the pumps that are rated to about 160psi. 110 should be an easy
stretch for them.
I'm leery of compressors since you can't really control em (seen one too
many tube blow out).
Marty

We have a good Zefal pump and my wife also has trouble getting the force to go above about 95...She is 5'1 - 110#.

I'm fairly new to the sport so sorry if it is a dumb question. I searched the forum and could not find the answer

I have bought a decent floor bump. I like my tires 100/110 psi.. I cannot get enough force on the pump to get it past about 85(and that practically kills me). I need my husband to pump it past that.

I am 5'9 1/2 and weight 125. Does anyone have any tricks to this or can point me to the link that answers this question? I hate depending on my husband for something as little as this. There has to be a trick..

I did ask 2 different people who have been riding for awhile and they said I have to put my muscles into it... I have prett much sat on the top of the pump and still can't get it..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

How big is the pump? If the chamber diameter is 3/4 inches, the area you're pushing is around 1.25 square inches. So if you weigh 125 pounds, putting ALL your weight on it, you should be able to exert 125/1.25=100 PSI (pounds/square inch).
If the chamber diameter is 1 inch, the area you're pushing is around 1.5 square inches. Then if you put ALL your weight on it, the most you can physically achieve is right around 80 PSI. You can try slightly lifting your body as you push so that you're "falling" down on it, which adds more force than just static weight.

even tho the pump is rated high enough maybe it just can't
reach that without undo work?
What kind of pump? I'd suggest a Joe Blow, Zefal, Silca or any
of the pumps that are rated to about 160psi. 110 should be an easy
stretch for them.
I'm leery of compressors since you can't really control em (seen one too
many tube blow out).
Marty

Yes you can,you can control how fast the air comes out by a regulator.

I'm fairly new to the sport so sorry if it is a dumb question. I searched the forum and could not find the answer

I have bought a decent floor bump. I like my tires 100/110 psi.. I cannot get enough force on the pump to get it past about 85(and that practically kills me). I need my husband to pump it past that.

I am 5'9 1/2 and weight 125. Does anyone have any tricks to this or can point me to the link that answers this question? I hate depending on my husband for something as little as this. There has to be a trick..

I did ask 2 different people who have been riding for awhile and they said I have to put my muscles into it... I have prett much sat on the top of the pump and still can't get it..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I may be a bit heavier than you, but I also have the same problem. I don't put muscle into it, I put the little bit of weight I do have over the pump, and use that. Only problem is keeping the pump dead straight while doing this, and you must get full stroke of the pump. I don't pump with my arms, I keep them fairly straight, and go up and down with my legs.

I am not sure what you call a "decent floor pump".
Apart from quality, some pumps are qualified as "Road", others as "Moutain". Road pumps have a smaller diametre, which means you will need more strokes, but will be able to build up more pressure relatively easily. If you get a pump rated for 160 or 200 psi (i.e. that's 200 psi for Mr. Muscle), you will find it easier to get 100-125 psi.

Sometimes, getting a different head (or nozzle?) on the pump places less restriction and makes pumping easier.

I would suggest you visit your LBS on a slow day and either try a different head (if applicable) or a new pump and that you actually try a few ones on tires. If necessary, bring your own wheel.

**************

Finally, one thing to consider. I don't know how wide or narrow are your tires, but since you weight only 125 lb, you need less air pressure than a person who weights 200 lb. IOW, 700x25 tires which need to be pumped at 125 psi for the typical male (180 lb) who carries a little bit of cargo would be very comfortable and efficient at 90-100 psi for you.

Regards,

like some people have said. sort of drop your weight on it. I like my tires at 120psi but my pump will only easily go to 100 even though its rated to 160...so i just sort of lay my weight on it and go up about 5 psi at a time...

Your body weight should be only a minor factor. You should be able to exert more force than your dead weight using some combination of leg, back, shoulder and arm muscles.

It sounds like either the pump is just low quality, or there is a restriction, or something. Oh, are you pumping thru a schrader valve or presta? Prestas are much easier to pump to higher pressure, since you're only opening the valve as you push down on the pump.

About the lower pressure for lower weight riders, only take that so far. No matter what your weight, an underinflated tire puts you at risk of "snake bite" (rim-pinch) flats. But given your desire for high pressure, you probably already know that...

Cheat, buy a 12 volt electric pump with gauge, mine is a mongoose brand rated to 250 psi, gauge is surprisingly accurate, has an inline switch to control it and only cost $12.99 au.
You can just plug it into your car lighter socket or buy a 12volt sla and use that.

No kidding,any weak armed person can use a air compresser and its so easy and has other uses and is 99% maintenance free.

Thanks for all the advice. Yeah, my pump only goes to 120 psi.. I am going to look into a better pump or an air compressor. How do they cost compare?

Thanks for all the advice. Yeah, my pump only goes to 120 psi.. I am going to look into a better pump or an air compressor. How do they cost compare?

This pump from performance bike costs $45 and inflates to a mind boggling 224 psi :eek:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=14972

Most manual 160psi pumps will run you 20-30 bucks.

This electric air compressor's $38 and maxes out at 300 psi.
http://www.webmountainbike.com/eltirpum.html

Fogdog's got another electric one for $20 but it looks like it maxes out around 120psi.
http://www.fogdog.com/product/index.jsp?productId=966694

Yes you can,you can control how fast the air comes out by a regulator.

You can control the pressure with a regulator, but not the volume and the volume put out by compressors like at service stations move a lot of air.

My bad,your right but if you get one rated at 120 psi or so you dont have much to worry about. I've never had a problem with one.

When it gets too hard to pump using arm muscles, do this: Stand over the pump, arms locked straight, and bend forward, using your body weight to push down.

As others have said, a lot depends on the pump. I had a diamondback pump that I didnt think was that hard to pump, but it had a problem with presta valves so I just bought a Joe Blow Sport. The Joe Blow is very noticably easier to pump tires up to 130psi+. When comparing the pumps the diamondback pump now seems very difficult to pump. The barrel on the Joe Blow is taller and narrower than the diamondback.

Slvoid - your math is wrong, a 1" dia circle has an area of .78 sq ins, so pushing down on that area with 125 lbs will give 160 psi. You are however right in that you need a small diameter pump to get high pressures.

Kind of on-topic. Where can you get an air-compressor chuck for presta valves?

Slvoid - your math is wrong, a 1" dia circle has an area of .78 sq ins, so pushing down on that area with 125 lbs will give 160 psi. You are however right in that you need a small diameter pump to get high pressures.

Oh yeah, duh! Last time I rely on my own brain to make mathematical calculations. :/

I'm fairly new to the sport so sorry if it is a dumb question. I searched the forum and could not find the answer

I have bought a decent floor bump. I like my tires 100/110 psi.. I cannot get enough force on the pump to get it past about 85(and that practically kills me). I need my husband to pump it past that.

I am 5'9 1/2 and weight 125. Does anyone have any tricks to this or can point me to the link that answers this question? I hate depending on my husband for something as little as this. There has to be a trick..

I did ask 2 different people who have been riding for awhile and they said I have to put my muscles into it... I have prett much sat on the top of the pump and still can't get it..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The best thing I ever did was buy an air compressor from Lowes for about $60. No more pumping tires! I use it on my bike tires as well as on my car and riding lawn mower. It sure does save alot of work. You have to be careful you don't overinflate your bike tires, but after a few times using the compressor, this has become second nature. Some compressors come with a pressure guage right in the unit.