I get very annoyed by the threaded presta valve bodies. I have to yank hard to get the pump head off the valve. Grrr.
The
Michelin Airstop tubes are very nice.
No outside threading, so there's no spin-on nut, and the pump head removes with no drama.
Originally Posted by
peterws
Thank you for all those brilliant suggestions, guys . . . .Now, i always understood presta valves were for high pressure racing bike type application, and Schraeder were for motors, and mountain bikes.
I know of many racing aficionados who simply over pressurised their tyres to save a millisecond or so. But they blew either their tyres or their valves thereby not only failing to win, but also to finish .. . . I don't use a tyre pressure gauge; rather -
when the pumping gets tough . . .
I've had enough.
And your max pressure for a presta is . . . .drum roll . . . .
There's no advantage to extreme high pressure (well, maybe on newly paved roads or velodrome tracks.)
It sounds like you are using a small carry pump, instead of a floor pump, which always have a gauge. Yeah, pumping until it's quite difficult works okay on those tiny pumps.
Floor pumps are way easier and much faster. And you are less likely to bend the valve nut, or rip the valve out of the tube. And you can see the pressure you are putting in.
At 170 pounds, I use:
With 25mm tires: 95 to 100 psi rear, and 80 to 85 psi front. It's comfortable on rough roads, and still very fast rolling.
With 29mm tires: 80 to 85 psi rear, and 65 to 70 psi front.
I don't use 23mm tires any more, but I think I had 105-110 psi rear, 95-100 psi front.