Please help me! I am trying to get my bike tyres pumped up. I have bought two pumps in two weeks but I just can't work out how to pump them up!!!

I thought it was straight forward just put the pump on the valve and...well...pump inthe air, but no.


Is the pump supposed to clip onto or fix onto the valve in any way**********Mine just don't seem to attach on.

I have a beta mini pump that has a diagram on the back about the two different valves but it does't help. There is s lever and if it's down it's not locked and if it's sticking out it is locked but it doesn't feel any different locked or unlocked.

Please help me as I need to get pedalling!!!!!

Most likely you haven't pushed it down far enough on the valve...it can be quite a snug fit, even with the lever down. You might be able to screw the outer ring of the pump head tighter or looser to adjust the fit.

Schrader valve is like a car tire valve. Unscrew the black cap and you see a round end with the valve post in the centre. If your pump head has two sizes of sockets, fit the larger one over the valve, press it down, and lift the lever.

Presta Valve is skinnier, and after you remove the cap, you must also unscrew the end part of the valve. use the smaller socket on the pump head, and push it as far on the valve as possible, then lift the lever.

Some pump heads have one socket, but removable parts that can be flipped over to accomodate one or other valve type.

It's normal to hear a little bit of air escaping as you detach the pump head. It probably mostly comes from the pump not the tire, so it doesn't mean your work was wasted.

A lot of mini pumps have difficulty pumping much above 60 psi. For higher pressures you may need a floor pump or frame pump.

Be careful when you pull the pump off the stem to pull straight and steadily. If you wrench it from side to side you may hurt the base of the stem at the metal rim of the tire.

thankyou for your reply Cooker, it's apprecaited.

I am just about going mad. It doesn't matter what I do, how I try to put it on, on part is too small and won't fit on and the other seems to big and doesn't 'latch' on. The locking lever makes no difference.

Also when I press down on the valve, even quite lighty, is just sink back into the wheel and I have to pull it out again!!!

At this point you're probably a bit too frustrated, so even Zeus' Own Pump (TM) wouldn't work for you. So calm down just a tiny little bit. And then, if you can, walk down to your nearest LBS (local bike shop) and ask there someone to kindly put you through the ropes regarding the pumps you have vs. the tires/valves you happen to have.

The facts that you'll slowly learn, regard the types of valves, the types of pumps, and how they lock or don't, to these valves. Words like presta, schrader and dunlop...

But for now, just take it easy and try not to hate the world of tire inflation


(and you'll probably learn to hold the valve with one finger while you inflate the tire just enough for the pressure to push the valve out of the rim)

If your bike is a roady bike with high pressure tires you need a good floor pump with a built-in gauge. Frame pumps are really just for on-road repairs.

Al

What type of valves do you have?

Presta or Schrader

Picture is worth a thousand words.....

Put your thumb on the outside of the tire behind the valve stem and press hard to prevent that.

If it is a Shrader valve, and the pump won't lock to it, see if there is a tightening ring around the pump head, that will compress the rubber ring inside the pump head to make it tighter.