SICKBOY99

i have a presta tyre on a Giant hybrid bike, im trying to pump it using a schrader pump and a schrader/woods valve adapter i bought from halfords. its a gold-coloured thimble which i have screwed over the valve (am i supposed to tighten or loosen the tiny little knurled collar sticking out of the valve end?)


i need to pump really fast to overcome the release of air that occurs after a few pumps of air. would another adapter help matters? thx for any help.

RegularGuy

loosen the little knurled collar. Screw on the adapter. Pump it up. Remove the adapter. Tighten the collar down again.

mcavana

buy a decent floor pump that works with both schraeder and presta.

RegularGuy

Not necessary, really, though it would be helpful.

Usually when a pump starts to hiss after a few pumps, the problem is that the washers in the pump head are getting old. If you have the little knurled collar open, try holding the pump head onto the valve (or in this case the adapter) with one hand while pumping with the other.

catatonic

this is why I only use presta, and own a presta frame pump I use for all of them...but I'm weird like that

bkrownd

I use a presta/schrader adapter now, after I gave up on trying to pump prestas directly. (ugh) Works great without leaking much up to 130 PSI, so yours should as well. Perhaps the o-ring in your adapter or the rubber seal in your pump are cracked, hardened or dirty?

royalflash

I had exactly the same problem with my old Schrader pump- as soon as I attached the adapter and the pump head to the Presta tyre the air would start rushing out and it would be a race to see whether I could get more air in the tyre than leaked out. I struggled manfully with this pump for a few years but finally gave up on it when I bought a road bike. There was no way I could get the tyres up to 100 psi with all the air rushing back out. I pumped like a madman with sweat flying off but there was no way I could get to 100 psi. Sometimes there would even be less air in the tyre at the end of pumping than at the beginining. So I got myself a proper bicycle pump that was actually designed to pump up Presta bike tyres. I got a Joe Blow pump. The difference is amazing. A few leisurely pumps and the tyre is up to pressure. Ditch the Schrader pump- it is worth the money to get a good pump.

ch0mb0

this may sound silly and have been asked to death - but do they manufacture an adapter that will fit onto one of those gas station airpumps?

neuronbliss

Hey Merton, check this one... (this is what I have)

royalflash

yes this type of thing is what you need

https://www.all3sports.com/product/ca...ProductID/3541

bkrownd

One of the problems is that some presta valves are made incorrectly, with too many threads on the stem so that your pump has nowhere to
grip except on the threading, and you aren't going to get a seal on that at all. The schrader adapter will take care of that problem.
I really don't know of any disadvantage to using the schrader adapter.

ch0mb0

sweet thanks for the hook-up!

crank'n

thoes adaptors are ok, though most compressors at servos wont in inflate to road pressures. A pump capable of up to160psi is also recomended to inflte tyers at home.

bkrownd

Probably a good idea - I cringe to think of some dingbat inflating their old car tire to 125PSI. Ouch.

DieselDan

Get a good floor pump to inflate your tires at home before you ride.

For the road, a frame-fit pump works well enough to inflate a road bike tire to full pressure with less effort then a mini-pump, or use CO2 inflators, which, when used properly, take very little effort to use and can get you going quickly at full pressure. I use both a mini-pump and inflators on the road. Seems to be overkill, but I can seat the tire and tube with the min-pump then inflate the tube with a 12 gram cartridge. If I run out of cartridges on a ride, I can still pump the tube to about 90-100 psi with the mini-pump.

RegularGuy

Read Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. One of the book's funniest and most memorable scenes involves over-inflating car tires in an attempt to improve cornering.

Also, inflating a bike tire with a gas station compressor is a good way to pop a tube and blow a tire off the rim. I've seen it happen. Those compressors move a lot of air.

Big air volume + skinny bike tire = Too much pressure (Boom)

roadbuzz

Loosen it 'til it won't turn, then press it briefly, 'til you hear some air escape, so it won't be stuck when you start pumping.

Either the adapter, or the pump head that it is mounted in. BTW, if the pump is worth a d*mn, you can buy good after-market pump heads.
https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=4363

If it's not, better just to get a good pump.