Boppsie

Its been 30+ years since I owned a bike, Don't recall filling tires ever was a problem.
But when I now try to fill the tires of my new Specialized bike with a Joe Blow manual pump, I find that air deflates from the tire and it takes me several attempts until I am successful.
I actually ruined one tire when trying to fill it.I broke off the fragile seeming mobile end of the tire valve (the needle-like extension which is inserted in the pump "spigot")

Getting ready to ride is anxiety provoking.
I am afraid to attach the pump to the tire lest I again break something. A mechanic at my local bike shop told me pump spigot may be overly tight and that will ease as I use the pump.
Is that true? Is that the problem?

no1mad 

Which valve stems do you have- Presta or Schrader (like the ones found on cars)?

Jed19

^he's describing a Presta valve.

Dave Cutter

Yes... I've even heard of people that used a drill bit to try to "ease" the fit of the rubber spigot. What will work better is just use that old broken tube stem to force a little wear into the rubber gasket part. Then... put a little dap of Vaseline jelly, or a drop of vegetable oil in the spigot.

Place the stem at the six O'clock position when filling the tire with air. Maybe do a practice run or two... sit right down on the floor where you can actually see what your doing. Get a good idea of how much stem needs to go into the "spigot" part. Familiarity will end the anxiety..... once you get it figured out... you'll have it forever.

Retro Grouch 

One other trick - "burp" your inner tube before inflating.

It sounds counter productive to let out a little air before reinflating your tire but it unsticks the presta valve and makes it much easier to pump up.

RonH

+1 on the "burping". Always works for me.

Dave Horne

That's what I do as well.

When I first moved over here I didn't have a clue how the Presta valves worked. I let all the air out the tire and had to walk the bike to the bike shop.

YouTube has helped me many times to learn how to accomplish something. I always carry an valve adapter with me (even when I'm not biking).

Boppsie

Thank you- don't have the broken tube stem.But do have veg oil.
Appreciate the tip on 6:00 PM position.
After reading posts on Bike Forum, I googled, found some YouTube videos and I learned (Duh!) that I have Presta valves on my tires - I had no idea there were two types of valves.AND I learned that I am supposed to screw shut the mobile tip at the end of the Presta Valve. One reason I may have ruined my one tube is that I never knew to shut it and so it is no wonder i broke it off.

Gee-I paid what for me is a small fortune for the bike and not one bit of information about maintenance.
Thank you.This BikeForum is helpful Gad I found it

Boppsie

Thanks to posts here i learned there are two kinds of valves related to the type of tire and tire rim. I have the fussier Presta Valve. I now know I need to screw shut the little mobile end piece when done filling the air.

I was clueless.
I recalled going to Gas Stations (I guess they call them service stations these days), pulling up to the air pump, attaching to my tires, hearing a BLAAST noise and the tire was filled.

Question: Since Presta valves do not allow me to use the air hoses most bike shops leave out side their doors in biking season , should I purchase Schrader adapters? I read these are available reasonably priced and would allow me to fill at a bike shop if need be?

Boppsie

Valve adapter? to make the Presta valves look and act like Schrader valves?
I am so new I not know what to carry with me ( I ride in the city, in our parks on special bike paths)or am now beginning to commute using my bike. I look for streets that have the special narrow bike lanes painted on the roadway.

rumrunn6

if you get totally frustrated after more attempts you can always drill them out and replace the tubes with long stemmed shrader tubes. it's a one time hassle for easier inflating for the lifetime of the bike. lots of folks have no issue with the prestas so I'm not suggesting you give up on them yet

fietsbob

<guess> (not understanding your applied terminology , eg spigots =faucets for water to me , etc)

The removable core presta and those with extensions for the very tall rims that are stylish now, unscrew at the wrong spot.

ask your Bike shop for tubes without removable cores if they do unscrew and let the air out.

or get that schrader valve rim drilling done .

BlazingPedals

If you get a presta-to-schrader adapter, bear in mind that not all service station compressors will inflate to 100+ psi. Sometimes they'll leave you with less air than you started. It's best to get a floor pump for home use. A good pump these days will come with a dual head and will work with both presta and schrader.

As an in-between solution, I have a roadside pump that plugs into the car's aux output (aka cigarette lighter socket.) It'll do 200+ psi, but it pumps slow enough that I don't have to worry about exploding my tire by mistake. It has a schrader head, so an adapter is required.

Jed19

OP, I don't think I have had a wheel with Schrader tube in over twenty five/thirty years, but I still carry a little Presta to Schrader adapter in my saddle bag for unforeseen emergencies. You never know when you just might need a gas station air pump.

Boppsie

My JoeBlow pump, a floor pump, also has the dual heads. It works very well; my tires recommend 110psi and the JoeBlow does it ,
The fragility of the Presta Valve has been concerning but I will try all the tips given here (6:00 position,veg oil or gasoline greasing the pump clamp opening,I understand now that the air release prior to filling is not an error.

Dave Horne

When I go to inflate my tire (with a Presta valve), I simply rotate the stem, the top part of the valve, counterclockwise until air is released when I press that valve in. At that point I mount an adapter over that stem that allows me to use a general purpose bike pump.

The adapter has a lip that the pump grabs from above. It's probably easier to see than describe.

Now that I know how this valve works, it's not an issue ... as long as I have an adapter with me.

RoadTire 

Congratulations and welcome to BF. You have demonstrated, in that single sentence, that you will be a very welcome member here. Ask questions, dig for information now that you know what questions to ask, and learn. Not to mention a little humility. Woohoo!

BobbyG

My road bike has presta valves and I keep a shrader adapter on the rear and got in the habit of using that to inflate the tires. I like how the presta valves screw shut and have a threaded ring to tighten against the rim.

BlazingPedals

You know that most people throw that nut away when you install the tube, right? You can never get it tight without pulling the tube right into the hole in the rim, which of course ruins the tube. Its only purpose is to keep the stem from being pushed into the rim when you try to inflate a flat tire - which can be done by pushing it back out from the other side.

Presta valves aren't quite as fragile as they look. I've never broken one. One thing I do, though, is to make sure I'm pulling the chuck straight off it rather than just yanking at an angle. It's easier on the pump head that way, too.

fietsbob

Statistically .. Saying most is a personal guess unless you actually do a survey of several thousand people in all parts of the world.

you can really only assert you do , and thats fine ..

flatlander_48

There are books on the market. One that I remember is by Leonard Zinn, who has a bike building business and writes tech articles for Velo magazine.

GravelMN

Park Tools puts out the Big Blue Book of Bicycle Maintenance and Bicycling Magazine also has a couple of bike maintenance publications (one for road bikes, one for MTBs at least)

I have Zinn and the Big Blue Book and both are good. The websites for both of these also have good information. Sheldon Brown is still my go-to.

rydabent

This is why I favor presta valves. When the chuck is removed, a presta valve immediately blows shut without much air being lost. A schrader stem OTOH has the valve held open for a certain amount of time by the pump chuck as the chuck is removed, and causes more loss of air.

StanSeven

What he's saying is as people gain experience, they learn the nut doesn't do anything useful and can actually cause harm.

fietsbob

You are speaking just for your self,, I have not had that issue .. the royal We is assuming too much