00:15 Tire Pressure
01:00 Valve Position
03:00 Attaching the pump head
03:57 Removing the chuck
04:32 How often to pump the tires
We show you tips and hacks to best inflate a bicycle tire using a bike floor pump. How to inflate a Presta valve or Schrader valve is key to preventing flat tires out on the road.
1. Check the psi of the tire so you don’t under inflate resulting in pinch flats or over inflate leading to a very hard ride or even a blow out on a bumpy road. Range is usually written on sidewall. My rule of thumb – heavier toward the upper part of the range and for a lighter rider, toward the lower part of the range. See our pinned comment on best tire pressure.
2. Where should the valve be when you use a bicycle pump?
12 o’clock position: Placing the Presta valve at 12 o’clock allows me to remove the chuck by pushing straight down without the chance of bending the valve. But there’s also a danger when you push the chuck off the valve at the 12 o’clock position – your hand may clip the cassette or disc brake in the back resulting in a nasty cut (I’ve had it happen). Also, the pump hose may not be long enough to reach the 12 o’clock valve position. If here’s sealant in the tire, it may clog the valve core.
6 o’clock: A clinchers with Schrader valves but not for tubeless tires or you’ll get sealant spattering all over the place – regardless of the type of valve. Also, with the thinner Presta valves, you may bend the knob head of the valve core when removing the pump chuck.
So, what’s the best valve position to attach and remove the chuck from the tire? I use the 3 or 9 o’clock on all my bikes although I could use the 12 o’clock position0 (none drive side) for older rim brake bikes (to stay clear of the teeth of the cassette). What do you think?
3. When dealing with Presta valves, give the valve a quick tape (you should hear a bit of air escape). Presta valves are known to often stick blocking air flow. If you start pumping and the pump dial goes way high, take the pump head off and give the valve another tap.
4. When pumping bicycle tyres, use of long even strokes without banging the pump plunger against the bottom of the cylinder (which can damage the pump).
5. Whatever position you decide to place the valve to fill the tire, when finished, be sure to pull the chuck straight off (especially for Presta valves, so as not to bend the head of the valve). The hissing you hear when you pull off the chuck is usually air released from the pump and its tubing. If you hear hissing while pumping, you may have a poor seal of the chuck and valve. See our video in the upper right for a quick fix.
6. How often should you inflate bicycle tire? Clinchers with butyl tubes will lose about 1 psi a day, so you’ll need to pump them at least weekly. With light ultra-thin tubes, daily. For tubeless tires, every 2 to 4 weeks but I check mine with a good quality gauge (such the Jaco Calibrate Gauge 0-60 psi) before each ride so I can tweak it for the trail conditions to give a better ride (a little higher for flat rail to trails) (As we know high pressure, faster speed and narrower tires mean both faster wear and tear and more air pressure loss).
This is Tony or Tony 10 speed we’re Going to give you some tips on how to Use a floor pump By the way if you’re a beginner And have not used a floor pump before Check out the video in the upper right Hand corner Tire pressure Often written on the side wall of the Tires This particular Continental gator skin Only has a max of 120 we don’t want to Exceed that or we’re going to get a flat When we look up on the Continental Website we can find that there is a Range of 95 to 120 in our pin comment Below we give you some details on how to Figure out the best ideal tire pressure For you that is depending on your weight And the weight of the bike as well as a Quick method to figure out what Pressures to put in the tires and some Really important caveats such as when it Rains hot or very cold next Interestingly this is debated where to Place the valve When you go ahead and pump the tire in The old days We would just open the valve Apply our Chuck And just go ahead and pump The reason for this is that when we Release The Chuck we can just push down
On the Chuck itself and not have a chance of Bending the valve One of the problems I have on today’s Bikes If I use the 12 o’clock position when I Go to Pull this down High very sharp cassette on one side If I do it from the other side I have a Pretty sharp disc brake So this means that with today’s bike Stay away from the 12 o’clock position Some suggest placing the valve At the Bottom six o’clock position And filling The tire The problem with this is that when you Go to pull off The Chuck you have a greater chance of Bending The valve itself And you certainly don’t want to do this If you have tubeless tires with sealant When you go ahead and remove this At the six o’clock position And there’s filled with fluid it’s just Going to spread out all over So what’s best compromise especially With your our present tubeless tires and Also disc brakes probably three o’clock Or nine o’clock position to go ahead and Attach our Chuck
Don’t forget to tap To press the valve to let some air out Because suppressor valves are known to Be sticky And if you go to Pump It You and without tapping it you may find Air will not get it into the tire itself Attach The chuck [Music] Open the lever completely If you hear a hissing From the Valve area at the end of the Chuck most Likely the Chuck is not firmly seated You can reseed it or there’s wear to the Gasket inside the Chuck can we show you In the upper right hand corner a quick Fix For the Chuck itself When removing the chuck Just in case And pull off the chuck The air that you hear coming Or hissing out is most likely from the Chuck and tube and not the tire go ahead And tighten the valve Now I replaced the cap in the old days We never did but I find especially Riding in wetter Grimy conditions it does protect the Head of the valve How often should you pump your tires On clinchers butyl tires lose about one
PSI a day So you’re going to need to pump your Tires maybe once or twice a week if You’re using ultra thin tubes well You’re going to need to pump them daily Should you fill your tire with a CO2 Cartridge out on the road when you get Home Go ahead and empty that tube and fill it With your floor pump with room air Because that CO2 is going to migrate out And you’re going to have a flat tire the Next morning Tubeless tires They say every two weeks However on my mountain bike I check it Before every ride because I vary the Pressure in those tubeless mountain bike Tires depending on the trail conditions If you have any other suggestions things I might have left out please comment Below subscribe to keep up with our Latest videos is Tony of Tony 10 speed Safe cycling
