Inflating road tire, on the road - how??

[BigBen]

Hi All,

Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.

Now, suppose one of 2 situations:

1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
would just mean I take longer to get back home.

2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
right??

Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?

I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.

However, I have yet to experiment one such adaptor that works as
avertised - all I've tried so far let all the air leak, and I end up
with less pressure rather than more - and, how much can I expect a gas
station pump to inflate a tyre? The biggest pressure I've ever put in
a car tyre is 55 psi, which is rather low for bicycle road tyre ...

Sugestions, please?

TIA,
jbr

 

[BigBen]

PS - What's wrong with Schrader valves being used on road bikes
(except for competition use, where every gram counts, and aero matter
counts)??

jbr


On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:51:38 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
>all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

BigBen wrote:
> PS - What's wrong with Schrader valves being used on road bikes
> (except for competition use, where every gram counts, and aero matter
> counts)??

Some hand pumps are designed for Presta valve use only. Also, the majority
of fellow riders will be carrying pumps set on Presta mode.
--
Phil

 

[Rick]

BigBen wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
> all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
> would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>
> 2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
> to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
> don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
> along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
> right??
>
> Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?
>
> I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
> teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.
>
> However, I have yet to experiment one such adaptor that works as
> avertised - all I've tried so far let all the air leak, and I end up
> with less pressure rather than more - and, how much can I expect a gas
> station pump to inflate a tyre? The biggest pressure I've ever put in
> a car tyre is 55 psi, which is rather low for bicycle road tyre ...
>
> Sugestions, please?
>
> TIA,
> jbr

I have, on a number of occasions, with great ease pumped up tires to
110-120 PSI with my Road Morph. Why worry about adapters, etc. It
works fine with both presta and schraeder. And I have used it on long
tours, covering weeks. I top off the pressure every few days. No
problem

- rick

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

BigBen wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
> all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
> would just mean I take longer to get back home.

Topeak Mini Morph or Road Morph. 120+ psi is doable with these mini floor
pumps, even with my tiny 135-lb body.

> 2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
> to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
> don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
> along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
> right??

Topeak Mini Morph or Road Morph. I don't have arms of steel and don't plan
on acquiring them through pump use.

--
Phil

 

[Mark Janeba]

BigBen wrote:
> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
> would just mean I take longer to get back home.

Zefal HP, good for 120 PSI (I do this routinely). If you are willing to
suffer a little more, Silca Imperios will do the same (I also do this
routinely). Lots of other more recently designed candidates as well.

> Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?
>
> I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
> teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.

Two thoughts: 1) It's easy to explode tires at the gas station. I've
personally witnessed this twice (one time I may have been the culprit;
memory fades). 2) Presta are easier to work with and more durable in my
experience.

Mark

 

[[email protected]]

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 02:02:01 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
wrote:

>PS - What's wrong with Schrader valves being used on road bikes
>(except for competition use, where every gram counts, and aero matter
>counts)??
>
>jbr


Dear BB,

Among the various arguments for Presta instead of Schrader is that the
Schrader needs a bigger hole, which some consider a bad thing in
narrow, flimsy racing rims.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Mike Krueger]

BigBen wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
> all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
> would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>
> 2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
> to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
> don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
> along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
> right??

1) A 16g CO2 cartridge will inflate a road tire to 120 psi in seconds.
These days, many riders carry one or two CO2 cartridges and a small
valve adaptor in place of a bulky frame pump.
2) Switch to standard butyl tubes from ultralight or latex tubes which
have to be topped off every day. A standard butyl tube loses a
negligible amount of air pressure even over several days.

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"Mike Krueger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> BigBen wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
>> all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>>
>> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>>
>> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
>> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
>> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
>> would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>>
>> 2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
>> to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
>> don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
>> along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
>> right??
>
> 1) A 16g CO2 cartridge will inflate a road tire to 120 psi in seconds.
> These days, many riders carry one or two CO2 cartridges and a small
> valve adaptor in place of a bulky frame pump.
> 2) Switch to standard butyl tubes from ultralight or latex tubes which
> have to be topped off every day. A standard butyl tube loses a
> negligible amount of air pressure even over several days.
>

ditto on the 16g Co2 cartridge and inflator, it inflates to 120psi no
problem with 700c23 tires. Great for when you are all tire, hot, sweaty and
don't want to mess with it all.
A long frame pump like the Zefal, Topeak, etc work good too, but the Topeak
Turbo Road Morph is better as it has a short air hose on the end to make it
easier to pump up the tire without tearing the valve stem off. You can use
both hands on the pump then.

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:51:38 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
>all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
>Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
>1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
>at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
>doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
>would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>
>2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
>to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
>don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
>along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
>right??
>
>Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?
>
>I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
>teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.
>
>However, I have yet to experiment one such adaptor that works as
>avertised - all I've tried so far let all the air leak, and I end up
>with less pressure rather than more - and, how much can I expect a gas
>station pump to inflate a tyre? The biggest pressure I've ever put in
>a car tyre is 55 psi, which is rather low for bicycle road tyre ...
>
>Sugestions, please?
>
>TIA,
>jbr

Another vote for a Topeak Road Morph, it will solve both 1 & 2.

Presta valves are easy to use and work just fine. The few times I have
had to use a Schrader valve adapter, I had no leakage problems. In
fact the adapter works well, if the stem is too short to get a CO2
pump on the presta head. With the adapter, the schrader position will
lock right on.

A CO2 cartridge inflator would cover #1, but would be impractical for
#2.


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:51:38 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
>all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
>Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
>1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
>at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
>doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
>would just mean I take longer to get back home.

Topeak Road Morph. It does the job nicely for me.

>2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
>to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
>don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
>along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
>right??

Same answer as above. Not as fast as the big pump, but it works well
enough. Unless you're using latex tubes, you shouldn't need to top up
every day IME.

>Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?

The larger the piston diameter, the greater the effort required to
create high pressure. This is true for any tire pump.

>I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
>teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.

Assuming there's one nearby. I keep at least one Schrader adapter on
each of our Presta-valved bikes fir just this reason.

>However, I have yet to experiment one such adaptor that works as
>avertised - all I've tried so far let all the air leak, and I end up
>with less pressure rather than more - and, how much can I expect a gas
>station pump to inflate a tyre? The biggest pressure I've ever put in
>a car tyre is 55 psi, which is rather low for bicycle road tyre ...

The adapter most commonly sold in the US is brass, uses an O-ring to
seal itself to the shank of the Presta valve, and does not leak in my
experience. The problem with any such adapter is the extra pair of
steps it requires; the fitting must be removed prior to inflation in
order to unscrew the Presta stem nut, and then must be removed again
afterwards to retighten the nut. This assumes that the adapter is
stored on the valve, which I find to be the most logical approach.

>Sugestions, please?

Road Morph pump, and Presta adapters for instances of opportunity.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[G.T.]

Mark Janeba wrote:
> BigBen wrote:
>
>> Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>>
>> 1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
>> at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
>> doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
>> would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>
>
> Zefal HP, good for 120 PSI (I do this routinely). If you are willing to
> suffer a little more, Silca Imperios will do the same (I also do this
> routinely). Lots of other more recently designed candidates as well.
>
>> Are fat, non Presta valve chambers the answer?
>>
>> I don know, there are several Presta to Schrader adaptors, so
>> teoretically I could pump up the tyres at a gas/petrol station.
>
>
> Two thoughts: 1) It's easy to explode tires at the gas station.

Used to be. I have trouble getting 50psi at gas stations around here now.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[JeffWills]

Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:51:38 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
> wrote:
>
> Another vote for a Topeak Road Morph, it will solve both 1 & 2.
>

Add me to the "Morph" fan club. I upgraded from a Silca frame pump-
thus skipping about ten generations of pump "technology".

Jeff (another Jeff)

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:51:38 GMT, [email protected] (BigBen)
wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Before I leave for a ride, it's pretty easy to use a track pump to get
>all the p.s.i.s I want in my tyres' air chambers.
>
>Now, suppose one of 2 situations:
>
>1) I have a flat, fix it, and then, how do I get back to pressures of
>at least 100 psi?? Naturally, a small pump can get me going, but I
>doubt it goes anywhere near the 110/120 psi I normally use. Anyway, it
>would just mean I take longer to get back home.
>
>2) Suppose, however, I'm on a longish jorney, of a few days, heading
>to a meeting point with my family (whose travelling by car). Even if I
>don't have a puncture, what's the alternative to taking the track pump
>along for the ride, and use it every morning to set the pressures
>right??

Get a high-quality full-size frame pump.

JT

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[BigBen]

On Sat, 3 Jun 2006 22:12:43 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Some hand pumps are designed for Presta valve use only. Also, the majority
>of fellow riders will be carrying pumps set on Presta mode.

My hand is designed for Presta valve. However, I wonder how many hours
it would take to bring a road chanber/tube to a pressure close to 100
psi ...

jbr

 

[BigBen]

On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 20:15:38 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>Among the various arguments for Presta instead of Schrader is that the
>Schrader needs a bigger hole, which some consider a bad thing in
>narrow, flimsy racing rims.

OK, but my rims are not "boutique" ones. Thanks for the point, anyway.

jbr

 

[BigBen]

On 3 Jun 2006 19:14:04 -0700, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have, on a number of occasions, with great ease pumped up tires to
>110-120 PSI with my Road Morph. Why worry about adapters, etc. It

Comes as a surprise to me that a hand pump can do that "easily".

But I'll bear that in mind, if I don't give Presta for Schrader. (The
pressure gauge seems very insteresting to!)

jbr

 

[BigBen]

On Sat, 3 Jun 2006 22:14:22 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Topeak Mini Morph or Road Morph. I don't have arms of steel and don't plan
>on acquiring them through pump use.

OK, so what's your choice for inflating a road tyre, on the road, and
knowing what pressure you've put in?

TIA,
jbr

 

[BigBen]

On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 19:15:14 -0700, Mark Janeba
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Zefal HP, good for 120 PSI (I do this routinely). If you are willing to

Thank you for the suggestion! Is it my impression, or this model does
not have a pressure gauge? I don't need one to get back home, but I'd
like one for touring for a few days.

regards,
jbr

 

[BigBen]

On 3 Jun 2006 19:18:22 -0700, "Mike Krueger" <[email protected]> wrote:

>1) A 16g CO2 cartridge will inflate a road tire to 120 psi in seconds.
>These days, many riders carry one or two CO2 cartridges and a small
>valve adaptor in place of a bulky frame pump.

I had thought about that before, too, but I have yet to meet an valve
adaptor that actually works as expected


>2) Switch to standard butyl tubes from ultralight or latex tubes which
>have to be topped off every day. A standard butyl tube loses a
>negligible amount of air pressure even over several days.


I use standard tubes, not ultralight ones. If it goes a week between 2
rides, when I check the pressure with a garage pump, I do have to put
back in some 10 or 20 psi ...

jbr