silca floor pump

[rek]

OKay time for a really dumb question.

How on earth do you work a silca track pump?? I got one when I picked up my new pedals and shoes (which are fantastic, by the way) and it didn't come with any instructions at all.

My intuition made me think that you screw on the huge detachable thing, and then screw the pump onto that, and start pumping. But I don't think that actually put any air into the tyre, as after two pumps the meter was reading 150+ psi.

I'd ask the LBS, but I'm at work now and they'd be shut anyway.

Any help graciously apprectiated! I'm trying to pump presta valves BTW. I have a sneaking suspicion that the huge thing is actually a schrader valve adapter.

 

[mnetherc79]

OK it took me a bit to figure it out too so dont worry.

Mine came ready to pump presta valves. Thats with the big adaptor attached. Without the adaptor you can screw it onto schraeder valves.

But back to presta - make sure you've got the big adaptor on for presta. Unscrew the little screw on the valve stem on your bike tube. Press it down once to let out some air and loosen it. Then push the pump down onto the valve stem and push down hard so the bottom of the adaptor/pump is touching the rim, or almost touching.

Now if you start pumping, it probably wont connect with the valve properly, so thats why you'll see readings of 150psi or the pump may pop off the valve. So to get it working properly make sure the pump adaptor is pushed onto the valve stem really hard and you need to pump 3 or 4 strokes down really hard so the air seal or valve stem screw gets pushed in and then air fills the tube. You'll hear a click when it happens and then the pump guage will then display the correct PSI as you pump.

I've made it sound a hell of a lot more complicated than it is but I hope you get the idea. Just make sure its pushed on all the way and pump hard.

 

[rek]

Thanks, after messing about with it, deflating the tyre, and then re-inflating it, I found that I was doing it the right way, just without enough force.

The reason why it was going up to 150psi in one or two strokes, is because the tyres were actually at150psi (!! ) and it took a pump or two for the pressure meter to respond.

Before getting the floor pump, I've just pumped the tyres with my hand pump until it felt firm; those Zefal hpx frame-mount pumps have a lot of punch in them!