tubes losing air really slowly

[prhino]

My tubes seem to be losing air really slowly (over a 4 week period). They don't get the point that they're completely flat, but there's not a lot of pressure there. Does anybody have any ideas?

Also, does anybody have any recommendations for a reasonably priced hand pump?

 

[xxamr_corpxx]

Doesn't seem to be too much of a problem - I pump my tires every 2-3 days. What type of tubes are they? Some latex tubes lose pressure quite quickly.

 

[prhino]

So it's normal then? Fair enough. Any advice on how much you need to spend to get a reasonable hand pump? And any recommendations for a particular pump?

 

[free_rideman]

I pump my tires about every day, since they loose 5 psi after being pumped to the max. But all tubes loose air. It is perfectly normal.

 

[Insight Driver]

It's a smart idea to spend maybe $25 to $35 on a good floor pump for use at home. It's much less effort with a big pump to get your tire up to pressure. What I carry on my bike is a Serfas MP02 pump. It has a little foot peg and the head is on the end of short retractable hose. It makes it much easier to pump up a tire on the side of the trail. You don't have to hold your hand behind the valve to keep it stable so you don't break the valve off your tube. It's smart to have the floor pump at home so you can have your tires properly inflated before taking a ride. Whether you need a frame pump depends on where you ride and if there are other riders around.

 

[fish156]

My tubes seem to be losing air really slowly (over a 4 week period). They don't get the point that they're completely flat, but there's not a lot of pressure there. Does anybody have any ideas?

Also, does anybody have any recommendations for a reasonably priced hand pump?

What type of valve stem does this tube have? Presta or Schrader? If it's a Schrader type your problem could possibly be the valve core. This is very common, even in car tires. Usually this is because the valve core is either loose or just needs to be replaced. If you run Schrader types, it's a good idea to get some of the metal valve caps that have the valve stem remover built in to it. You could have a batch of tubes that the valves did not get tightenned properly or are just bad.

Pumps are usually referred to as floor pumps or frame pumps (so, I'm not sure what you mean by "hand pump"). You can get a good floor pump for $30-35. The Topeak Joe Blow series are very good. Again, Topeak makes the best frame pumps - the Road Morph and Mountain Morph are fast becoming legends. The Road Morph with the in-line gauge is the best of these, IMHO. It can be had for ~$30. Topeak has an excellent reputation for customer service, too. Good pumps are well worth the price. Cheap ones will drive you nuts.

 

[prhino]

Pumps are usually referred to as floor pumps or frame pumps (so, I'm not sure what you mean by "hand pump").

I meant frame pump. I've decided to get a floor pump though.

 

[hd reynolds]

My tubes seem to be losing air really slowly (over a 4 week period). They don't get the point that they're completely flat, but there's not a lot of pressure there. Does anybody have any ideas?

Also, does anybody have any recommendations for a reasonably priced hand pump?

Rubber and latex tubes are porous so they gradually lose air overtime. 4 weeks seems normal coz I inflate just about every week.