# presta valve inflation solution



## kewb (22 Aug 2010)

not so much a problem (dealt with prestas before many times ) 

but ,

set the scene lol -

decided to give my tyres a bit of air , just a tad more a bar or two ?

connected up trusty adapter and footpump pssst flat tyre , oh well just re inflate not a problem mustve tapped valve or something -




omg no matter how much i tried no air would go in tried foot pump mini pump track pump nothing worked ,

best i achieved was 40 psi then air reversed out tyre (not got not good at all ) , eureka i,ll google a solution !

got nothing but presta valve problems and little by the way of solutions bar doing what your supposed to do to inflate a presta valve ,

4 hours in -

knackered out and half a stone lighter slightly bald on one side of head it came to me what the problem was and how to solve it ,

so for anyone who is having presta valve adapter problems heres what to do (sorry for ranting so long ) -




on the tyre valve -

loosen the valve nut as normal to within 1or 2 mm of end 

take some ptfe tape and wrap a small amount around the base of the top threaded part that adapter screws onto , this is to form a seal (thats the problem and reason it wont take air adapters too short )

now screw adapter on until valve top is flush not protruding out or sunk in .

atatch pump and your away .

either valve stems are getting longer or my adapter has shrunk ?

off to buy a dual head track pump asap now .


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## Chris S (23 Aug 2010)

either valve stems are getting longer or my adapter has shrunk ?

Possibly - modern valve stems are longer because rims have got thicker.


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## kewb (23 Aug 2010)

Chris S said:


> either valve stems are getting longer or my adapter has shrunk ?
> 
> Possibly - modern valve stems are longer because rims have got thicker.



adapter fitted my vuelta tubes no probs , comparing the two stems the schwalbe one does look 2 or 3 mm longer ,


i just noticed a helluva lot of people having difficulty inflating presta valves and thought maybe this info would help 

i mean its pretty hard to get it wrong with prestas theres only one screw to loosen but some just couldnt get air in 

like me(until i doctored the valve stem with ptfe ) getting a track pump on friday with dual head hopefully no more tape lol .

my adapter is nearly 12 years old in fairness , brass job came with a pump so maybe not the best now .


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## Spokesmann (23 Aug 2010)

i use no adapter, but the correct pump. I always unscrew the inner sleeve a little and depress the valve to loosen it up. Then push on the pump and there you go.


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## youngoldbloke (23 Aug 2010)

I recommend using one of these - brass chuck - the pressure relief button is really helpful.


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## kewb (24 Aug 2010)

Spokesmann said:


> i use no adapter, but the correct pump. I always unscrew the inner sleeve a little and depress the valve to loosen it up. Then push on the pump and there you go.



been using the adapter happily for years , this is the first time its failed me , 


i will use it to gauge new adapter sizes when i go for new purpose built pump as its handy to carry around for free air at petrol stations (mini pumps can be more work than a push to nearest free air pump lol )


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## galactico (26 Aug 2010)

how do you achieve 100+ psi at the roadside? i have tried several hand pumps, a foot pump and the only way i managed it was when i got to a garage and used their tyre inflater. do the co2 pumps reach the correct pressures? are can you recommend a hand pump that can do a decent job.

regards

paul


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## kewb (31 Aug 2010)

got myself tescos track pump (lots of good reports apparentley ) have to say its pretty good and solid enough  BUT ,

lidle had bike gear in so bought one of theirs aswell ,

both work ,

lidl one shifts more air than the tescos one and its lighter think tescos one is maybe steel ? or alloy of some sort the lidle ones alu 

strange beast the tescos one it compresses almost to the end then its an effort to push it ,

the lidl one is so easy i can inflate to 120 psi with one hand no problem two hand required on tescos and nearly full bodyweight lol .




both solid enough both twin headed both metal built 

lidl max psi 160 (says on box 240 wtf lol ) £4

tescos 140 psi  £15 

both decent pumps imho .


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## kewb (31 Aug 2010)

galactico said:


> how do you achieve 100+ psi at the roadside? i have tried several hand pumps, a foot pump and the only way i managed it was when i got to a garage and used their tyre inflater.  do the co2 pumps reach the correct pressures? are can you recommend a hand pump that can do a decent job.
> 
> regards
> 
> paul






i have a mini pump and its ok for inflating mtb tyres and just about copes with slicks ,


im thinking of getting a large capacity old skool pump for roadside myself ,

mini pumps would require a lot of effort i imagine and co2 , if incorrectly repaired the puncture or not fitted correctly you could blast a cartridge 

into thin air and waste your time ?

be interesting to find out as right now im carrying an adapter wrapped in ptfe and depending on sat nav locating a filling station with free air ,

its no way to travel lol .


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## GlasgowGaryH (31 Aug 2010)

I got a TESCO pump and as said it can be a bit hard to get the final 20psi into 120psi tyres but it seems a solid pump.


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## youngoldbloke (31 Aug 2010)

I bought a couple of the Lidl ones 3(?) years ago, slightly simpler design, and they are still going strong. Had to replace one chuck (see post above). Very easy to keep tyres at 110+ psi, and less than a fiver each.


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## kewb (1 Sep 2010)

Fokker said:


> I got a TESCO pump and as said it can be a bit hard to get the final 20psi into 120psi tyres but it seems a solid pump.


on mine its like first 3/4 of the stroke is building compression then its a sort pop to shift the air into the tyre ,


the lidl one is just smooth all the way but it has a larger allbeit thinner air chamber 

both vg pumps imho cant fault either so far .


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## Globalti (3 Sep 2010)

The reason it's hard is because the Tesco pump is sold for people with MTB tyres and the bore is large, meaning that it pumps a bigger volume of air. However this means that for a smaller volume road tyre you only need a short stroke to deliver the required air but you need muscles like a gorilla to do it. A proper road track pump has a thinner bore and a longer easier stroke, I can achieve 120 with my Joe Blow one-handed and with not too much effort.


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## jimboalee (3 Sep 2010)

In my PRK I have an old flexi connector from an old hand pump for a Woods valve. The valve end union is a 'deep series' so it doesn't interfere with the Presta pin.

On the pump end is securely fitted ( with lots of PTFE tape ) a Schrader adaptor.

If I get to a filling station with a car type air hose, I screw on the flexi connector so the Schrader adaptor can waggle around. Then fitting the air hose connector is not a struggle between spokes. Some are bloody awkward.


In my PRK I have a Zefal HPR Graph mini pump. It can easily get 120 psi in a conti 23mm and it has a little gauge on the barrel. They are not widely available in the UK.


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## 661-Pete (3 Sep 2010)

Topeak Morph for me too. The one with a built-in gauge is worth paying the extra for. A pump with a flexi hose is definitely a yes-yes, all too often with a rigid pump you end up bending the stem and that's the end of the tube. Push adapter on firmly but without undue force: if it's difficult because the tyre is completely flat, start inflating with adapter not fully home; then when you've got a bit of pressure in, push it further on.

I should be able to get 120psi on road tyres with the morph, but for me, once I'm in the 100s, tiredness (or is it laziness?) takes over and I generally stop at about 110. Really, for comfortably going to 120 you need a track pump.


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## youngoldbloke (3 Sep 2010)

661-Pete said:


> Topeak Morph for me too. The one with a built-in gauge is worth paying the extra for. A pump with a flexi hose is definitely a yes-yes, *all too often with a rigid pump you end up bending the stem and that's the end of the tube.* Push adapter on firmly but without undue force: if it's difficult because the tyre is completely flat, start inflating with adapter not fully home; then when you've got a bit of pressure in, push it further on.



I think the secret is to always _*push*_ the adapter off the valve, rather than pull. With the valve at 12 o'clock use both hands and push the adapter down off the valve with the thumbs. Much easier and more controlled.


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## jimboalee (3 Sep 2010)

youngoldbloke said:


> I think the secret is to always _*push*_ the adapter off the valve, rather than pull. With the valve at 12 o'clock use both hands and push the adapter down off the valve with the thumbs. Much easier and more controlled.




You should get a 'deep series' flexi connector. The hand pump can waggle round with no threat of bending or snapping the Presta when tiredness takes over.


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