Is it common to lose air from tyres?

[battered]

You can test for leaks with the tube on the wheel, just wait until anyone who would object is out then run a bath, add a good squirt of washing up liquid then put the wheel in and look for bubbles. Turn it as required.

Garden ponds, canals etc are also suitable.

Some pressure loss is normal, and a decent track pump not that expemsive. Once you have one, you don't mind blowing up the tyres every week.

 

[CorsairC]

I have slick 26x1.5 tyres on my MTB. I put 90psi in them, and commute 2 or 3 times a week on the bike. 18 miles round trip. The rear usually drops to 70~65 after two days, the front after a week or more. But I generally top it up the morning I'm cycling. I keep meaning to check is there a leak in the rear but never get around to it. I'm pretty heavy and carry (too much) panniers, so I dunno if thats a factor.

 

[John Ponting]

Schwalbe site suggest up to 1 bar loss a month is "normal" for modern lightweight, high pressure tubes. Seems about right in me experience. I quick check my tryres before most rides but always before riding out of town. Track pump with gauge stands just inside bike shed door.

 

[CorsairC]

A track pump makes it a breeze to do. No hassle topping up anyway.

 

[2Loose]

Place some soapy water over the schrader / presta valve and check for bubbles, also where the valve enters the rim is a good place to start. I've found with the presta valve type, that it will lose lots of air if the valve screw is not secure.

Oh and another point too, check with the dust cap fitting and inside the dust cap itself, my son had a problem with his front tyre kept going flat, so after three inner tube replacements and a tyre change it turned out it was the dust cap itself causing the problem, it had a little nib on the inside of it, so when it was screwed onto the valve, it was just enough to depress the valve and cause a slow leak.

Lesson learnt on that one

Thanks for this, I was told that my mum's bike had new tubes but still kept going flat within a few days, so I pumped them up and took the end caps off. They remain hard to this day. No wonder her bloke was confused after all his hard work.