My bicycle is a 2007 Specialized Allez Elite. Skinny road tires.
I fucking hate, hate HATE “Presta” valves. I understand why my road bike’s skinny tires need a skinny valve. But why the hell couldn’t they just make a skinnier Schraeder valve?
The Presta valve is a piece of bullshit. Nevermind the need to unscrew the center part before I can start pumping air into the tire. I have a Specialized bike, and a Specialized-branded tire pump, and yet it is still a complete clusterfuck trying to get the pump’s valve to stay connected to the bike’s Presta valve. As long as I’ve had this bike, I’ve had to use one hand to physically hold the pump’s valve tight against the Presta valve, and use my free hand to operate the pump, which should be a two-hand job (because I’m trying to pump 125 PSI)
When I was riding cheap $200 mountain bikes with Schraeder valves, inflating a tire was simple. But riding a $1200 road bike is an exercise in frustration when it comes to inflating a tire.
And speaking of inflating tires, why can’t this road bike’s tires hold their air? If I’m not constantly doing maintenance, the tires go flat all by themselves. No thorns, no running over sharp objects. The tires just go completely flat for no apparent reason.
Do your tires go flat completely or just lose some pressure? If they go flat completely you’ve probably got a slow leak somewhere. It is normal to lose a bit of pressure over time though. I run my race tires at about 140 PSI and have to pump them up each day. My training tires are a different style, run at a lower pressure, and need topping up less often.
I use an adapter and just keep it on one of the tires, after tightening of course. My tires stay up for about 3 days before needing refreshing. I run at 115 PSI and they go down to 90 after 3 days. I also invested in a terrific pump. Oh, and I have 3 tires as I ride a catrike.
I’ve drilled out a rim to convert it from Presta to Shraeder in the past, but I prefer Presta. The short stem tubes are harder to fill than the longer ones.
There is a spring in the valve of a schraeder that gives it more resistance than a presta valve. In theory this makes a presta valve easier to pump than a schraeder. In practice if you use a foot pump the point is moot.
You’d think that some company specializing in something like air fittings would have engineered something better by now. Presta valves are a PITA for a lot of reasons.
I’m sure a more basic valve could be designed that wouldn’t require a cap, have to be unscrewed, and still releases air when pulling the hose off.
Another vote for replacing the pump. We have a Topeak JoeBlow floor pump that works well.
I have to refresh my tires on my race bike every couple of days (and before every race). My commuter road bike is refreshed every four days or so. I find that my commuter bike, which runs at a lower pressure (around 100 psi) loses air slower than my race bike (which I usually run at 125 to 130 psi). They both tend to stop losing air around 85 to 90 psi.
Great pump that works on both Schrader and Presta valves. I have a Specialized Allez, but no longer the original tires & tubes. I lock it onto the valve and it’s rock solid.
The hiss you hear when releasing the pump is the compressed air releasing out of the pump hose, not the tire valve. While pumping, the air in the pump hose is at the same pressure as the air in the tire.
It’s actually not that way. You’re an idiot. You are defeated by the simplest of mechanical process. Keeping an air chuck attached to a presta valve does not require you to hold it on. Most if not all chucks have a lever to lock it onto the valve stem. Even the oldest Pista and Silca pumps had a strong rubber donut to hold it on in the absence of the levers.
Again, if “as long as I’ve had this bike”, and “use my free hand” are the sum of your bicycle tire pumping experiences…you’re an idiot.
