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| 4/3 |
| 2007/11/12-16 [Transportation/Bicycle, Transportation/Car/RoadHogs] UID:48609 Activity:moderate |
11/12 I just started riding bike again, and the joys of maintaining tire
pressure are once again mine. Is there a device or compressor out
there that can have a fixed cut-off pressure? -emarkp
\_ I love Mormons because many of them ride bikes and are very
eco-conscious. -libural
\_ I just pump the damn thing up until it's really firm.
If I notice it's a little slack the next morning, repeat.
\_ You aren't talking tires anymore are you?
\_ Except for the eight kids thing.
\_ At the Shell gas station that I go to, you can set the desired
pressure at the pump and it stops autmoatically when it reaches the
pressure. I don't know if there are portable ones that you can use
for your bike.
\_ Ah, never mind. Found one on my own.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IE0YIQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/105-2878297-2866811
-emarkp
\_ Just get a floor pump with a gauge. An air compressor is
serious overkill for a bicycle, and won't work as well on
Presta valves, which is what you should be using unless you
are doing something strange. -tom
\_ Bike fanatics prefer presta for accuracy, durability,
and other factors. People who bike 1-2 miles a day
will most likely not notice any significant difference.
\_ How is a Presta valve more accurate or durable? My tires
are wide, and I ride about 5 mi/day. -emarkp
are wide, and I ride about 50 mi/day. -emarkp
\_ If you have to ask... nevermind.
\_ Um, I want to know, and haven't seen any claims like
that in the comparisons I've found about accuracy or
reliability (what does "accuracy" even mean here?)
-emarkp
\_ Something strange like riding to work on an old bike?
What's wrong with Schrader valves? -jrleek
Why do I need Presta valves? -jrleek
\_ I have a foot pump with a gauge already. And I'm happy with
Schrader valves, but I'll take your advice into consideration.
The comments about Presta I've seen suggest they're important
for narrow tires, and that tubeless mountain bike tires use
them. Okay, I don't have either, so I'll stick with Schrader.
-emarkp
\_ I don't care what valve you use, but I'd recommend just
buying a cheap set of non-knobby, narrowish tires if you
are riding on the road. Why would you use wide tires?
\_ I agree here. Riding on skinny tires is so much easier.
On the other hand, if you want a workout, I guess
big tires may be good...
\_ In San Francisco at least, with all the train tracks
and the rough roads, I feel more secure on wide tires.
Maybe this is foolish, I don't know. -!pp
\_ Well you don't need super-skinny racing tires. Are
yours knobby? I think even if you want fatter tires
you can use semi-slick or slick ones. Knobs are
probably the biggest energy drain.
\_ I prefer the wide semi-slick. Primarily because on
the side of the road there can be lots of debris,
and the wide tires seem to do better with fewer
flats. -emarkp
\_ Yeah, mine are knobby. Thanks for the info, I
think I will switch to some big smooth ones.
\_ If you're on the street, get semi-slick.
\_ Presta valves simply work better with
hand pumps. Having to press in the
valve stem isn't a problem when you're
using a high-pressure air compressor,
but if you're using a tiny hand pump
it is sometimes impossible to fill the
tire faster than the air leaks out.
On the question of tires, wide slick
tires are what I would recommend on a
commuter. The Schwalbe Big Apple is
a great tire, but there are plenty of
others. I don't think you need tires
narrower than 700x28 unless you're
specifically riding for speed. -tom
\_ I carry a foot pump in my saddlebags, so I
don't care about the resistance of the
valve spring. But since the pin on a
pump depresses the spring, why would the
Presta give any advantage there? -emarkp
\_ The ability of the pin on the
pump to depress the spring
depends on the geometry of the
valve stem and the pump; it is
far too common to be unable to
pump up a Schraeder valve tube
with a bike pump, and it's
especially a problem when the
tire is flat, making it
difficult to have the leverage
to get the pump on the valve
stem. The Presta is just more
robust for the application. -tom
\_ That makes perfect sense. I've done
my roadside repairs before, and
agree that it sucks to have a hand
pump, and can see that the Schrader
could be more of a problem, but
haven't don't the roadside fix
experience with a Presta valve.
That's why I started carrying a foot
pump with me. On the other hand, if
I were offroad, I wouldn't want to
be lugging saddlebags. -emarkp |
| 4/3 |
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| www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IE0YIQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/105-2878297-2866811 Explore similar items Technical Details * 120 volt air station for inflating tires, balls, mattresses * Automatically shuts off at desired air pressure; com Review Running back and forth to the gas station to fill up car and bike tires, lawnmower wheels, boat trailers, and all those things that tend to go flat in the off season can get, well, tiresome. Cut out the back and forth with Black & Decker's air station inflator. This handy unit plugs into any 120 volt outlet in the shop, or garage to quickly and conveniently pump up sports balls, tires, air mattresses and more. It also plugs into auto cigarette lighters and doesn't take up much space in the car, boat, or camper for inflating sleeping pads and tires. And, there's no more guessing when the tire is filled to capacity. The inflator is equipped with Black & Decker's EZ air dial that automatically shuts off once you've hit the desired psi. Convenient on-board cord, needle, and hose storage keeps all the goods in one place so that you don't have to hunt down the needle to take care of that hard-to-bounce basketball. The major issue I see is that the pressure gauge on this machine is rather small and it will be hard for you differentiate between 27psi versus 29psi without using an external gauge. My Toyota Camry calls for 29psi and my other car asks for 34psi front and 36psi rear. It was impossible for me to read 34 vs 36 psi on this machine's gauge. Tip: To get the best out of this machine - get a good external mechanical pressure gauge with a relief valve (you can get a decent one for under $10 at Walmart). Then set the dial on this machine to be slightly over (2-3 psi more) the pressure required (I set it to 30psi when filling my Camry which needs 29 psi). Then use the external gauge to measure the pressure and release the air using its relief valve until the pressure is at the desired reading. Other than this, the machine is quite nice and with a 2 year warranty it is a good buy. Secondly, you must shut off the inflator and start it up again for every car tire. Finally, buy a digital car gauge to make sure you have an accurate measurement. I thought it would be a snap to fill my own tires but it's laborious, tedious, and loud. You might want to look at a more expensive, quieter model. Update 8-12-07: With its imperfections noted, I continue to use the Black and Decker and have gotten used to it. Sure, it's loud, but it beats going to the gas station and putting quarters into the air machine and scrambling to put air in your tires with your allotted 5 minutes. Most Recent Customer Reviews 50 out of 5 stars Owner of B & D air inflator for 15 years purchases again. My husband won a Black and Decker air compressor/inflator over 10-15 years ago as a safety award. Read more Published 7 days ago by C Peyton 30 out of 5 stars Be careful turning on and off I bought this model to replace my older B&D air station. This one is much quieter than the old one and it has the nice automatic "shut off" feature. Read more Published 10 days ago by S Marks 50 out of 5 stars No more flat tires I got tired of pumping up bike tires with a small hand pump, and the prospect of pushing my bike three blocks uphill to the gas station sometimes meant I didn't go biking. Read more Published 16 days ago by M K Watson 40 out of 5 stars Works as advertised. I'm quite happy with the product and have had no issue with it as yet. Published 18 days ago by Nicholas Cancelliere 50 out of 5 stars Powerful Pump Great product. I like the feature of dual power - cigarette lighter and 110 house outlet. Published 23 days ago by Daniel W Lindblad 40 out of 5 stars Gets the job done Other than needing a longer AC cord it really works great. It wasn't as loud as I was expecting from reading other reviews. Black and Decker scored one on this product Published 1 month ago by R Emerson 50 out of 5 stars Excellent Best thing about this product is that you set the desired pressure and the inflator automatically shuts off when that pressure is reached. Read more Published 1 month ago by Robert G Martin 40 out of 5 stars Great little inflater! I bought this because I have a slow leak (that can't be patched) in my SUV tire caused by a nail in the sidewall. Read more Published 1 month ago by Donkey 50 out of 5 stars Perfect Air Pump for Bike Tires I bought this air pump to inflate bike tires, and it's perfect for this application. |