Inflating your bike tires is a simple and effortless task, as long as you know what tools you need. Identify your valve type with the techniques below and pump accordingly.
The suggested pressure to inflate a bike tire is usually embossed on the tire’s sidewall, often as the minimum and maximum figures rather than an exact target.
There are a number of factors to think about when deciding how hard your bike tires need to be. Today we will let you know how to inflate bike tire.
Below are the steps you need to follow to inflate your bike tire.
Follow Steps How to properly inflate bike tires:
Determine The Type Of Valve:
Before using a bike pump, you need to determine the type of tire valves you have on your bike tires. The two main types are Presta and Schrader and each comes with its own peculiarities.
Schrader valves:
These are the wider valves like the ones you find on your car tires. They have an external chuck which is threaded to accept a valve cap or pump head.
There is a spring-loaded check valve controlling the flow of air in and out. They are designed to only let airflow in one direction. The pin at the center needs the pressure to let air in.
Presta valve:
This is a thin metal valve that is threaded and tapers slightly at the top. Unlike a Schrader valve, there is no check valve but seals completely depending on the pressure in the tubes. They are common on high-end bikes and road bikes.
These are more preferred as they require a smaller hole on the rim and hence don’t affect the strength of the wheel. It is a high-pressure valve and can effortlessly be extended with an adaptor.
Checking these valve features helps you determine the type of pump you need. However, some of the pumps in the market now are not valve –specific and can be interchanged.
Some have smart valve heads which automatically switch to fit any type of valve required. Other bicycle pumps require an adaptor to use with different valves.
Use the Correct Pump:
What kind of pump you purchase depends on what you need it for. There are two types of pump: Floor pumps for home use, and bike-mount mini pumps to carry with you on the road in case you have a flat.
Floor pumps are much larger, pump more air per stroke, and take fewer strokes to inflate your bike tires. They are much faster and easier to use than the smaller bike-mount pumps, obviously, you can’t take them with you on a ride.
The best bike-mount mini pump, on the other hand, is designed specifically to be taken with you. Being very small, it takes a lot more work to inflate your bike tires with one, but if you have a flat on the road, which is why you take a pump, that’s a secondary concern.
Attach The Pump To The Valve
Now that you know the type of bike pump you need, the next step is joining the air hose onto the valve. This needs to be done carefully to avoid shredding the valve and ruining the tire. If you have carefully chosen your bike pump, this should be easy because the best pumps on the market are designed for convenience.
A good bike pump should be easy to set up and start using in no time to get you back on the road fast enough. The usual steps to follow are:
- Pull the valve cap off slowly and ensure you place it safely for later replacement.
- The pump head should be in an unlocked position and must confirm this before attachment. Otherwise, it may not fir into the valve. There is a lever for this function and it should be pushed down or in a parallel position with the hose.
- Presta valves have a locking nut and you have to turn it counterclockwise until you feel it can’t move anymore.
- Now press the pump’s valve head straight onto the visible tire valve and lock it immovably into place using a lever if available. For pumps without one, press the pump head down and hold it strongly to avoid disconnection or air loss.
At this point, the connection is secure and there should be no gap or any loose connection which could lead to air loss. The bike pumps are uniquely designed specifically to avoid air loss thus ensuring more efficiency and less energy use.
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Pump Air into The Bike Tire:
With the connection in place, it’s time to start pumping. This entails pushing and pulling the handle down to inflate the tire. Floor pumps, mini pumps, and hand pumps perform in a similar manner with the piston inside the pump cylinder creating a seal inside during an upstroke and forcing the air fast into the tire during a down-stroke.
Final Words
This process is basically how to inflate bike tire. Inflating a bike tire is a very easy task if you follow all the steps carefully. Identify your valve type and choose a pump as you need. Then attach the pump to the valve and pump air into the bike tire. This is a very simple process.
