The Art of Pumping Up Bicycle Tyres: A Step-by-Step Guide

Pumping up bicycle tyres is an essential task that requires attention to detail and the right tools. In this article, we'll take you through the process of pumping up a Presta valve tyre using a pump presser.

First things first, let's talk about the importance of pressure gauges. Having a pressure gauge attached to your pump makes all the difference in ensuring that your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure. This is particularly crucial for road bikes with lightweight thin wheels, as a poorly fitted schrader valve can weaken the wheel. With a Presta valve, you get the added benefit of a thicker, more durable valve stem that's better suited for high-pressure applications.

Now, let's move on to setting up your pump presser. Start by unscrewing the little locking nut on top of the tyre and releasing any air that may be trapped inside. Then, take off the dust cap and screw the lock nut back onto the valve stem, all the way to the end. Give it a little tap with your finger to ensure it's free from any debris or sealant.

Next, attach the pump presser to the Presta valve by inserting the smaller end into the hole. Make sure it's snug and secure, as a loose fit can cause air leaks. Once in place, screw on the dust cap and tighten the lock nut until it's finger-tight.

Now that your pump is set up, let's talk about using it to inflate your tyres. Take a deep breath and start pumping! Make sure to lift the lever firmly and press down on it as you squeeze out air from the tyre. The pressure gauge will show you exactly how much pressure you're building, so make sure to check it regularly.

As you pump up the tyre, pay attention to any rattling or buzzing sounds coming from the valve stem. If you notice these noises, it's likely that the lock nut has come loose and needs tightening. Don't worry, this is an easy fix!

If you're using a bicycle pump or old-fashioned car football, don't forget to adapt your pump for schrader valves. This involves threading an adapter over the Presta valve stem, allowing the schrader pump head to fit snugly onto the end.

Finally, let's talk about the importance of finishing off with the proper pump. Invest in a good quality pump presser that will make pumping up tyres a breeze. We highly recommend this type of pump for anyone serious about cycling. With one of these pumps, you'll be able to get your tyres inflated to the correct pressure in no time.

But what about when you're on the go and need to inflate a tyre quickly? In those situations, we recommend using an adapter that fits over the Presta valve stem. This allows you to use a schrader pump or old-fashioned car football, making it easier to top up your tyres when you're out riding.

We hope this article has been informative and helpful in teaching you the art of pumping up bicycle tyres. Remember to always check your pressure gauge regularly and make sure your tyre is securely attached to the rim. Happy cycling!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello cycling enthusiasts today we're going to talk about pumping up your tires which sounds like something terribly obvious and easy and indeed it is but there are a few little tips we're going to talk about the two types of valve schrader which is the fat type like the ones on your car which you will see on a lot of mountain bikes and hybrid bikes this is tom's son's birthday bicycle which we rebuilt in a previous video the other type of valve is the smaller presta which you will see here on my posh orca we'll come on to that in a minute now the first thing i'm going to tell you is don't bother with a type bicycle pump therefore emergencies on the road for pumping your tires up properly at home use either a stirrup pump like this one or if you must a car type foot pump although that's less good this stirrup pump is particularly good because it has a universal end which will suit schrader valves the fat ones and presta valves the thin skinny ones that you get on the posh road bikes first of all we're going to talk about dust caps now a lot of cyclists are a bit sniffy about dust caps they sort of think they're uncool but actually they're an extremely good idea especially with schrader valves because if i take it off this is a brand new bike obviously the valves are in perfect condition but let's imagine you've been riding that around for years without a dust cap on if you come in and look at the top of the valve you will see it's like a little cup almost where dust and grit and cack will collect and eventually when you press down the pin in order to put air in a bit of that cack will go down in there and stop it closing fully and you'll have a very slow puncture in effect because the valve is leaking so use dust caps if you haven't used dust caps for a while get some to put on and before you pump the tyres up use a compressor if you have one to blow dust out or most people don't have a compressor get yourself some sort of little pastry brush or paint brush or in this case a wheel cleaning brush and give it a bit of a what would you call that action a bit of a stipple make sure the dust is out and or indeed turn the wheel over this one doesn't have any dust in it as i said because it's new right now we can pump up the front tire of tom's son's birthday bicycle and i can use either pump for this but i'm going to use the stirrup pump with the very clever universal end one thing you need to be aware of is which way do you move the lever on this one you put it on and then lift the lever up to depress the pin that operates the valve on this old-fashioned car type foot pump you put it on and press the lever down but it will be obvious when you look at your pump which way around it works and if you get it wrong it won't work so that will be a clue so i'm trying to do this so you can see what's going on put my universal end on the pump press it down firmly lift up the lever you will know that it's on because the pressure that's in there i did let it down a bit that's registered on the dial it's always nice to have a pump with a with a pressure gauge on it so you're not guessing and then we'll speed this bit up this is a little workout for you i see deer i see deer in my rear view okay that is the tyre pumped up release the lever pull off there it's quite stiff that one and put the dust cap back on you peasant i see deer i see deer in my rear view today okay now let's look at the presta valve on the orca now some people have a bit of a downer on prestas they say why are we so bothering with these in the modern world when most pumps most airlines are adapted for schrader valves these are much thinner and work in a different way but if you've got lightweight thin wheels like you have on a road bike like this the hole for the schrader valve would weaken it considerably the presser goes in a much smaller hole more wheel survives around it and it's stronger these will also sustain extremely high pressures first take off the dust cap because you have dust caps and then you unscrew the little locking nut on the top all the way not tight to the end but screw it all the way to the end and then to make sure it's free give it a little tap with your finger that's especially good on on bikes with tubeless tyres because they will have sealant in them and sometimes a tiny little drop of sealant gets in there and makes it a bit stiff if it can't move the air won't go in put the dust cap in your mouth like that so you don't lose it because they roll away now we can use my universal pump can you see this put the end on this is all very obvious but be careful not to put it on cock-eyed because you can bend that and then you'll have to put a new core in put it on smartly all the way down lift up the lever a pressure registers i've left it down a bit for the purposes of this demonstration and then as before speed it up i see deer i see deer if you want to sound like you've had something wrong with you in the last few months simply hold a dust cap from a bicycle between your lips but continue trying to talk normally okay i'm not not pumping it all the way up i want to show you something else let's imagine you don't have this let's imagine you only have bicycle pump or your old-fashioned car football now that that is designed for schrader valve so it's not going to fit on there if i try and put that on there you're just going to let a load of air to the tire what you need is an adapter and i always keep one in the little weed and condoms pocket of my bicycle repair jeans it looks like this i've had mine for many years sometimes they're made of plastic but it's essentially threaded to go over the presser valve and then that end is bigger to accept the schrader pump as before undo the locking nut the locking ring all the way give it a tap to make sure it's free then screw the adapter on and put it on nice and square because otherwise as you tighten it up you will screw the locking ring back down and then you won't be able to put any air in okay that's gone on square now the schrader pump head will attach and then you can pump it up rather tediously with the squeaky foot pump i don't like that i only use that adapter in absolute dire emergencies most of the time it just stays in the weed and condoms pocket let's finish it off with the proper pump i cannot over recommend one of these they're not expensive sort of 15 20 quid i've had this one for at least 20 years put that back on i need to put another 10 or so psi in there that is up to pressure release the lever and remove that smartly so you don't let any air out screw the locking nut back up pulling on it as you go don't push as you screw it up otherwise you'll let some air like that screw it up doesn't have to be massively tight reasonable finger tight put the dust cap back on like comment subscribe and finally check that that little locking ring on the rim is tight it will tend to work loose as you pump the tire up if you leave it loose as you ride along it'll make a tiny little buzzing rattling sound which will drive you round the bend so there you are both types of bicycle tyres successfully pumped up i hope that wasn't too boring or too patronizing for you like comment subscribe comment subscribe like subscribe like comment is there anything else oh goodbye youhello cycling enthusiasts today we're going to talk about pumping up your tires which sounds like something terribly obvious and easy and indeed it is but there are a few little tips we're going to talk about the two types of valve schrader which is the fat type like the ones on your car which you will see on a lot of mountain bikes and hybrid bikes this is tom's son's birthday bicycle which we rebuilt in a previous video the other type of valve is the smaller presta which you will see here on my posh orca we'll come on to that in a minute now the first thing i'm going to tell you is don't bother with a type bicycle pump therefore emergencies on the road for pumping your tires up properly at home use either a stirrup pump like this one or if you must a car type foot pump although that's less good this stirrup pump is particularly good because it has a universal end which will suit schrader valves the fat ones and presta valves the thin skinny ones that you get on the posh road bikes first of all we're going to talk about dust caps now a lot of cyclists are a bit sniffy about dust caps they sort of think they're uncool but actually they're an extremely good idea especially with schrader valves because if i take it off this is a brand new bike obviously the valves are in perfect condition but let's imagine you've been riding that around for years without a dust cap on if you come in and look at the top of the valve you will see it's like a little cup almost where dust and grit and cack will collect and eventually when you press down the pin in order to put air in a bit of that cack will go down in there and stop it closing fully and you'll have a very slow puncture in effect because the valve is leaking so use dust caps if you haven't used dust caps for a while get some to put on and before you pump the tyres up use a compressor if you have one to blow dust out or most people don't have a compressor get yourself some sort of little pastry brush or paint brush or in this case a wheel cleaning brush and give it a bit of a what would you call that action a bit of a stipple make sure the dust is out and or indeed turn the wheel over this one doesn't have any dust in it as i said because it's new right now we can pump up the front tire of tom's son's birthday bicycle and i can use either pump for this but i'm going to use the stirrup pump with the very clever universal end one thing you need to be aware of is which way do you move the lever on this one you put it on and then lift the lever up to depress the pin that operates the valve on this old-fashioned car type foot pump you put it on and press the lever down but it will be obvious when you look at your pump which way around it works and if you get it wrong it won't work so that will be a clue so i'm trying to do this so you can see what's going on put my universal end on the pump press it down firmly lift up the lever you will know that it's on because the pressure that's in there i did let it down a bit that's registered on the dial it's always nice to have a pump with a with a pressure gauge on it so you're not guessing and then we'll speed this bit up this is a little workout for you i see deer i see deer in my rear view okay that is the tyre pumped up release the lever pull off there it's quite stiff that one and put the dust cap back on you peasant i see deer i see deer in my rear view today okay now let's look at the presta valve on the orca now some people have a bit of a downer on prestas they say why are we so bothering with these in the modern world when most pumps most airlines are adapted for schrader valves these are much thinner and work in a different way but if you've got lightweight thin wheels like you have on a road bike like this the hole for the schrader valve would weaken it considerably the presser goes in a much smaller hole more wheel survives around it and it's stronger these will also sustain extremely high pressures first take off the dust cap because you have dust caps and then you unscrew the little locking nut on the top all the way not tight to the end but screw it all the way to the end and then to make sure it's free give it a little tap with your finger that's especially good on on bikes with tubeless tyres because they will have sealant in them and sometimes a tiny little drop of sealant gets in there and makes it a bit stiff if it can't move the air won't go in put the dust cap in your mouth like that so you don't lose it because they roll away now we can use my universal pump can you see this put the end on this is all very obvious but be careful not to put it on cock-eyed because you can bend that and then you'll have to put a new core in put it on smartly all the way down lift up the lever a pressure registers i've left it down a bit for the purposes of this demonstration and then as before speed it up i see deer i see deer if you want to sound like you've had something wrong with you in the last few months simply hold a dust cap from a bicycle between your lips but continue trying to talk normally okay i'm not not pumping it all the way up i want to show you something else let's imagine you don't have this let's imagine you only have bicycle pump or your old-fashioned car football now that that is designed for schrader valve so it's not going to fit on there if i try and put that on there you're just going to let a load of air to the tire what you need is an adapter and i always keep one in the little weed and condoms pocket of my bicycle repair jeans it looks like this i've had mine for many years sometimes they're made of plastic but it's essentially threaded to go over the presser valve and then that end is bigger to accept the schrader pump as before undo the locking nut the locking ring all the way give it a tap to make sure it's free then screw the adapter on and put it on nice and square because otherwise as you tighten it up you will screw the locking ring back down and then you won't be able to put any air in okay that's gone on square now the schrader pump head will attach and then you can pump it up rather tediously with the squeaky foot pump i don't like that i only use that adapter in absolute dire emergencies most of the time it just stays in the weed and condoms pocket let's finish it off with the proper pump i cannot over recommend one of these they're not expensive sort of 15 20 quid i've had this one for at least 20 years put that back on i need to put another 10 or so psi in there that is up to pressure release the lever and remove that smartly so you don't let any air out screw the locking nut back up pulling on it as you go don't push as you screw it up otherwise you'll let some air like that screw it up doesn't have to be massively tight reasonable finger tight put the dust cap back on like comment subscribe and finally check that that little locking ring on the rim is tight it will tend to work loose as you pump the tire up if you leave it loose as you ride along it'll make a tiny little buzzing rattling sound which will drive you round the bend so there you are both types of bicycle tyres successfully pumped up i hope that wasn't too boring or too patronizing for you like comment subscribe comment subscribe like subscribe like comment is there anything else oh goodbye you\n"