Originally Posted by
DiabloScott
Why do people use these things?
Do you not have gauges on your pumps?
Do you not trust the accuracy of the gauges on your pumps?
Do you not pump your tires up before every ride?
Are you checking tire pressures in mid ride?
On my commute bike I'll pump the tires up once a week, but other bikes get pumped up every ride.
I just don't get measuring the pressure to decide whether or not you're going to pump - just pump, and if it only takes one stroke then so be it - you haven't spent much more time than using the gauge-only checker; and you maybe saved time and you don't have to worry about how much air you lose with the measurement.
I can't answer why all people use gauges and thought I was pretty clear in my post as to why I would use one, in fact I pretty much provided all the information required to answer all of your questions.
1) I would have progressively let air out until I get to the pressure where I liked the feel of the ride. The I would have measured that pressure with a gauge and had a value that I could inflate to the next time I rode the bike, which might be tomorrow or might be next week or might be 2 months from now.
2) My floor pumps have gauges that I can inflate to, not means to deflate to a pressure. My mini pump that I carry in my saddle bag does not have a pressure gauge.
3) I do accept the displayed pressure on my floor pump to be accurate.
4) Yes, I inflate my tires before each ride TO a pressure that I've determined works well for that bike and it's tire set up but that could be an extended period between rides. Haven't ridden my road bike since last October. I remember I run those tires at 60 and 75 PSI, I don't know how much those pressure mash when I squeeze them.
5) Yes, checking and adjusting mid-ride would be a much quicker way of establishing what I like to run on each bike. In the past I've started near max pressure with a new setup and make adjustments before each ride until I got to where I liked the ride and then it was repeatable before every ride regardless of the interval.
Everyone is different, I work in tool making where normal tolerances are .005" and tight work is done in tenths. I have a 0-20 psi pressure gauge just to check my mower tires (I run 8 psi in the rears and 12 psi in the fronts) and yes, I check them before I use the mower every time. I'd just rather know than guess and once I know what I like and can have it the way I like it every time I use the bike.