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Gator Skin TPI

Old 01-20-21, 10:31 AM
  #1  
SethL
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Gator Skin TPI

Hi Everyone,
I recently replaced my rear road bike tire with a new gator skin, 25mm folding tire and tube. I also got a new Bontrager 'charge' pump with a tp monitor. Never used a pump with a tp monitor before. I checked the charts and for my weight tire should be at 95 psi. When I attach the pump to the schrader valve, the tire immediately loses lots of air so its very tough to tell what the exact tp is. I have filled up the tire 2x before my two rides and the 95 psi keeps it very firm all throughout the day and the rides.

I have noticed overnight the tire gets a bit softer and loses some pressure, losing that hardness. It stays firm during the day and I have had no problem on my ride. Once again hard to tell how much pressure I am losing because as soon as a plug the pump in the tp goes down significantly when connecting the hose.

I can't imagine the tube has a leak but i am baffled because it seems to be loosing air at night. Of course I don't want to get a flat during the ride.

Any suggestions?
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Old 01-20-21, 10:55 AM
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Iride01 
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Bicycle tires will lose pressure. Some quite a bit faster than others. For tubed tires it's more to do with the tube than the tire. Latex typically losing air much faster than butyl. One PSI of air every other day isn't unusual if you keep high pressure in narrow tires. Some say even more.

Your difficulties you describe putting air in suggests you either need a different pump or air chuck or perhaps learn or get more skill with what you are doing.
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Old 01-20-21, 11:47 AM
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SethL
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gator skins

Thanks.. I did not know about the different kinds of tube materials. Very interesting and helpful in case I need to replace the tube. I for sure need practice on hooking my pump nozel to my valve and will add air before I ride. I just want to be sure I am not riding around on a tube that will go flat.
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Old 01-20-21, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
Bicycle tires will lose pressure. Some quite a bit faster than others. For tubed tires it's more to do with the tube than the tire. Latex typically losing air much faster than butyl. One PSI of air every other day isn't unusual if you keep high pressure in narrow tires. Some say even more.
OP is saying that the tire is getting noticeably softer overnight. That is definitely not normal. 0.5psi a day is not even close to noticeable for a road bike.

I would recommend taking the tube out, inflating it and putting it in a bucket of water. See if there are any air bubbles. But if it's a slow leak, you probably won't be able to see them.

It could be a very small micropuncture in the tube, which can be solved by removing the valve core and putting in some Orange Seal. Run your hand across the inside of the tire to ensure there is nothing there that could repuncture the tube.

It could be that the valve core is faulty or not tight enough in the valve stem.

If it's both of your tires, then something else is up, probably.
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Old 01-20-21, 01:59 PM
  #5  
Bill Kapaun
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Ride at night and see if it gets soft during the day.
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Old 01-20-21, 02:02 PM
  #6  
berner
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Checking the tube is a good idea. I had one tube that went flat, not from a puncture but from a failure of the valve assembly. Now I test new tubes before use by inflating and putting them aside overnight. No point at all in storing or carrying a tube that leaks even before installation.
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Old 01-20-21, 03:09 PM
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Using tubes with Presta valves helps with the problem of losing pressure as you attach or detach the pump. Even before I got a pump which would pump Presta valves, using an adapter with a Schraeder pump chuck was better for getting tire pressure where I needed it.

It's probably worth checking the tube. If there's a slow leak now, it could become a faster leak next week or next month in the middle of a ride.
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