Novice11

I took my bike to the local gas station and couldn't pump my tire no matter what i did, so i figured out that the pump i was using is incompatible with my bike's tire air valve.. i didn't have this issue with my older bike.. i also slightly bent my tire's valve screw from applying force.. (can this be fixed?)

Which quality Air pump would be appropriate to use on my Kona Dew Deluxe air valve?
The Specialized Air Tool Comp looks decent. Any suggestions?

What PSI is right for someone weighing 152LB?
Does the pump show PSI? any other readings i should take into account?

Im also in the market for a quality bike helmet?

Thanks for looking.

vgregdo

It sounds like you have presta valves. Cars and lower pressure bike tires use schrader (sp?) valves. If you go to a bike shop, you should be able to able to get a presta to schrader converter (about $2 or $3 or something like that). It's a little brass piece that screws on over your presta valve. To use it, you undo the little nut on the presta valve all the way, screw the converter on and then you can use the gas station pump. Once you're all pumped up, take the converter off and tighten the nut again. I generally just screw the converter back onto the valve when I'm done so that I don't loose it.

As for a pump, I like the floor stand type the best. You can't really carry it when you ride, but they are by far the easiest to use. Get one with a built in pressure gauge. I'd ask the bike store to recommend a pump to carry with you. I have a very old Zefel HPx4 that works great, but I never use it, since I use the floor pump at home and I haven't had a flat in a couple of years. I generally find that I need to pump the tires up at least once a week. They will lose about 10 to 20 PSI in that time.

For tire pressure, I generally run mine at whatever the maximum that the tire is rated for (it will be printed on the outside of the tire). My current tires are rated for 95 PSI, so that is what I pump them to. I've had others that were rated at 100 PSI and 110 PSI and that's the pressure that I ran them at. The harder the tire, the less rolling resistance and the easier it is to pedal. Of course you will also feel all the bumps in the road, so make sure your bike is comfortable for you. I weigh about 185LB, so you shouldn't have any trouble with running at maximum pressure.

The most important thing in a helmet is that it fits comfortably. If it's not a good fit, it won't protect you properly and you probably won't want to wear it. I have a Bell (don't remember what model) with a little adjustment wheel in the back so that you can adjust the fit exactly for your head.

Anyway, I hope I didn't ramble too much and that you find some of this helpful.

xoxoxoxoLive

My pump is a Planet micro, like a dummy, I just grab one off the shelt at REI, 17.00 dollars I think.
Well turns out I have the low presure one, not the higher PSI..I guess when I need it I will be limping
home on 50 PSI instead of 80...Richard : )

Wanderer

It's really easy - Topeak Mountain Morph/G.... Everything you want in a pump, and more.

Pressure, pump em up to max,, then experiment from there......

The Mountain Morph/G will do it all, and you can carry it on your bike!

khutch

You don't say if you want a pump for home use or on the road. At home I use this Planet Bike model. Floor pumps for home use generally cover the full pressure range you might need and have gauges built in. On the road I use this Lezyne model. I have the medium size which fits this optional pressure gauge although I think a lot of people just pump up until it feels right when using a pump on the road and that is fine too. That particular pump is a low pressure/high volume pump that is more suited to the larger volume tires I use, which are similar to the tires on your bike. Lezyne also makes high pressure pumps and if you want to go higher than 90 psi you can use one of them. I actually got this CO2 inflator before I got the Lezyne pump. It works fine for road use too and can be quicker/easier than hand pumping. If you are on a long ride and want a repaired tire to be inflated to the correct pressure for the remainder of the ride then the hand pump is best. If you just want to repair a tire quickly so you can get home the CO2 is great. Having both is nice but certainly not necessary. Of course there are many other great pumps out there too, these are the brands I have experience with and I would buy any of them again and recommend them to friends.

If your Presta valve bit is not too badly bent you can use it as is (with a pump designed to fit it) or gently bend it back straight with pliers. If it is badly bent your only solution is likely to buy and install a new Presta valve inner tube. The LBS will have them and if you don't know how to do this they can show you. It is not hard. It is something you will have to learn to do to repair flats out in the sticks so you might as well learn it in the comfort of your LBS rather than trying to teach yourself in a mosquito infested clearing on the bike trail. Also have them tell you about patching tubes because that is a good skill to have when your spare tube gets a flat too! Oh, I would buy a replacement tube before trying to straighten the one you have, just in case. And if you take the bike to the LBS (local bike shop) to get the tube they can attempt to reinflate your tire for you. They might even try to straighten the valve for you.

For tire pressure you can go for comfort or speed. For comfort, assuming your bike is 25 pounds and your gear is 15 pounds the recommendation with 32 mm tires is 45 psi front, 67 psi rear, although if Continental recommends a minimum pressure above 45 psi for those tires (it should be printed on the tire sidewall) you might want to use that instead to avoid pinch flats. For speed you inflate them to the maximum recommended sidewall pressure unless you are a cowboy and then you go 10 or 20 psi above that! You can also experiment with pressures between those two limits too and perhaps you will find the pressures you consider ideal. If you always ride on smooth asphalt the max pressure gives you no disadvantages. The rougher your roads and trails are the more you might want to consider lowering the pressure below the maximum.

All helmets sold today are made to the same protection specs and no more. A $20 helmet tests the same as a $300 helmet, surprisingly enough. When you buy a very expensive helmet you are paying for special foams that allow very many and very large cooling vents to provide the CPSC specified protection level that cheap helmets provide with fewer and smaller vents using a cheap foam. And you are undoubtedly paying the manufacturer/distributor/dealer a higher profit margin! But if you live in a very warm climate those cooling vents might be worth their price. The bottom line is that you buy the helmet that suits you well, they all work the same in terms of protection. So try a few out for fit, see how the adjustment mechanisms work for you, and color coordinate your helmet with your bike or cycling outfit if you like. You can't go wrong with any helmet so you buy them for "touchy-feely" reasons rather than protection performance.

Ken

EsoxLucius

I have a Bontrager Charger floor pump with the gauge at the top of the tube which I really like, and it handles the Schrader valves on my Giant Cypress DX and the Presta valves on my Jamis Coda Comp.

Novice11

Thanks for the help everyone.

I got the Topeak Road Morph G and im pleased with it.

Wanderer

Now, get that helmet, and wear it. I find Specialized helmets extremely comfortable - but you have to try lots on to find the one that fits your head the best.....

I was in a unique position, helmet damaged in a crash - my LBS dealer was willing to give me half off on any helmet he carried. But, he wanted the damaged one for display.

I tried on helmets over $200, and helmets for $18.......

I settled on a $40 helmet at half off for 20 - because it felt the most invisible on my head.