79pmooney

I lent my HP to a clubmate; skinny 45 yo engineer/roadie to pump his tires to 120 for the club TT. He did it easily. I'[m sure booth could have gone the last 20 psi to your pressures. (And what do you do that requires 140psi? Velodrome?)

smd4

Nah. Just regular road riding. Velomax Master 700x23c’s.

I guess I’m just weird. I’ve got this crazy notion about using the proper tools for the job. Sure, I could just as easily use a pair of vice grips to install my pedals... but...why?

blinky

I'm running 700x25 now but a few years ago it was 700x23 and during that time higher pressures were common and the thinking of the period - having rock hard tires was the goal and the thinking at the LBS - you generally want higher pressure as the width decreases but boy I'd think at 140 psi you would feel every little bump in the road

SquireBlack 

Yes. An old water bottle full of soapy (dish detergent) water. Squirt over your valve before you attach the pump head. I would not use grease — too messy, and it may affect the rubber in the seals.

If you use Schrader valves exclusively, you might try a pump chuck designed for Schrader valves. The “Universal” chucks are going to be very tight on a Schrader valve, because they also have to work on skinny Presta valves. If you use both, consider two pumps, or a chuck with dual orifaces.

grizzly59

Like Andy said, first spit in the chuck. Turn the wheel so as the valve is at the top, 12 o’clock. Then when you remove the chuck you can pull straight down, supported by the concrete.

smd4

Exactly! Its a racing bike. I want that road feel.

I’m not sure when the popular opinion changed to think that a high performance racing bike should ride like a Lincoln touring car.

zacster

I used to run my 700x23 tires at 105-110 but then switched to 28fr 25r and run them at 95. But then again I used to run my 700x19 tires at 110 and they were like riding rocks. Those were the days when skinny clinchers were the thing and real racers used tubulars.

masi61

Racing bikes are plenty fast when set up with much lower pressures than the old standard 23mm tires inflated to 115 psi. If you run lightweight tubeless tires or lightweight clinchers with latex tubes - both these types respond really well to lower pressures especially with today's tubeless ready rims with wider internal width permitting increased air volume. This is a Goldilox type of proposition - not too hard and not too soft but just right. Some people are just not mechanically inclined enough or patient enough to try different things out to find out for themselves.

Also, having lower front pressures makes a lot of sense since it softens the shock on the upper body making for more fatigue free riding.

smd4

140 psi works for me. Thanks. And I'm more interested in road feel than "speed." I never mentioned wanting to go faster. I'd rather not feel like I'm pedaling around a couple wheelbarrow tires. I'm glad it works for you. I would never even consider tubeless tires. And I certainly don't want wider rims.Happily, 140 psi is "just right" for me. Wait, what? You have to be "mechanically inclined" to keep from pumping your tires up to the recommended pressure? And what the hell does "patience" have to do with anything?

Bumps and road vibration don't make me tired.

masi61

smd4 - just curious: what are your favorite tires? Also, can you comment on the road surfaces you typically ride?

edit: I just did some quick research and see where you are running Velomax Master 700x23's.

smd4

I would prefer older Continentals in 700x20, but I like the Veloflex Masters I'm riding now, especially for their higher pressure. If Avocet was still around, I'd be riding their slicks. I mostly ride the local roads and greenways in and around Wake Forest. The surfaces are generally in very good condition. I'm no racer. But I do appreciate the riding characteristics and feel of quality racing machines.

masi61

You are much more hard core than most of us. Are you running butyl or latex innertubes in those Veloflex tires? I used to enjoy the Avocet FasGrip tires as well. Panaracer Race A tires have a similar technical "bald" tread that handles really well.

I'm not seeking arguments because everybody has their personal version of their own "Goldilox" ride, but I would be curious to know - what is your objection to the idea of road tubeless? Also, I think I saw in another thread where your main ride is a (steel) Cinelli. Must be great at dampening road vibration on its own so maxing out tire pressure can be done without losing that magical steel ride quality.

My aluminum framed Flyte SRS3 is a bike I love (usually) but if I could not run at least 25's with latex tubes my Flyte would be known as the "pain sled".

smd4

Oh, no, I'm not "hard core" at all. More like "soft gut." I'm using Vittoria latex tubes.

I would never want to deal with all the goop that goes into a tubeless system. Plus, why spend the money when I don't need to? Going tubeless looks like too much of a PITA for me.

Yes, I've had my Dura-Ace equipped Supercorsa for over 20 years now. During the lockdown, I had a lot of fun upgrading it--installing a titanium rear axle, ceramic bearings, better cables. I guess this is my "mid-life crisis" project. If I had the money, I'd have a Ferrari. But the Cinelli is a fine substitute.

It's sad to say, but I've never ridden a quality aluminum bike.

masi61

Sorry if your thread you started got off on a tangent.

Could you update us in what beneficial tips you have learned +/or reiterate again what inflation related techniques you still are seeking to perfect?

smd4

Sounds like a quality thread-on Schrader chuck would be the easiest, cheapest and best solution to the OPs problem.

rumrunn6

don't push the chuck head on so far. I push mine on just far enough to pump air. makes getting them off a lot easier. you know you haven't pushed in on far enough if it pops off while pumping. if it doesn't pop off, you're good

Harold74

Firstly, thank you all for your generous assistance.

What I'm seeking to perfect is any means of checking and inflating my tires before each ride without:

a) Hurting my hands and;

b) Feeling as though I'm visiting inappropriate violence upon my valves.

I've not yet had a chance to experiment with all of the proposed solutions but hope to in the future. For now, I'm doing this:

1) A little karate chopping.

2) I've got a spray bottle with some water and Dawn in it that I'm applying to the valves.

3) I've ordered a $75CAD Lezyne Floor Drive pump that has a screw on chuck rather than a lever setup. I'm hopeful about this solution and $75CAD seems like a fair price to pay to, potentially, have a much better tire inflation experience 150 times each year. If it's awesome, I'll consider the Silca Pista in the future @ $200 CAD. This may well be one of those situations where I regret not "going big or going" home, we'll see. I was able to try out the Lezyne in personal locally and was not able to do the same for the Silca. That swayed by decision a fair bit.

Harold74

I'm embarrassed to admit that I still don't fully understand this solution. If I get one of those chucks, what then is the pump? Do I hook it up to an air compressor hose or something? Or are there floor pumps that have the hose and the chucks can be swapped out? I suspect that I'm missing some critical little bit of information that would allow me to "get" this. By now, I'm sure that it will come as little surprise that I'm not very mechanically inclined.

smd4

My floor pump has a hose just like yours. But the “tip” is a screw-on Schrader chuck. I can easily screw it onto any Schrader valve, pump to my heart’s content, and unscrew it. No karate chops. No wrestling. When I want to pump up presta valves, I have an adapter that also screws into the Schrader chuck at the end of the hose.

You should be able to buy a similar aftermarket Schrader chuck, remove the chuck at the end of your current pump’s hose, and install the new chuck. You can also upgrade to a compressor if you want. Your choice.

Not sure I can simplify this any more.

Sounds like the Lezyne may be a good solution.

easyupbug 

I would only recommend a tiny amount of this or someones similar product: Dow Corning Molykote 55 Oring grease.
Manmade or natural rubber dry out and wear, this will help prevent that and on some o-rings it will ever so slightly swell the rubber, it is used every where in industrial maintenance for hydraulic systems, etc. I rotate through bikes daily so pump a lot and have original o-rings and gaskets in my ancient pumps.

SJX426 

@Harold74 - Well you already bought a pump. If you want to try a Silca out, look for used ones of the older generation that were made in Italy. I found mine for $50 and have been using it for 12 years. Parts are readily available today for nearly every previous generation.
My approach is to use my air compressor to get me to 110 and then use the Silca to take it the rest of the way, 130 PSI on Vittoria G+ in 700-23/25 clinchers and sew-ups. They ride better for me at those pressures than anything lower. The bikes are a 1988 De Rosa Professional and a 1991 Pinarello Montello.

blinky

Why wouldn't you use the compressor to get the tires to 130psi ??

smd4

Maybe his compressor doesn't go that high?

SJX426 

It shuts off at about 120 and turns back on just under 100. Too unreliable and I only need to do about 10 pumps on the Silca to get it where I want, 125f/130r.

blinky

Right my Craftsman 1 1/2 also has a limit at 120 or 125 - for years I liked to be at 120psi but 90-100 is plenty hard for me now - why more pressure on the rear wheel , heavy saddle bags ?