Bloody Garage Airlines.

Perhaps I was very dopey yesterday............

..........having checked the tyres prior to a ride (as I always do) and having a garage JUST along the road, I headed there before going out. The tyres were only a couple of pounds down, probably down to temperature more than anything.

I'm sure that many of you know what happened next. I pull into the forecourt to find someone parked in front of the compressor and wait for him to come out and leave. After removing the valve caps, I try in vain to get the head onto the valve due to the length and angle of the airline nozzle. By flexing the (short) tyre stem over a little, I reckon I'll be OK. In spite of this, the line goes on but doesn't inflate. Turns out that some nice bod has removed the out of order sign (paper) that was over the guage. As a result, the front tyre is down even more than when I set out.

Heading to another garage about 1/2 mile along the way, I find that riding SLOWLY on a tyre that is actually down a decent bit is very scary. The thing wants to go it's own way. Fortunately this place has two compressors and both have a different type of nozzle to the first place. This type is shorter and can just about get into a bike wheel. The display shows 19psi . Back to normal, the caps go back on and I vow to use a footpump from now on (unless in an emergency).

Be warned if you didn't already know.

Cheers,
Garry

Had to get an adaptor made to put air in my my Merc tyres

Never trust em though and always use a digital gauge to check afterwards.
My VRF used to let me know when the tyres were down, drop 1-2PSI in the
front and it wobbled like my gut ... Drop 1-2 in the back and it tram-lined
all the way to the garage, always found the SV stable on low(ish) tyres
though ...

which garage did you use that had decent useable pump thingy?

tesco garage pumps have stupid sizes, as do BP I think

Will a mini bycyle pump work, if so it might be worth keeping one under the seat.

i invested in a valve extender. you attach it to your normal valve and it has got a 90 degree angle in it so you can blow up your tyres easyer. cheers. jamie

There was me thinking this was a post about some sort of downmarket Easyjet competitor!

I've found that the secret is in the angle and therefore the place you position you valves when rolling up. I often have to move the bike back and forward a couple of time before I can get the right angle for entry... so to speak. Oh Matron!

[Sid Squid]

On some bikes with big discs/small wheels the only way is either a very flexible line or a angled valve extender, if you use an extender don't leave it on the wheel, they are heavy and can cause imbalance.

Whatever method you use for attaching the line do not under any circumstances trust the gauge, they are notoriously innaccurate, inflate with the airline and check the pressures with your own gauge.

Glad that I started this post now.

Some good info there guys- well done. JakeRS- I had better luck at an ASDA station. The machine there had a slightly shorter stalk.

Thanks again,

Garry

shame... my asda doesnt have a petrol station! lol

[timwilky]

Always check the pressure before I wheel the bike out the garage. My tyre inflator has a flexible neck so no problem getting it to fit. But the gauge is that far out that I now know to inflate to an indicated 42 psi in order to get my required 33 in the front. I leave the compressor permanently charged so it is a 2 minute exercise