Tyres Losing Pressure?

senordingdong

I find that every week or so I need to pump the tyres as it feels like they are deflating slightly and creating a bit of drag.

I know that the pressure has to be maintained just like any vehicle but surely this is abit too often? And too long for it to be a slow puncture?

Harrybelafonte

You should always check tyres before using the bike in my book. They're going to deflate, even over night.

senordingdong

Could my weight or the way I'm using the bike or even the roads I use be a factor?

07Lapierre

The tube could have a very slow puncture? The vale could be leaking?...have you removed the tube from the bike, inflated it and submerged it in water?

thebouldwhacker

senordingdong wrote: »

I find that every week or so I need to pump the tyres as it feels like they are deflating slightly

Pretty normal to lose a few psi over this length of time

CramCycle

Where is it being stored, noticeable changes in temperature can speed it up in my experience.

Harrybelafonte

senordingdong wrote: »

Could my weight or the way I'm using the bike or even the roads I use be a factor?

Doubt it's weight. How much PSI you losing? It could be, as 07Lapierre said, a really, really slow puncture. I had ne on my commuter and it'd take two days to go completely soft. I was too lazy to change it and then it just went completely in town one day. Take it out and replace it, check your tyre for any sharp objects and then see if it still happens?

macnab

I find the lighter tubes loose pressure quicker, I have latex tubes on one wheel set that loose most of their pressure in days. My commuter bike has bog standard rubber tubes which keep their pressure for weeks, but they weigh over 3 times more than my lighter tubes (105g v 400g)

doozerie

Air has a mind of its own, it likes to sneak away when you are not looking. You need to make it toe the line, so whenever too much of it escapes you have to drag the tube out of the tyre, waterboard it, and stuff the tube back in again. That'll soon show it who is boss.

...or just add some more air in every now and again to replenish the stuff that has run away, but you can't possibly release your inner Jack Bauer like that!

(For what it's worth, my 23mm latex tubes lose in or around 10% of pressure per night, my 23mm butyl tubes lose about that amount per week, my 43mm MTB butyl tubes seem to lose around 20% of pressure per week. These figures vary a bit depending on weather, the angle of the dangle, the phase of the moon, exactly how late I'm running, the proximity of a pump, and various other scientific-ey things).

Raam

Every week or so? I pump mine up every couple of days.

DirkVoodoo

Raam wrote: »

Every week or so? I pump mine up every couple of days.

Me too, every 7.

shaka

Probably pump tyres every week on road and MTB

senordingdong

Grand...so from the general consensus, it's a perfectly normal occurence and no cause for alarm.

Thanks for the replies.

hardCopy

CramCycle wrote: »

Where is it being stored, noticeable changes in temperature can speed it up in my experience.

Also, pumping it up indoors in a nice warm house and then cycling it outside would cause a drop in pressure without actually losing any air.

senordingdong

Nah, it doesn't come into the house.
It's kept in the shed, cycled outdoors and then stored in a shed at work.

In the cold all the time.