Stupid tyre pressure (& lidl track pump) Q

caviardreams

Hi guys

Have been off the road bike for a couple of months for various reasons (have only had it a few months more than that too, so it's all quite new to me). Anyway when I took her out, the tyres were very flat, so I got out the track pump I got in LIDL a few months back. It's the first time I have used it, so watched a few youtube vids and gave it a go.
However, when I started pumping after 3 or 4 full pumps it got too hard to press down all the way and the tyres felt absolutely full, even though the gauge only read about 60?? I didn't want to try pushing down anymore as there was so much resistance on the pump and the tyres felt full so I was worried they were going to burst! :eek:

In fact I was too paranoid that they are now too full that I let a smidge of air out so I can just about squeeze them a little.

I had been aiming for 100psi so the tyres feeling full (and not being able to push the pump down) at 60 seems wrong??? Maybe the pressure gauge is wrong perhaps? Or is there any other way I can tell if the tyres have too much pressure?

Sorry for the stupid noob question :o

Thanks

easygoing39

Them lidl pumps arent great,buy a track pump made by SKS or Lezyne and you'll get to 125 psi no bother.

caviardreams

Thanks easygoing - will do so at the weekend, but is there any way to tell if the tyres are too high pressure in the meantime? I need to use it tomorrow and am a little afraid the tyre will burst if I sit on it!

68 lost souls

The gauge on my lidl pump broke but I opened it up by unscrewing the cover and then re seating the valve and tightening it again. Works properly again now and seems accurate. May be the end of your pump if it doesn't work but may fix it if works.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Lean on the front of the bike, if the tyre compresses more than 25% then pump them a little more so that they only compress very slightly when you put your weight on the bike...then buy a proper pump.

caviardreams

Thanks a mill guys - fingers crossed I don't end up exploding halfway down the N11 tomorrow!

Fian

This can also happen if the valve is not fully engaged. Try letting the air down a bit, making sure you push the connection down fully before engaging the lever and seeing how you get on.

If you are not properly on you can get a few pumps done but the pressure is not releasing into the tube properly so the guage is measuring the air pressure at the connection to the tube rather than in the tube.

If you can't force air in and it reads 60 psi you either have not connected properly or your guage is broken.

I am assuming we are talking about "road" tyres here. If you are on a mountain bike tyres then 60-80 psi is all you want as far as I know.

If the tyres "felt full" as you say, to the point you couldn't press them down, maybe the guage is broken. I would trust my finger pressing more than a guage.

caviardreams

Thanks guys - the good news is I survived ok this morning and the tyres didn't burst! Will try that advice Fian (yes they are road tyres) and if it doesn't work, will pick up a new track pump.

Thanks so much for all the help!

equivariant

How much pressure are you applying to the pump? For example, I have a pump from Halfords which is pretty good - but to get to 100psi I pretty much have lean with my full weight on the pump handle for the last few pushes.

If you can "squeeze the tires a little" then almost certainly the pressure is much too low (unless you have thumbs of steel). The tire should pretty much be rock hard to a thumb squeeze when inflated to 100psi

cjt156

I've a Lidl pump and to get the last 10 psi or so can be a gut-buster. Cross checking with a decent pressure gauge can verify - a Schaeder adaptor can be handy for this.

caviardreams

Cool thanks guys - will double check the seal and then give it a good few presses (to be honest I was not putting that much effort into it as I was a bit afraid that it shouldn't be in any way hard and stopped once it started feeling a bit resistant). Thanks again

diomed

equivariant wrote: »

How much pressure are you applying to the pump? For example, I have a pump from Halfords which is pretty good - but to get to 100psi I pretty much have lean with my full weight on the pump handle for the last few pushes.

The last few pump pushes should be real crunches. When pebbles shoot away from your tyres like bullets when you roll over them you know you are about right.

link_2007

I bought one of the Lidl track pumps and pumped the tyre to what I thought was 100 psi.

Left the bike back ready for the morning commute and a few minutes later heard what I was sure was a gun shot from somewhere in the apartment. Once I was satisfied it wasn't herself out to get me, I went to investigate and found that the tube had exploded.

sconhome

Just to check - did you first twist the little valve on the tube open a little?

caviardreams

AKW wrote: »

Just to check - did you first twist the little valve on the tube open a little?

Yep I did (after some youtubing ) Was able to release air out by pushing the valve and everything so that seemed ok.

Link_2007 - thanks for that :eek::eek: Good to know I was better to error on the side of caution. Looks like I will be buying a new pump so!