Losing pressure over a half hour???

General
1

I’m a brand newbie and up to now have been practicing on a linoleum
kitchen floor. Recently, I’ve been practicing along the short end of a
cement tennis court.

I’ve noticed that over the course of a half hour or so, the wheel gets
‘scrunchier’ sounding and I notice the footprint is larger. Before riding
this afternoon, I pumped my wheel to over 50 psi. By the end of the
afternoon, the gauge showed 40 psi.

Is this unusual?

2

that happened to me as well… but it seems now that I have to pump up my tire less often… perhaps it has something to do with the unstableness of a beginner, and all the wobbling.

3

You probably have a slow leak in the tube. Have you ever fixed a flat on a bicycle before? If not, get someone at a bike shop or a friend who knows how to show you how to do it. It’s pretty easy. Your tube probably has a pin hole that you will be able to find by pumping up the inner tube like a big balloon. Put it under water to find the bubbles. Mark the hole, dry it off, patch the tube and then blow it up and do the water test again. Before you put it back together, try to find the piece of glass or whatever that may still be imbedded in the tire. If you don’t know someone who can help you do it the first time, keep asking questions on fora (real plural of forum) like this one.

4

Hi,

I agree, it sounds like a slow leak. But before you go and try to fix it, check the valve first. It might save you some time. Place a drop or two of water into the valve and see if it bubbles. If not, take it apart or just keep pumping it up all the time. If it does bubble, tighten the valve with a valve tightener.

5

I’ll check out the web page, the stem, and - if this keeps on -
check the tube.

I’ve changed tire tubes before, almost 20 years ago. I would have to go to
a bike store anyway to get the tools, I’ll get a refresher course there.

thanks!

“John Edens” <j_edens@io.com> wrote in message
news:%bNy7.509164$Lw3.31119572@news2.aus1.giganews.com…
> I’m a brand newbie and up to now have been practicing on a linoleum
kitchen
> floor. Recently, I’ve been practicing along the short end of a cement
tennis
> court.
>
> I’ve noticed that over the course of a half hour or so, the wheel gets
> ‘scrunchier’ sounding and I notice the footprint is larger. Before
> riding this afternoon, I pumped my wheel to over 50 psi. By the end of
> the afternoon, the gauge showed 40 psi.
>
> Is this unusual?

6

For more than y’all ever wanted to know about flats and how to repair them
check out Sheldon Brown’s site http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html

Checking the valve is a very good idea. A leak in the valve can be hard to
find if you don’t know to look for it.

john_childs

>From: harper <forum.member@unicyclist.com>
>
>You probably have a slow leak in the tube. Have you ever fixed a flat on
>a bicycle before? If not, get someone at a bike shop or a friend who
>knows how to show you how to do it. It’s pretty easy. Your tube probably
>has a pin hole that you will be able to find by pumping up the inner tube
>like a big balloon. Put it under water to find the bubbles. Mark the
>hole, dry it off, patch the tube and then blow it up and do the water
>test again. Before you put it back together, try to find the piece of
>glass or whatever that may still be imbedded in the tire. If you don’t
>know someone who can help you do it the first time, keep asking questions
>on fora (real plural of forum) like this one.
>
>–
>harper Posted via the Unicyclist Community - http://unicyclist.com/forums

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

7

That was an amazingly cool and informative site.

Thanks!

“John Childs” <john_childs@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:F8h0Cpg0RnLJm2ZBNCo000082b7@hotmail.com…
> For more than y’all ever wanted to know about flats and how to repair
> them check out Sheldon Brown’s site
> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html
>
> Checking the valve is a very good idea. A leak in the valve can be hard
to
> find if you don’t know to look for it.
>
> john_childs
>
> >From: harper <forum.member@unicyclist.com>
> >
> >You probably have a slow leak in the tube. Have you ever fixed a flat
> >on a bicycle before? If not, get someone at a bike shop or a friend who
> >knows how to show you how to do it. It’s pretty easy. Your tube
> >probably has a pin hole that you will be able to find by pumping up the
> >inner tube like a big balloon. Put it under water to find the bubbles.
> >Mark the hole, dry it off, patch the tube and then blow it up and do
> >the water test again. Before you put it back together, try to find the
> >piece of glass or whatever that may still be imbedded in the tire. If
> >you don’t know someone who can help you do it the first time, keep
> >asking questions on fora (real plural of forum) like this one.
> >
> >–
> >harper Posted via the Unicyclist Community -
> >http://unicyclist.com/forums
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at
> http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp