Putting air in your tyres.

Nickcrl

Nickcrl

Joined
Mar 2, 2021
Messages
6
Age
66
Location
Uk
Bike
St1100
Ok I’m here again! I have struggled to put air in the tyres of my pan. I think this must be a common issue with all bikers as the valve points straight out of the centre of the wheel rim and I have to pull it over to get the airline to attach which makes me nervous as I don’t want to rip the rubber valve out of the rim or damage it.
so! I carry a 90 degree brass air valve which attaches to the wheel valve thus making the job of putting air in the tyre much easier 168C9207-8F0E-4725-896F-C50B99329C8C.png
 
I tend to only use my home compressor which isn't difficult to attach but I've also got one of those brass 90 degree jobbies for when I'm on the road. You could fit angled valves at the next tyre change.
Upt'North.
 
83 degree aluminum stems are a long term solution and look good too. Ariete is one brand and most dealers can order the Bikemaster ones for about half the price.

bikemaster.com

BikeMaster Angled Aluminum Valve Stems 11.3mm

Color anodized for corrosion protection, the stems are made from high-quality, lightweight, solid aircraft-aluminum body. Includes quality valve, mounting nut and valve cap for front and rear. They provide easy access to check tire pressure, will outlast the usual O.E.M. rubber stems, and will...
bikemaster.com bikemaster.com
 
@ST-Traveler's T shaped valve stem gives you the option of installing an outside the tire TPMS at a later date. They are available from Hawkshead and FOBO (and doubtless other places, as well).
 
Or, you can get one of these to make airing up easier.

ez-air-in-line-tire-gauge-11.gif


Ez-Air from Accu Gage.
 
Didn't I post a video about this "common issue"? I'll have to check.

Not sure why I'm the only person to not have a problem airing up a tire and checking air pressure.

If I don't find the video, I'll create a new one.
 
You aren't going to rip the valve stem out that easily. Pushing it over to a 45* angle won't hurt it. I need to push mine a little bit to get the air chuck on, but not far.

RT
 
got lucky with my bike as the previous owner had already installed the 90 degree stems and yes, it is a great addition for ease of access, very much second that recommendation.
 
Just had the FOBOs installed this week when I had tires mounted. Ordered direct from FOBO in Malaysia. Took nearly a month to arrive, so plan ahead.

My research indicated that several domestic sources were just reselling FOBO, and were backordered. I decided to cut out the middleman.
 
Nickcrl said:
so! I carry a 90 degree brass air valve which attaches to the wheel valve thus making the job of putting air in the tyre much easier
Click to expand...
That gets the job done. More convenient are the offset valves. If you don't plan to run a TPMS the Ariete valves that dduelin mentioned are a great addition. Have them mounted so they point to the STBD side and you're golden.

If you plan to get a TMPS system like the FOBO and others that use an external stem mounted sensor the T-valve is the way to go. You don't have to remove the sensor to add/check/release air as needed.

While efficient and convenient the T-valves aren't going to win any awards for aesthetics. I have them and they'll be installed in the next tire change. But it's not a big deal to remove and replace the cap when using the Ariete stems. They're better looking and a tad less conspicuous.

Either option is significantly better than adding/removing the 90º screw on adapters. But those adapters are 1000X better than futzing with a standard stem.

rogo said:
These work just fine. No need to distort the stem whilst filling.
Click to expand...
That chuck is fine if a rider has his own compressor. If not that chuck is useless. A rider may find some place that uses a replaceable chuck but how likely is that. I'm only one data point but I've never seen that chuck in the wild. I'm sure it/they are out there but where.
 
I run TPMS on my bikes and I can’t bring myself to use the dual valve ones. Looks are subjective of course and YMMV.

Another benefit of using permanently installed metal ones is they last essentially the life of the bike, at least to 200,000 miles or more. I wore out close to 50 tires on my ST and never replaced another rubber valve stem.
 
dduelin said:
I run TPMS on my bikes and I can’t bring myself to use the dual valve ones. Looks are subjective of course and YMMV.

Another benefit of using permanently installed metal ones is they last essentially the life of the bike, at least to 200,000 miles or more. I wore out close to 50 tires on my ST and never replaced another rubber valve stem.
Click to expand...

Hey Dave....Do you change the rubber O ring on the metal valve stem at every, or every other tire change?
 
Kevcules said:
Hey Dave....Do you change the rubber O ring on the metal valve stem at every, or every other tire change?
Click to expand...
No. It’s compressed at installation in a recessed area of the stem and retained under a nut screwed down to the rim. There is no way for the o ring to fall out, blow out, or otherwise fail catastrophically. In use a failure would present as a slow leak giving warning replacement is necessary.

I did remove a set of them from an extra set of wheels with an expectation I would reuse them but the o rings were permanently deformed and I deemed them unsafe to use again.
 
I always replace the stock valve stems on all my bikes at the first tire change with the 90 deg or 83 deg metal stems as mentioned before. Amazon also has a large selection for a good price on those. I even replaced the stems on my wife's Metropolitan scooter since those wheels are very small (10 inch diameter and with hub drum brakes really really small space to fit a hose fitting!) and were a bugger checking psi with the stock straight rubber stems. It's usually one of the first farkle purchases I make if the bike does not already have angled stems just to have them for when the tires need to be replaced. Makes it SO much easier regardless if using straight or offset or angled hose fittings.
 
rwthomas1 said:
The most common tire chuck looks like this https://www.miltonindustries.com/pn.../air-chucks.html/1-4-fnpt-dual-head-air-chuck
Click to expand...
Similar design is found in the UK, brute equipment, likely origins from mining...

Here in the old world we're used to work with more delicate items, works nicely on the OEM-style rubber valve stems (applying the method you'd described...)

Gas-station version (mobile with air tank):
alf-klassik-analog-gas-station.jpg

workshop version (with air-hose coupling)

tire filler large.jpg

the thin chuck is ideal to reach in between wheel and rotor without scratching the paint or such...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom