Today's urgent #bicycling question: French valves: can an human being without superhuman strength and an engineering degree from the Sorbonne put air in them? If so, how?
@reinhard Those are the basic instructions that I am familiar with. They don't work. Or at least, not reliably.
My procedure for filling a tire with a French valve:
1. Delay having to do this as much as possible.
2. When the day comes, make my peace with God. Take bicycle and pump. Strip to the waist.
3. Remove cap, turn screw on top of valve. Attach pump.
4. Scream in frustration as the act of attaching pump causes air to shoot out of the tube.
@reinhard
5. Adjust the pump muzzle thing until air stops shooting out of the pump. Use one hand to keep muzzle thing in position.
6. Get on knees, so that one knee is positioned on the foot of the pump.
7. With full body weight on pump handles, pump.
8. Scream in frustration as each pump action causes the dial on the pump to show a lower atmospheric pressure than before.
9. Repeat steps 5-7 for up to fifteen minutes.
10. If result is bad, give up; try again when Wife is up and can help.
@reinhard
11. If result is good, give up. I am now too winded and exhausted to ride.
There may be something that I'm missing and after a decade of using these tubes, I would very much like to hear about it.
@Reinderdijkhuis I do it every day without problems. Maybe you need a different pump?
@reinhard I recall having this problem with multiple pumps. What type/brand do you recommend?
@Reinderdijkhuis SKSAirkompressor works finde, I sell it quite offen and ppl get along with it very well.
@Reinderdijkhuis did you open the valve? you need to unscrew the top part a bit, then push it in, then attach your pump..
@colapunk See my other reply.
@Reinderdijkhuis haha, wow..
either get a different pump, or stop by the bikeshop and ask to use their compressor..
@Reinderdijkhuis open the little screw on top of the valve. Tip with your finger against it. Pump it up.