Do you need to put air in your bike tires? (Regular bicycle not motorcycle)?

Question

Can you get it from a gas station, out of the machine that says 25 cents for air and water ?

How often do you need to put it in your tires?

Answer 1

Technically you can use a gas station air compressor to fill your bike tires. That's if your bike has schrader (car type) valves.

But you really shouldn't do it that way. Gas station air compressors are meant to put a large volume of air at a high rate of speed in a large car tire. Bike tires are considerably smaller. Although they are generally run at much higher pressures than car tires they take a much smaller volume of air. That means you could very quickly blow a bike tire off the rim and end up walking home.

The best thing to do is buy a foot pump, hopefully with a gauge on it, and use that. They're simple to use and only take a few strokes to get the pressure you need.

Inflate to whatever pressure is stamped on the side of your tire and check them every three or four days.  It's important to keep them inflated to the stated pressure otherwise the tire and tube could bottom out against the rim if you hit a hole. That would cause a pinch flat and, again, you'd be walking home.

Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you.

Answer 2

you can get it from the gas station, depending on your use you should always check how flat your tires feel then go refil if theyr to flat

Answer 3

If you spend $20 on a pump with a pressure gauge you'll be able to inflate your tires whenever they need it. Bike tires do lose pressure, even overnight. Check your tire pressures before every ride until you see a pattern develop. Your tires may need "topping off" every ride (like mine), or every 5th ride. You won't know without looking.

Try to stay away from the gas station pumps. They have a lot of pressure and provide a lot of air very quickly. In theory, you could damage the tire or rim by using such a powerful pump. That being said, I went to a gas station all the time when I was a kid and never had a problem, other than the station owner chasing us away.

HTH

Answer 4

Yes, you need to know what pressure your tyres are rated at. This should be written on the side of the tyre. MTBs are generally between 35psi (for mud) and 65psi (cross country).

Road bikes are generally between 60 psi and 100 psi. The more air in your tyres, the less rubber is contacting the ground, the easier it is to pedal on a hard surface and the less grip you have.

Some bike tubes have the same valves as car tyres, so you can use the gas station's pump for them, but most road bikes have another type of valve that won't fit. You'll need to buy a pump from your bike store.

Answer 5

Yes, go to a bike shop and get a tire pressure monitor. You should be able to find out the amount of air that should be in your tires by the type of tires you have. You can fill it up at the gas station but you may or may not need an adapter on the end of it, depending on the tires.

Answer 6

mostly every 5 time you ride your bike depending on how far you ride it and what you ride it on. But you can buy a pump that cost $15 and you can pump as much as your want.