Presta Valve Issue

[dave123456]

Morning,

having a repetitive issue with presta valves. always used them on mountain bikes with no issue whatsoever..

bought a road bike a few months ago and been through 5. the problem seems to be when topping up pressure, so I might think they're a bit soft, connect the pump up, attempt to pump them up and it's difficult to pump them, usually accompanying by a strange 'clicking' noise. the pump is difficult to depress and it springs back up. it basically feels like I'm forcing air through the tube, equally the pressure gauge on the pump only functions on the downwards stroke.

the tyre eventually achieves a reasonable pressure, I disconnect the pump and then return 30 mins later to a flat tyre. this morning I replaced the rear tube, topped up the front and now the front's flat. it's pretty frustrating!

i'm using a joe blow track pump and schwalbe (SP?) inner tubes, this morning I let a little air out of the front tube before pumping, yet still got to the result above...

am I best off replacing the pump, is there a different technique I can use...? after 25 years cycling I kind of hoped pumping my tyres up wouldn't be the biggest obstacle to going out for a ride...

thank you in anticipation.

[H.....]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but you do press the valve to release a little air after you've unscrewed the widget?

[dave123456]

I unscrewed the presta valve, let a little air out, connected the pump and pumped.

it feels like very little of the 'pumped' air gets into the tube.

[Rolls]

No issues with my joe blow- I do the following:
Unscrew the presta the whole way and fully depress the valve
Put pump on the valve
Switch the toggle on the pump head
And pump away.. - if it feels like no air is going in, take it off, and repress the valve down.

[dave123456]

Rolls said:

Unscrew the presta the whole way and fully depress the valve

how much air do you release?

[Rolls]

Just do it for a second or so- you're only going to pump it up after anyhow. That's what I do anyway

[dave123456]

It does feel like the pump can't depress the valve by itself and the pressure is in the pump hose instead of the pump and inner tube combined.

Thank you

[loudlashadjuster]

I sometimes get this but just put it down to my stty pump.

[walm]

I get exactly this when I haven't shoved the nozzle hard enough onto the valve.
Are the valves long enough??
Sometimes the stubby ones won't give enough room between the edge of the rim and the end of the valve for the nozzle to grip enough.
Do you use those annoying things that hold the valve proud even when the tube is nearly flat?

Either way I am pretty sure you are pumping and the air-release thingy isn't dropping into the body of the valve - that's why no air is going in.
It happens to me all the time.
Just shove the nozzle on much harder.

[dave123456]

walm said:

I get exactly this when I haven't shoved the nozzle hard enough onto the valve.
Are the valves long enough??
Sometimes the stubby ones won't give enough room between the edge of the rim and the end of the valve for the nozzle to grip enough.
Do you use those annoying things that hold the valve proud even when the tube is nearly flat?

Either way I am pretty sure you are pumping and the air-release thingy isn't dropping into the body of the valve - that's why no air is going in.
It happens to me all the time.
Just shove the nozzle on much harder.

Just gave this a bash and it seems to have worked, I noticed that the core of the valve was loose so tightened that, stuck the pump further on and it was better.

Looking at the pump head the schreadner head appears to have a small peg to depress the valve stem and the presta doesn't...

Thank you for your help all.