We’ve seen that, with care, you can use gas station air pumps to inflate your bicycle tires. When you’re done, remove the adapter (putting it back in its safe place), tighten the valve locking nut, and screw the dust cap back on.īetter alternatives to gas station air pumps

You’re then ready to connect the air hose nozzle and (very carefully) inflate your tire. Just unscrew the dust cap, loosen the Presta valve locking nut and screw the adapter on over the tip of the valve. Then keep it safe and ready to use, in one of your jersey pockets or tucked inside your bike saddlebag. These adapters are not expensive, however, you will need to purchase one in advance as they are unlikely to be available for sale at the gas station when you need it.īuy one of these Presta valve adapters now. If you have Presta valves on your bike tires you will need to use an adapter to sit between the air nozzle and the valve to give an airtight seal. Gas station air hoses are all designed to fit on to Schrader valves as this is what car tires have. Inflate the tire in short bursts and check the pressure frequently to ensure you don’t over-inflate (remember that this can cause your inner tubes to blow).Fit the nozzle of the air hose to the tire valve and push on.Unscrew the dust cap and put in a safe place.If you have Schrader valves then it is a much simpler process to inflate your tires using a gas station pump as the nozzle of the air hose will fit your bike tires: You’ll often see Schrader valves on mountain bikes and Presta valves on road bikes. Presta valves are longer and thinner and have a locking nut towards the tip. Schrader valves are the same type as you get on car tires. There are two main types: Schrader and Presta. The valve is the metal tube that pokes through the wheel rim towards the center of the wheel. We’ll then look at a couple of far superior options to ensure that you never have to risk using a gas station pump.įirst up, you need to determine what type of valve your bike tires have. We’ll take a look at the methods of inflating tires with Schrader and Presta valves in a moment. Remember that an under-filled tire is always better than a popped tire. So, if you are stuck away from home with a deflated tire and your only option is to use a gas station pump, then first check that the attendant is happy for you to use it, and second, proceed with extreme caution. If you’ve ever popped an inner tube through over-inflation you’ll know that it can give you quite a shock, both from the initial bang and then the lengthy walk home pushing your bike with the flat tire. That’s fine if you’ve got a big car tire to inflate, but when you’ve got a more delicate bicycle inner tube then it can be very easy to pop it. So, unlike with gasoline, when you pump air using one of those compressors you can never be entirely sure how much air you’re going to get with each pull of the trigger. Why? Well, those air compressors aren’t regulated in the same way (or at all, in fact) like gas pumps are. But it comes with a large health warning attached. So I decided to do some research to see if it could be done. I’ve often cycled past gas stations and wondered whether it would be possible to fill up my bike tires using the air compressors that you see on every forecourt.

Xact air machine