Should I Buy A Pedal Wrench?

Have a look at a modern MTB rim for 2.6" tyres.

Sure
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Close enough look for you?

Now you tell me about one rim failure at the valve hole.

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Now goole DTSwiss rim failure and see how many hits you get.
 
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The 700C tires on my Raleigh had a small volume and they were supposed to be inflated to 120 PSI.

The tiniest leakage of air would make a Huge difference in the tire pressure, and you never leaked away the same amount of air so it was difficult to adjust for.

Using an air pressure gauge was a PITA too because you could lose a big squirt of air and have to start over.

Quick release air pump valves worked the best, and the ones that unlocked by pulling the lever up (instead of pushing down) worked better to get the valve off quick without losing so much air.

That applies to both Schrader and Presta valves but the regular domestic 27" 10-speed tires were only inflated to around 80 psi.
I guess a 26 x 1-3/8 at 60 PSI wasn't too different from a 27 at 80. In the 1950s and 1960s, chucks went on and off those Schraders without a hiss. Checking and airing car and pickup tires in the following decades, I found chucks getting hissier. It was okay on trucks and cars because the tire volume was much bigger than on bikes, and the tires were immovable so I could connect and disconnect more briskly. I guess Schrader chucks were going to hell because Schrader bicycles were fading away.

When I got an e-bike, as you say, it was very exasperating to disconnect with a hiss and realize I didn't know what pressure remained in the tire. I thought Presta valves prevented that escape. I was tempted, but then I thought of the biggest selling point of Prestas: snobbery. If they saw Prestas on my bike, they'd know I'm a snob. I don't polish my bike because people who saw my shiny bike might start calling me "that snobby polish guy."

There are still some good chucks. You hear nothing connecting one. If you hear anything disconnecting one, it's just a faint pop.
 
They can't be too bad . They are on $100.00 + automobiles that go 140 MPH
Install automobile hydraulic disk brakes on a bicycle then.
A parallel.

Many of you guys think the bicycle industry engineers do not know what they're doing. But they do.
 
I'm not having an issue getting my tire to the desired pressure but if you are..

That was only on my Raleigh tires with a tiny volume at 120 psi, and that was in the early 80's.

it's the air chuck you are using. Ones with a bleed button make things easy.

Now I'm using my rechargeable compressor.
My ebikes have Way More volume and I only pump them up to 40 psi.

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The quick release chuck that came with it was a piece of crap and would fall off the valve, so I put on a new chuck with a longer hose,..

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I only use it at home now, and carry my shock pump with me on my e-bike and it's got the bleed button,..

20241121_164934.jpg


I can adjust my air shocks when I'm out riding, And it works Great to pump up my tires. It's got the long handle so it doesn't take 7 days and nights to pump up a tire like a 4" micro-pump. 😂

Alternatively... Fill the tire 1 psi heavy and then use a digital guage with a bleed button to be dead_on_balls accurate.


My rear shock is "inflated" to 185 PSI with a cylinder about the size of a pill bottle, so the tiniest loss of air when you disconnect the chuck makes a Huge Difference.
All chucks and gauges lose some air when you disconnect them, But the pump has a Really Cool chuck and it really works Slick !!


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You use two hands to unthread it and with practice, you can remove it fast with the same amount of air loss every time, (you can hear it) so you can adjust for it.

I've got the air loss down to a microsecond hiss, and I still lose 25 PSI, but it's the same 25 PSI every time.
 

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That was only on my Raleigh tires with a tiny volume at 120 psi, and that was in the early 80's.



Now I'm using my rechargeable compressor.
My ebikes have Way More volume and I only pump them up to 40 psi.

View attachment 186448

The quick release chuck that came with it was a piece of crap and would fall off the valve, so I put on a new chuck with a longer hose,..

View attachment 186449


I only use it at home now, and carry my shock pump with me on my e-bike and it's got the bleed button,..

View attachment 186456

I can adjust my air shocks when I'm out riding, And it works Great to pump up my tires. It's got the long handle so it doesn't take 7 days and nights to pump up a tire like a 4" micro-pump. 😂




My rear shock is "inflated" to 185 PSI with a cylinder about the size of a pill bottle, so the tiniest loss of air when you disconnect the chuck makes a Huge Difference.
All chucks and gauges lose some air when you disconnect them, But the pump has a Really Cool chuck and it really works Slick !!


View attachment 186457


You use two hands to unthread it and with practice, you can remove it fast with the same amount of air loss every time, (you can hear it) so you can adjust for it.

I've got the air loss down to a microsecond hiss, and I still lose 25 PSI, but it's the same 25 PSI every time.

And all shocks use Schrader

I rest my case.
 
And all shocks use Schrader

I thought mine didn't.
It sure looks smaller ?
I thought I needed to buy an adapter?

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Actually, seeing the maximum pressure at 275 psi reminded me that I set my pressure at 225.
It's supposed to be set at the rider weight (185) but it's on a ebike with a second battery so I used my O-ring to set my sag at ~20% and that works out to be 225 psi.

20241121_194956.jpg


And I've been ignoring the fact that the dirt on the O-ring is oily, so I think I blew all the "fork oil" out of the cylinder?
Apparently it's common to happen with Rock Shox


So I might be opening up another can of worms to replace the oil and gaskets ?

Maybe I'll wreck it while fixing it even if it ain't broke, then I'll have an excuse to upgrade the shock to one with adjustable compression AND separately adjustable rebound.
Maybe filled with nitrogen with a separate canister for it? That'd be Cool 😎

😂
 
You use two hands to unthread it and with practice, you can remove it fast with the same amount of air loss every time, (you can hear it) so you can adjust for it.

I've got the air loss down to a microsecond hiss, and I still lose 25 PSI, but it's the same 25 PSI every time.
Ever hear of Carl Norgren? Ike invited him to both inaugurations and often visited him in Colorado.
Norgren invented the ball chuck in 1926. A Schrader chuck should have a rubber washer soft enough to seal around the rim and then let you push the chuck down to open the valve. In previous chucks, the soft washer would soon wear out. He solved the problem.

The lower ball chuck is on a 12" hose attached to a digital gauge reading in tenths. I can check a 2.3" tire at 50 psi ten times in a row without losing 1 PSI.

The upper one is on a 20" hose to my pocket pump. With one hand, I pull the clip lever, push the ball onto the valve, and release the lever. Taking it off is just as crisp. The pump reads in half-pounds. If I remove the chuck and put it back on, I'll get the same reading.

When Ike was prez, ball chucks were well made. Now many are substandard. I had to try my luck with several.
ball chucks.jpeg
 
Norgren invented the ball chuck in 1926.

That's pretty much all we used as kids.
We just went to the gas station to fill our tires.
It was just easier.

Nowadays, they charge you a buck to use the compressor at the gas station and it's just a slow electric compressor that always runs out of time before your tires are filled, so it costs you two bucks.

And the chuck is crap. 😂
 
So I might be opening up another can of worms to replace the oil and gaskets ?

$42 CAD for a rebuild kit every year.

Screenshot_20241121-204620_Amazon Shopping.jpg


What a load of crap.

Maybe I'll just save my money and put it towards a new shock that doesn't leak.

Meanwhile, I think I'm gunna let the air out of the shock, remove the valve core, (thankfully its not a Presta valve), and give it a little squirt of an appropriate "fork oil"?

Maybe some anti-seize will work ? 😂


My '94 Tracker had a leaky power steering pump that was a huge PITA and expense to fix or replace, so I just kept the fluid topped up and let it leak.

It only really leaked when you pinned the steering wheel one way or the other and the pressure shot up to almost 1000 PSI, so I just didn't pin the steering wheel.
I only had to add power steering fluid once a year.
 
$42 CAD for a rebuild kit every year.

View attachment 186463

What a load of crap.

Maybe I'll just save my money and put it towards a new shock that doesn't leak.

Meanwhile, I think I'm gunna let the air out of the shock, remove the valve core, (thankfully its not a Presta valve), and give it a little squirt of an appropriate "fork oil"?

Maybe some anti-seize will work ? 😂


My '94 Tracker had a leaky power steering pump that was a huge PITA and expense to fix or replace, so I just kept the fluid topped up and let it leak.

It only really leaked when you pinned the steering wheel one way or the other and the pressure shot up to almost 1000 PSI, so I just didn't pin the steering wheel.
I only had to add power steering fluid once a year.

Yeah... and 50 hours is a load of crap too.
I've been lucky with 5000mi and no blowouts.. but I'm also good about keeping it clean. I also lube the "male" shaft about twice a month with Slickoleum.
Nothing worse than trying to put it in dry on a sandy beach.
 
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Yeah... and 50 hours is a load of crap too.

Maybe if was a serious downhill racer or Tour de France contender?

I've been lucky with 5000mi and no blowouts..

It hasn't actually "blown out" and collapsed or anything.
Probably just a slow, tiny leak that pushed the oil through?
(I gotta check my pressure again to see if I've lost any.)

but I'm also good about keeping it clean.

I could use to be a little more anal about that, but I can use the condition and distribution of the dirt as an indicator of the health of my e-bike.
That's my excuse for procrastination and laziness. 😂

I also lube the "male" shaft about twice a month with Slickoleum.

I may get some of that grease too?
I've heard it's pretty good.
I can add it to my addiction. I mean collection. 😂

Nothing worse than trying to put it in dry on a sandy beach.

The gritty dust from the gravel roads is Nasty. It gets everywhere and grinds away at every moving part that it gets into.
They spray the roads down with liquid potassium (and/or calcium) chloride solution to keep the dust down, then the dusty grit is corrosive too.
 
The gritty dust from the gravel roads is Nasty. It gets everywhere and grinds away at every moving part that it gets into.
They spray the roads down with liquid potassium (and/or calcium) chloride solution to keep the dust down, then the dusty grit is corrosive too.
[/QUOTE]

I dealt with this for a while when they were repairing a major section of the rail trail I ride.... It was like gray talc. My rear caliper had to be removed and thoroughly cleaned twice as the pistons were being cemented in place with the ultra fine grit. Then there's a section of park I ride thru on my way to some very challenging trails that has a similar gravel path... but I ride the bumpy grass shoulder to avoid it.
 
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