Need a new Schrader pump head

On Feb 15, 6:03*pm, AMuzi wrote:
BCDrums wrote:
I have a '70s MDI floor pump that I use to keep the tires on the
family cars topped up, and to do our kid bikes with pressures into the
60 psi range. The head has failed after a mere 35 years.

I can get a Planet Bike head shipped for $6 shipped, or a Topeak
Twinhead with hose for $20. I worry that I'll have trouble fitting the
Planet Bike head onto the car tires, but I like the price. Does anyone
want to say that the Twinhead is fantastic and worth the money?

......

Topeak's set includes a good quality hose, dual head and all
the fittings to easily install them on just about any pump.
* If you want assurance that this will be a quick job with
no intervening errand to the hardware store, go Topeak.

The Planet 1012 head is OK, may or may not readily fit your
hose but if you're handy it's cheap. Planet 1012 hose/head
set should be about 2/3 the cost of a Topeak and will fit
with a 95c hose clamp.

Fitting your car tire valves shouldn't be an issue unless
your wheel covers are too deep for a good grasp. SV
extenders may be a solution.

--
Andrew Muzi
* www.yellowjersey.org/
* Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Followup: I ordered the Planet Bike pump head for $6 shipped. It fit
onto the pump hose, and it has a screw-on collar that works as a hose
clamp but is neater. The thumblock is a bit stiff, and the Schrader
connection is snug, but both may loosen up with some use. Filled some
kid bike tires and topped up the car tires. Success on the cheap!

BC
pumped

AMuzi wrote:

BCDrums wrote:

My Presta pump, for the record, is an equally vintage Silca. I can
hear it falling over right now.

Both pumps are first rate products but the Silca has better
small parts support as Medai closed long ago.

Is there any new equivalent to the Medai pump? What is the pump of
first resort at Yellow Jersey?

Every shop I worked in during the early '90s used Medai pumps which
were superficially crappy but extremely reliable in the long run.
Conversely, all the current production pumps I've used other than
Silca are either troublesome to operate, failure-prone, or both.

I've blown up a Planet Bike, a Pedro's, and a Park pump in pretty
short order. The Lezyne floor pump at my shop seems built to last,
but the fiddly air chuck makes me avoid using it. It would be fine
for home use, but it's not a first-rate shop pump.

Chalo

BCDrums wrote:
My Presta pump, for the record, is an equally vintage Silca. I can
hear it falling over right now.

AMuzi wrote:
Both pumps are first rate products but the Silca has better
small parts support as Medai closed long ago.

Chalo wrote:
Is there any new equivalent to the Medai pump? What is the pump of
first resort at Yellow Jersey?

Every shop I worked in during the early '90s used Medai pumps which
were superficially crappy but extremely reliable in the long run.
Conversely, all the current production pumps I've used other than
Silca are either troublesome to operate, failure-prone, or both.

I've blown up a Planet Bike, a Pedro's, and a Park pump in pretty
short order. The Lezyne floor pump at my shop seems built to last,
but the fiddly air chuck makes me avoid using it. It would be fine
for home use, but it's not a first-rate shop pump.


We still sell both Silca floor models and currently the
Redline steel pump w/gauge for our not-Silca customers. (the
intermediate product is an Asian steel pump with Silca brass
head.)

I put new hoses and/or heads on ancient MDI pumps a couple
dozen times a year. They are nearly Silca in their
durability, only the locking SV head wearing out usually.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

AMuzi wrote:

I put new hoses and/or heads on ancient MDI pumps a couple
dozen times a year. They are nearly Silca in their
durability, only the locking SV head wearing out usually.

That's what I 'member about them.

Silca pumps are great except for one thing-- the Schräder valve chuck
is terrible, even worse than the fussy one on the Lezyne floor pump.
What's the best option for a Schräder chuck retrofit?

Chalo

On Feb 21, 8:37*pm, Chalo wrote:
AMuzi wrote:

I put new hoses and/or heads on ancient MDI pumps a couple
dozen times a year. They are nearly Silca in their
durability, only the locking SV head wearing out usually.

That's what I 'member about them.

Silca pumps are great except for one thing-- the Schräder valve chuck
is terrible, even worse than the fussy one on the Lezyne floor pump.
What's the best option for a Schräder chuck retrofit?

Chalo

design one - go into production with local shop - buy rancho on Kaliaua

On Sunday, February 21, 2010 1:48:44 PM UTC-5, BCDrums wrote:
On Feb 15, 6:03*pm, AMuzi wrote:
BCDrums wrote:
I have a '70s MDI floor pump that I use to keep the tires on the
family cars topped up, and to do our kid bikes with pressures into the
60 psi range. The head has failed after a mere 35 years.

I can get a Planet Bike head shipped for $6 shipped, or a Topeak
Twinhead with hose for $20. I worry that I'll have trouble fitting the
Planet Bike head onto the car tires, but I like the price. Does anyone
want to say that the Twinhead is fantastic and worth the money?

.....

Topeak's set includes a good quality hose, dual head and all
the fittings to easily install them on just about any pump.
* If you want assurance that this will be a quick job with
no intervening errand to the hardware store, go Topeak.

The Planet 1012 head is OK, may or may not readily fit your
hose but if you're handy it's cheap. Planet 1012 hose/head
set should be about 2/3 the cost of a Topeak and will fit
with a 95c hose clamp.

Fitting your car tire valves shouldn't be an issue unless
your wheel covers are too deep for a good grasp. SV
extenders may be a solution.

--
Andrew Muzi
* www.yellowjersey.org/
* Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Followup: I ordered the Planet Bike pump head for $6 shipped. It fit
onto the pump hose, and it has a screw-on collar that works as a hose
clamp but is neater. The thumblock is a bit stiff, and the Schrader
connection is snug, but both may loosen up with some use. Filled some
kid bike tires and topped up the car tires. Success on the cheap!

BC
pumped

Followup: I ordered the Planet Bike pump head for $6 shipped. It fit

onto the pump hose, and it has a screw-on collar that works as a hose

clamp but is neater. The thumblock is a bit stiff, and the Schrader

connection is snug, but both may loosen up with some use. Filled some

kid bike tires and topped up the car tires. Success on the cheap!



BC

pumped

Welcome back to this exciting thread on Schrader pump heads. After less than 2 years, the $6 head from Planet Bike has stopped gripping the valves, and now I'm ready to up the ante. Has anyone tried the Prestacycle Quick-Clip Schrader head? Shown he
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=4093

It looks good. Has anyone tried it?

Thanks.
BC

BCDrums wrote:


Followup: I ordered the Planet Bike pump head for $6 shipped. It fit

onto the pump hose, and it has a screw-on collar that works as a hose

clamp but is neater. The thumblock is a bit stiff, and the Schrader

connection is snug, but both may loosen up with some use. Filled some

kid bike tires and topped up the car tires. Success on the cheap!



BC

pumped

Welcome back to this exciting thread on Schrader pump heads. After less than 2 years, the $6 head from Planet Bike has stopped gripping the valves, and now I'm ready to up the ante. Has anyone tried the Prestacycle Quick-Clip Schrader head? Shown he
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=4093

It looks good. Has anyone tried it?

I haven't tried that one, but it looks suspicious to me. Here's why.

Most heads seem to grip the valve by axially compressing a thick rubber
tube, causing that tube to bulge inward and grip the end of the Schrader
(or Presta) valve. The pump head you've shown doesn't seem to have room
for such a mechanism.

An alternative mechanism on one very cheap pump I once bought had a thin
piece of hard steel strip with a semi-circular cutout. The head's clamp
mechanism slid that semicircle laterally, where it was supposed to bite
into a single thread on the Schrader valve, and bite from only one side.
It held very poorly.

I'm thinking the head you linked may have that same sort of mechanism.
If so, I'd avoid it, unless others give it good reviews.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Wed, 3 Oct 2012 06:58:40 -0700 (PDT), BCDrums
wrote:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=4093
It looks good. Has anyone tried it?

That's what I have on my shop and my office air compressors. That air
chuck wasn't made for bicycles, but rather for automobile tires. It
works acceptably on Schrader stems for automobile tire pressures
(25-35 PSI) and works very badly for anything much higher pressure
such as bicycle tire pressures (45-100 PSI). The problem is that the
retention mechanism consists of a thin piece of spring steel that hits
the stem threads. There's no downward pressure to seal the valve
area. It is very sensitive to mechanical alignment. The only reason
it works for me is that my air compressor can afford to leak and spew
surplus air with impunity. However, with a bicycle pump, every stroke
costs you effort making bad seals and leaks a real problem.

Note that it includes a Presta adapter. That's required because the
common thread-on Presta stem adapter doesn't work.
http://www.rocketenterprises.net/catalog/$%28KGrHqUOKjkE4sidQvVBBOPz62eo6w~~_1_1684_1.JPG
There's no threaded area on the Presta stem adapter for this air chuck
to grip.

So, if you're into low pressure tires and use an air compressor, it's
good enough. However, if you're into high pressure tires, and use a
hand pump, I suggest you find something more suitable with a better
seal and locking mechanism.

Incidentally, if you do use an air compressor, you can get it treaded
for a 1/4" NTP fitting.
http://www.harborfreight.com/tire-chuck-with-lock-on-lever-68267.html
Also note the locking mechanism in the photo.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Wednesday, October 3, 2012 12:20:31 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Incidentally, if you do use an air compressor, you can get it treaded

for a 1/4" NTP fitting.

http://www.harborfreight.com/tire-chuck-with-lock-on-lever-68267.html

Also note the locking mechanism in the photo.



Thank for the info, Jeff. I looked at the item on Harbor Freight- it has 13 reviews, all of them one star!

BC