Nirve Cruiser - Page 33

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the inner tube between the rim and the riding surface.
CAUTION: Pencil type automotive tire gauges can be inaccurate and
should not be relied upon for consistent, accurate pressure readings.
Instead, use a high quality dial gauge.
Ask your dealer to recommend the best tire pressure for the kind of riding you
will most often do, and have the dealer inate your tires to that pressure. Then,
check ination as described in Section 1.C so you’ll know how correctly inated
tires should look and feel when you don’t have access to a gauge. Some tires
may need to be brought up to pressure every week or two, so it is important to
check your tire pressures before every ride.
Some special high-performance tires have unidirectional treads: their tread
pattern is designed to work better in one direction than in the other. The sidewall
marking of a unidirectional tire will have an arrow showing the correct rotation
direction. If your bike has unidirectional tires, be sure that they are mounted to
rotate in the correct direction.
2. Tire Valves
There are primarily two kinds of bicycle tube valves: The Schraeder Valve and
the Presta Valve. The bicycle pump you use must have the tting appropriate to
the valve stems on your bicycle.
The Schraeder valve (g. 18a) is like the valve on a car tire. To
inate a Schraeder valve tube, remove the valve cap and clamp the
pump tting onto the end of the valve stem. To let air out of a Schraeder
valve, depress the pin in the end of the valve stem with the end of a key
or other appropriate object.
The Presta valve (g. 18b) has a narrower diameter and is only found on
bicycle tires. To inate a Presta valve tube using a Presta headed bicycle pump,
remove the valve cap; unscrew (counterclockwise) the valve stem lock
nut; and push down on the valve stem to free it up. Then push the pump
head on to the valve head, and inate. To inate a Presta valve with a
Schraeder pump tting, you’ll need a Presta adapter (available at your
bike shop) which screws on to the valve stem once you’ve freed up the
valve. The adapter ts into the Schraeder pump tting. Close the valve
after ination. To let air out of a Presta valve, open up the valve stem
lock nut and depress the valve stem.
WARNING: We highly recommend that you carry a spare inner tube
when you ride your bike. Patching a tube is an emergency repair. If
you do not apply the patch correctly or apply several patches, the
tube can fail, resulting in possible tube failure, which could cause you to
loose control and fall. Replace a patched tube as soon as possible.