Most gas stations in Canada have pumps which have a built in pressure gauge on the handle, which works a lot like a tire pressure checker. I've never had much of an issue using gas station air pumps with mountain bikes and BMX bikes, as most bike tyres I've seen use Pressures from 40-50 PSI, but I rarely go to the max to prevent a blow out which I've done a few times pushing the pressure to the max. *not even high enough for my van, resulting in some hard work with my track pump to finish the job.Ĭan you use gas station air pumps on a bike : Most likely especially for mountain bikes and BMX bikes (unless your tubes use a different valve type), Is it a good idea : Probably not, unless your very careful and have no other way to pump up a tire. I'm assuming you're sorted for valve compatibility here. The older sort with a proper pressure gauge also generally have a trigger that you can press lightly, and should be OK. That's why they say not to use them for bikes. I don't fancy measuring the peak pressure they'll do. To get a bike tyre from say 55psi to 60 they will put enough air in to make a car tyre inflate by a few psi - meaning your bike tyre will get rather too hard. So to get a car tyre from say 30psi to 34, they might hit 46 and then let some out. The digital ones where you select the pressure to which you want your tyre inflated often max out at 60psi* but that's not the problem - the problem is that they inflate for a bit then let a bit out to test and correct. I would say it depends - here in the UK the air pumps at petrol stations all have pressure gauges of some sort, but many aren't suitable. That way you'll be able to top up the tyres quickly each time you go out, and enjoy the benefits of nicely inflated tyres. If you've got a road bike, do yourself a favour and buy a decent track pump. So, in short, if you've got a mountain bike, there is probably not much of an issue using the service station pump. The service station pump may not be able to achieve this pressure, particularly if it is one of those automatic inflation types. Pressure, road bike tyres are generally inflated to 110 - 130 PSI, which is much higher than the 30-40 PSI used for car tyres, or the 30-60 PSI used for mountain bike tyres. The smaller your tyre, the faster the pressure increases - so you run more risk of over-inflation for narrow road tyres than for large mountain bike tyres. Tyre Volume, as noted in some other answers, the air supply at service stations is often unregulated. You can get adapters for presta valves that screw on and allow you to use the service station pumps.
Valve Type, obviously it is easiest with a schraeder valve, as these are the type that cars use. It is possible, but there are a few factors to consider:
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