# Pump will not select Presta valve



## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I have a floor pump with a head that has a schraeder valve on top and a presta on the bottom. When I attach it to the presta valve on my tubulars, the air is coming out of the hole for the schraeder valve and nothing is going to the presta valve. In essence, the air is going into the atmosphere and not my tire. Why won't the pump select the presta valve when it i hooked up to a presta valve?

Any help would be appreciated. I am at my in-laws just dying to get on the road and I have 2 sets of wheels that are all flat. Talk about frustration.


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## djetelina (Oct 9, 2007)

Maybe use a small bolt, wrapped in tape, and clamp it off in the schraeder valve port as a workaround to force air flow into the presta side??


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## Look75 (Apr 10, 2011)

Try this:

I say for now, just get a 2 buck adaptor. Attach it to the Schrader portion and clamp it on to your presta. If that doesn't work, then your presta valve is defective.


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## reptilezs (Aug 21, 2007)

push it on more. blackburn pump?


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## scryan (Jan 24, 2011)

djetelina said:


> Maybe use a small bolt, wrapped in tape, and clamp it off in the schraeder valve port as a workaround to force air flow into the presta side??


If it is like the pump I had, this will make matters worse.

Not sure how they work exactly, but the head has valving in it that only opens one port up to the pressure from the pump at a time, otherwise all the air would bleed out of the schraeder port when you put it on a presta valve.

The head switches based on resistance/pressure... so what ever port has the most resistance is the open one...

I forgot what I used to do to fix my moms pump like this... If you have another, inflated tire put the pump head on it and pump to get the pump head to switch.

Failing that, it might work to cover the presta port with your finger so that it can build pressure and quickly/sharply pump the handle.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

scryan said:


> If it is like the pump I had, this will make matters worse.
> 
> Not sure how they work exactly, but the head has valving in it that only opens one port up to the pressure from the pump at a time, otherwise all the air would bleed out of the schraeder port when you put it on a presta valve.
> 
> ...


This is my exact problem, and it is what I get for buying these cheap Performance Ascent pumps. I was going to buy a Silca presta adapter for my other Ascent pump, but the new Ascent pump was cheaper so I bought it instead. My other problem with the Ascent pump that required a new head was that the presta head just would not stay on with pressure.

Your work around is correct. I needed to have pressure in a tire to get the pump head to switch over. The wheels I had here were completely flat and I tried it on the front tubular that I brought and it was no dice. After I wrote this thread, I tried the rear tubular and it had just the slightest amount of pressure in it. I was crossing my toes while I put the pump head on and then when I pushed down on the pump handle. It worked and I went for a nice flat 40 miles.

Thanks for everyones responses.


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

I always tell customers to skip the Ascent/Hurricane pumps and spend the extra $5-10 dollars on the Topeak Joe Blow Sport. 

If the Ascent/Hurricane pumps were any good, I'd use them in the shop. But I only use the Joe Blow Sport.


Take it back to your local Performance and exchange it for a Joe Blow Sport. Pay the difference.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

frdfandc said:


> I always tell customers to skip the Ascent/Hurricane pumps and spend the extra $5-10 dollars on the Topeak Joe Blow Sport.
> 
> If the Ascent/Hurricane pumps were any good, I'd use them in the shop. But I only use the Joe Blow Sport.
> 
> ...


What do you think about the Joe Blow Pro? I like the Smarthead on it compared to the dual head on the Sport because there is only one way for the air to come out. Would that be the same with the Sport? Would I turn that lever and force the air to come out the presta side?

Still thinking about buying the Silca presta adapter for the busted Ascent pump and then using it, but that would defeat its current purpose of having it in the trunk of the car as a backup for tire inflation.

Thanks for reminding me about Performance's 100% satisfaction guarantee. I am going to have to stew on this a little longer. I know I thought about going with the Topeak a couple of years ago when I was trying to decide on Silca or a new pump, and then when I saw the price on the Ascent I caved and went with it again since it lasted me 8 years before it started popping off the presta valve under pressure. Still didn't fix the issue of not being able to use it on a presta valve with zero pressure in the tire.


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