Whatever the case might be, you need to get your bike tire deflated.
And as the air goes in, it should go out, right? That’s correct, but it’s easier to inflate a tire than deflating it.
As it might be a hassle to many of you, I will talk about some of the most common situations in which you would want to deflate a bike tire.
I will also tell you how to deflate a bike tire for two of the most common types of valves.
Why Would You Want To Deflate a Tire?
One of the most common cases which I have seen is over pumping.
When you inflate your tires and you aren’t paying attention to the PSI (Bars), you can easily over pump it. In many cases, nothing’s gonna happen immediately, however, it might cause problems sooner or later.
Over pumped tires can explode immediately, if you are over pumping them at a high speed of inflation. However, if they don’t explode, it might not feel too pleasant to ride a bike with rock hard tires.
Another case is if you need to remove an air from a tire to replace a tire.
It’s easier to do it once a bike tire is deflated. Also, if you have changed your bike’s tires and plan to store the used tire, it would be the best idea to deflate it as much as you can before storing it away.
When deflating a tire it’s important to understand which type your bike valve is.
Types Of Bike Valves
There are two most used and most common bike valves which are Presta and Schrader.
They are also known by the country names.
- Schrader – American type of valve
- Presta – French type of valve
- Woods – German type of valve
These are the three types of valves which can be seen on bicycles, and I am sure you have probably seen them already.
Schrader valve can also be seen on motor vehicles such as automobiles.
How To Deflate a Tire
To deflate a bicycle tire, there are many ways.
It also depends on the valve which your bike uses since it’s easier to deflate tires with Presta valves than Schrader valves.
Presta Valves
To deflate a Presta valve, simply rotate the small part at the top of the valve to open it.
Once you have done that, simply press on top of the valve to release the air. It’s simple as that, but be careful.
If you need to deflate a tire completely, you are okay to push the tip of a valve and hold it. But if you want to deflate a tire just a little bit, take it slowly because air will come out fast.
Once you have deflated your tire, make sure you close the valve. You will do that by rotating the upper part of valve back down to its original position.
Don’t forget to close the valve, or the rest of the air will come out when you start riding your bike.
Schrader Valves
Deflating a Schrader valve is going to be a little bit trickier than the Presta valve. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
When you remove a safety cap from the Schrader valve, you will see a circle and a pin in the middle of the circle.
Now, to deflate your tire you will simply need to push that thin pin in the middle of a valve. That’s the trickier part.
Especially if you have short finger nails. However, there are a few tricks which will solve the situation.
You can use any pointy object which will fit inside the Schrader valve.
Some of the pointy objects you could use are a pen, a small screwdriver, or even a toothpick. I will let you get creative with this part.
Remember, the more and longer you press the pin down, the more air will come out. So I mention this once again if your goal isn’t to deflate a tire completely – pay attention and do it slowly.
Woods Valve
Woods valve is made of small parts which can be taken out.
This makes it the simplest valve to deflate a bike tire, but only if you are deflating it completely.
To deflate a Woods valve, simply unscrew the safety cap, and take the middle part completely out. That will allow all the air to come out.
However, if you don’t want to completely deflate your tire, you will have to be careful with this type of valve.
Although, in the most cases if that happens, you can always take your pump and inflate some more air. Yet make sure you don’t over pump it.
Conclusion
If you are deflating your bike tire for the first time, it might be a little bit tricky.
However, once you gain knowledge of how the valves work, you will not have any troubles in the future.
Make sure you take it slowly, and there isn’t much to screw up.
However, if you deflate your tire more than you wanted in the first place – simply grab your bike pump and inflate some air.
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Just take the process slowly and you have this.
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Do you think there is any other way to deflate your bike tires?
If you need any help, or if you have any questions – feel free to comment down below and I will do my best to help you.
Keep your bike safe, be careful on the road, and have many fun and enjoyable rides.