I recently got a pair of Zipp 404s that run tubulars but couldn't seem to get any air into the darn tires. The rims are so wide you need valve extenders because the tire valve won't extend through the rims. Anyway I tried repeatedly to get air into them and just couldn't seem to get it through, I even went and purchased a new pump since I thought the seal was shot in my other one. To no avail I took the tires to the shop and they simply hooked it up to a seriously burly looking pump and next thing you know the air is flowing in like crazy. I felt pretty stupid, as I usually do when I go into the local bike shop. So the tires held the air for a few days and I was able to get a fair amount of riding in, but two days later they were flat again. I hooked up the pump like told and started hammering away but nothing seemed to work. I just worked up a pretty good sweat! Frustrated I hit the local bike forum and put out a call for help post and in no time there were 10 responses from people who had similar experiences. I'm a newbie and I make mistakes and look clueless often so it was great to hear from others that they too couldn't complete the simple task of pumping up a tubular. The cure was pretty embarrassing and filled with common sense - make sure the valve stem is pointing down, meaning orient the tire so the valve is at the top part of the tire which helps release a sticky valve and pump away! There was a slight click as the air passed the rim and then found its way into the tire. I was so pumped I nearly redlined the air pressure and exceeded 110 in just a few pumps. So I'm back on the road again and not worried about showing up race day and not being able to compete because I complete the relatively simple task of pumping up a tire.
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