Deflating tyres for flight?

[barnesy]

Hi, I will be flying easyjet to Paris in may to do a French and Spanish tour.

As I will have just a mini pump with me and not my track pump I'm wanting to know if I can pump my tyres to max psi and then fly the bike or do tyres need to be deflated for flying?

I remember reading something before saying they had to be deated due to pressure differential.

Anybody able to advise?

 

[vernon]

Hi, I will be flying easyjet to Paris in may to do a French and Spanish tour.

As I will have just a mini pump with me and not my track pump I'm wanting to know if I can pump my tyres to max psi and then fly the bike or do tyres need to be deflated for flying?

I remember reading something before saying they had to be deated due to pressure differential.

Anybody able to advise?

It varies from company to company and even from airport to airport. You are best of checking with the airline.

 

[TheDoctor]

The holds are pressurised, so I wouldn't bother deflating them.
Even if you were to put the bike into space, it's only like an extra 15 psi in the tyres.
I'd forget the mini pump and get a Morph of some sort, though.
They can inflate tyres to a decent pressure, rather than a limp-home pressure.

 

[TheDoctor]

Here we go - this from Ryanair. Easyjet site is silent on the topic of tyres.

Special advice for the carriage of bicycles<br style="font-family: Verdana, lucida, Verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; ">The pedals must be removed (or fixed inwards) and the handlebars must be fixed sideways. The bike MUST be contained in a protective box or bag. It is not necessary from a safety perspective to deflate typical tyres found on bikes and wheelchairs for carriage in the hold. However, to eliminate the small risk of them being damaged by bursting, you may wish to deflate the tyres.

 

[mark]

The pressure differential between sea level and a pressurized aircraft hold is not enough to make a difference; as TheDoctor says, even putting the bike tire into a vacuum isn't going to create a big enough pressure differential to blow the tire, unless something is already wrong with the tire or rim. Nonetheless, I've had a couple of British Airways baggage people (Heathrow and Gatwick) get very nasty about insisting that the tires had to be completely deflated, even though the BA website says that this is optional. BA employees elsewhere (Denver, Catania) have been much more reasonable. I suspect that the BA employees who made me deflate the tires just wanted to make themselves feel important.

 

[frank9755]

I always follow CTC's advice on this which is leave them inflated and if asked if I have deflated them, to lie.

There is an urban myth amongst baggage handlers and check-in staff that there is some sort of risk from bike tyres. Occasionally one will insist on them being deflated, in which case you have to comply to get on the plane (given it is a religious thing rather than a rational fear, there is no point arguing - or asking questions like 'will you be deflating the aircraft's tyres too?) or they will deflate them for you. That has happened to me so you do need to have a capable pump just in case.

 

[dodgy]

Ask the baggage handlers if they'll be deflating the tyres on the aircraft, which aren't in a pressurised container

 

[hubbike]

If you have to deflate them don't worry. Paris has bike shops, believe it or not, and they will let you use their track pumps for free. you'll be up to pressure again in no time.

 

[andym]

I think it's worth taking a proper pump. after all if you have a puncture in the middle of nowhere you would need to pump the tyres up. if you're not confident about your mini-pump then get something better - speaking from painful experience, there's nothing like a rubbish pump to ruin a holiday.

(That said, you can get little adapters that will convert a presta to a schrader valve and allow you to use compressed air 'pumps' on garage forecourts - use with care though).

 

[Davidc]

(That said, you can get little adapters that will convert a presta to a schrader valve and allow you to use compressed air 'pumps' on garage forecourts - use with care though).

Most forecourt pumps can't get to a high enough pressure, about 50 psi max, certainly not 120 to 130 psi. They're only good for a get you home half inflated job. You'll get more pressure from a Halfords cheapest version of mini pump.

 

[bikepacker]

Ask the baggage handlers if they'll be deflating the tyres on the aircraft, which aren't in a pressurised container

When have you ever got to find out who is going to load the bike? In my experience, which is considerable, baggage handlers take great pleasure in letting down tyres. I have had a bike bag opened and tyres let down by some handler of low intelligence.

What I do is attach a sign to the bike or bag in English and the language of the country I am visiting, stating that the tyre pressures have been reduced in accordance with airline recommendations. This has proved to be the best solution for me as only once since I started with this have tyres been let down.

 

[iAmiAdam]

I don't see the problem with mini pumps anymore, I managed to get mine to about 115 psi today.

 

[Bodhbh]

I always follow CTC's advice on this which is leave them inflated and if asked if I have deflated them, to lie.

Yes, it's a bit of a pain. Last time I flew, I got asked by 3 different members of BA staff (and several times by one of them) if i'd let the tyres down as I was dismantling the bike at Heathrow. I lied each time but I was wondering if one was gonna actually start inspecting them.

 

[canadiense]

I have flown my bike two times, both to Asia. Once on Cathay Pacific and once by Air Canada. On both trips I was asked if I had deflated my tires but only on departing Canada. In both Bangkok and Hong Kong the subject never came up. In all cases I had let out about 15 pounds of pressure - just in case. Also I would not have to resort to lying if asked.

I use a Mountain Morph pump which is a fantastic pump for larger mountain bike tires. I was very popular in Laos with a couple who had a deflated motorbike tire. With my Mountain Morph they were on their way in a few minutes.

If you are looking for high pressure consider the Road Morph pump.

 

[Bodhbh]

Also I would not have to resort to lying if asked.

Yes, it's a not a great feeling boldface lying to someone who is otherwise being friendly. My tires were already down to 30-40psi, and good for upto 60, so I could have deflated them for the flight all they knew. White lie !