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Air Compressors
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Just wondering for those out there who own their own air compressors what sort you have? I'm looking for something to inflate 26er and 29er tubeless tyres.
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I don't know how people get through life without a compressor?????
For general use go for a 2.5hp, 40l-ish capacity. A simple direct drive model is fine. I think repco may even have one on sale atm???
Then you can look at air tools and a whole new wonderful world will open up, lol.
More things to spend money on!
agree , a must have. not only to pump tyres up , but to blow down your bike after a wash.
any supercheap special around $80-150 will do the job
its also THE ONLY way to install or remove stubborn handlebar grips.
I got mine at SuperCheap for about $90, and spent another $20 on a Blackburn 'replacement hose and head kit' for one of their trackpumps, I now have a pressure gauge on the 'gun' part, with an easy to attach pump head.
Couldnt live without it. Getting tyres seated / beaded is a nightmare otherwise.....
How do they go with presta valves?
I just remove the core from the presta valve and use the air gun to seat the bead, then replace the core and pump the tyre with a floor pump. takes 2 minutes!
thanks
Can't live without one!
I've been using them for years for car tyres, rattle gun, blow gun etc. I recommend buying a car tyre inflator with gauge and using that for inflation. You can buy small presta to Schrader adaptors at any bike shop. I even keep one of those in the saddle bag...on the road bike at least..
Supercheap is the go for compressors. As above for CF/min ratings and pressure vessel size.
I don't worry about the pressure guage for inflating tubeless. You'll know you've gone too far when the bead blows of the rim, whacks your hand like the Deputy Principal's cane, and the inside of your garage has just been painted with Stan's.
I have been using an Italian made direct drive Fini Tiger for about 10 years now, not sure you can buy them locally anymore. Total Tools once sold them.
But!! I've never used it to pump up bike tyres, that's what a good floor pump is for. Tubed or tubeless tyres.
I'm still a little new at this tubeless gig, so still playing a bit by the numbers, and not keen on getting smacked or painting the garage in Stans! Having the control valve right there in your hands is convenient too.
...And chuck....yeah, the floor pump for the high pressure road tyres, but still love the air compressor...I've had one, or the use of one ever since I was a teenager...had withdrawal symptoms when I moved out of home and lost access to my old man's compressor, so he bought a new one and gave me the old one!
I, erm, I mean he was just being tongue-in-cheek.
The objective of using a compressor is to get the bead to seat more easily and reliably, so once the tyre starts holding air I just add in small increments until I hear the "poong!" noise it makes as the bead goes over the little ridge in the UST rim bed.
I then check to make sure the moulding line where the casing ply is wrapped around the bead is the same distance out from the rim lip all the way around, indicating the bead is seated evenly around the circumference.
If not, I keep adding air slowly in small increments until I achieve that. Soapy water helps provide a bit of lubrication to make it easier, but exact pressures at which tyres seat properly will vary with manufacturing tolerances, and your skill at setup. So I tend to go by eye rather than by numbers. The final (lower) riding pressure I set after I've sloshed the fluid around inside thoroughly to cover any sidewall pores, and I've done a quick spin around the block.
Some guys have managed to get their tyres to hold air just using a track pump. I'm not one of them.
Sometimes painting sealant around the tyre beads helps seal quicker/ better as well
And most kits come with a presta/ shraeder valve adapter that screws onto your presta valve or buy one for a couple o bucks
My compressor was about $90 but wakes the dead when you turn it on