I want to be able to change my Tubeless tires (MTB and gravel) in my garage but dont have an air compressor. I noticed that several companies make floor pumps that have separate chambers to use when seating Tubeless. Does anyone have experience with these pumps?
looking for suggestions.
Bontrager TLR Flash Charger Floor Pump
I have one of these and it’s great. Not cheap, but highly recommended. It’s been used for both road and MTB tyres without any issues at all.
That said, setting up tubeless is a job I hate. Only one that’s less appealing is internal cable routing!!!
I didn’t want to buy a new airpump, so I recently bought an airshot. Works perfectly:
I have the Bontrager Flash pump and it is very good but it can be bit of a pain if you have to keep pumping up the chamber. I bought this last year and have been happy with it. Downside being it doesn’t have a chamber if you need a blast of air. I have noticed that if I have enough tape on the rim that I usually have no issue getting a tire to seat with this pump. Topeak JoeBlow Tubi 2Stage floor pump review - CyclingTips
People have made DIY inflators out of garden sprayers.
No first hand experience but it seems like it would work quite well, pretty economical too.
yeah, i was going to post this! i used this earlier this year to seat both my gravel tires/wheelset and my road tires/wheelset
if you’ve already got a decent pump then you don’t need to replace it
I’ve been able to fit multiple sets of tubeless tires with just my floor pump. I’ve yet to fail and need to go find an air compressor. I’ve used all sorts of techniques:
letting the tire sit in the sun
letting the tire sit out and retake its unfolded shape
soap and water
tie a rope around the diameter of the tire to squash it into shape and into the channels to make a seal
all of the above
I have a ‘Jobsworth’ Planet x pump with an air tank works perfectly fine and cheaper than others. Before that, I had another cheap Lifeline pump, but managed to gunk up the head with latex until it broke. They make the job a lot easier.
It’s often possible to use a normal floor pump, or to use co2 for a one-off occasion. However I found that once you try and seat a used tyre (with latex all over it), you need the air tank (plus soapy water etc). And maybe also for road tyres, at least mine are hard to seat.
If I had tons of space and a garage, I’d still probably get a compressor.
just got this and would make a second recommendation
There are certain brands of tyre that will always seat with just a floor pump on the wheelsets I have. When you find these you’re sorted.
For me:
Bontrager. 100% first time, every time for over a decade.
Vittoria. So far so good. My new favorite brand.
There are several pumps like that on the market. But I would look at their price and compare it to that of a cheap air compressor! Air compressors can often be had for as little as $100 and can do many other tasks.
get a compressor, I think they can be cheaper than these expensive pumps with a reservoir
I’m sure converting a low pressure garden sprayer to a high pressure charge tank or using a 2L plastic soda bottle can be done but neither was designed to safely hold 150-200 psi of pressure.
Might be doable but when it stops working I wouldn’t want to be standing over it or around it.
Soda bottles are for sure rated to hold over 100psi.
Garden sprayers probably not, but I think you are misunderstanding… the built in pump portion is used as one would when using it as designed (garden sprayer). It’s not being charged by an outside compressor or pump.
I have the Bontrager too and have been very happy with it.
I use a 3 gallon pancake compressor which was about about $75. Works like a charm.
I too highly recommend getting a pancake style air compressor. I bought it for the same purpose as you, and I ended up using it for all sorts of non-bike applications. Later my wife got me the Park Tool compressor head. It’s not necessary but is real sweet.
I am starting to wonder about some of these battery powered portable compressors. Not sure if they’d work to inflate tubeless or not.
Think it depends if you have a garage, shed, or other workshop space, then a compressor is nice to have. If you’ve only got limited space, the pump with the tank can replace your normal floor pump and not take up much space.
Ive got this tank Review: Beto CJA-001S Tubeless Air Tank Inflator | road.cc but its the only one I’ve had since I went tubeless in 2017 so I have nothing really to compare it to. Its reviewed good but has road.cc became a marketing site
I’m looking at these pancake compressors,
You mentioned the park too head is nice but don’t you have to buy a separate head to make it work?