mystang52

Manually inflating my tires is becoming increasingly difficult as I have a chronic bad shoulder. Suggestions for a bicycle-tire-appropriate electric inflator?

fietsbob

Buy a compressor..

no motor?

We went through a couple of the kind that plugs into the cigarette lighter a few years ago when I wanted to get one for my GFs car. I'd had one years ago that worked fine and figured they still made something similar, but found out most of them don't work well at all (while the work) for inflating car tires. I doubt things have changed for the better, you may need a small compressor to get something that will last and that may be too much for a bicycle tire.

PaulRivers

I've seen stuff like this on amazon that I would try out if I needed that:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721768S9/

It's made to plug into your car's 12v power source, but I believe there are adapters you can also buy to use it elsewhere:
https://www.amazon.com/Converter-HOT...dp/B01LX5LRP9/

P.S. It looks like a heavy metal compressor, but it's actually small, mostly plastic, only weights 3.5lbs.

HerrKaLeun

What pressure? Mini car compressors others had suggested only go to 30-40 psi.
did you try a floorpump?

mystang52

My hybrid takes 85, my roadie takes 110 PSI. I'll research foot pumps. So far, it appears the electric ones generally do not get good reviews. I'm still searching, though. Thanks.

wingless

JoeTBM 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-12...Y120/301753174

$24.97/each at Home Depot

Inflates vehicle tires, bicycle tires, air mattresses and sports equipment
Glow-in-the-dark analog pressure gauge, max pressure 130 PSI
Equipped with 28 in. air hose
Plugs into a standard 120-Volt outlet
Built-in handle allows easy portability
Red power button makes it easy to operate
0.47 SCFM airflow at 30 PSI
Backed by a Husky 2-year limited warranty


I have been using this one for the last six months for my portable charity repairs and it has stood up well. I pump about 20-30 bike tires a week with it. I won't recommend it for car/truck tires but for bikes it is perfect.

They also have other models for 12V and combo 12v/120V

Baboo

I use the Ryobi one plus tire inflator costs 20.00, if you already have some of this system you have the battery to operate it, If you have to buy a battery it may not be cost effective. It works on everything from cars to road bike tires comes with presta adapter.

DrIsotope

^^^ What he said. Ryobi Inflator. Goes to something absurd, like 150psi. I'm on my second one, because I dropped the first one so many damn times I broke the gauge. Absolutely no fault of the Inflator itself.

If you don't own anything Ryobi, good time to buy a drill. Because the way Home Depot pricing goes, a battery is $30, a charger is $40, a charger + battery is $60, but a drill + charger + battery is $70.

angerdan

Use a pump for the foot:
kickstarter.com/projects/gate5/stompump-tire-inflator-for-your-bicycle-or-any-tir

Tourist in MSN

Not electric, but I have one of these pumps. It won't bother your shoulder at all.
https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Lift-W-2037-Grey-Foot-Pump/dp/B00FAN8B9Y/ref=pd_sbs_469_5

Works great. I have used in on a hybrid up to maybe 60 psi. I needed the Shrader to Presta adapter that is about a buck at any bike shop.

Mine is at least 15 years old, so mine might be built a bit different. I have a slow leak in a tire on my truck, I keep the pump in my truck because 5 minutes with the pump is a lot faster than driving to a gas station that has a free air hose.

noglider 

We keep this in the car. I prefer low tech for pumps, because it works no matter what.

01 CAt Man Do

Lots of good options on Amazon for manual foot pumps. I too have a regular manual bicycle standing hand pump. It works well but I have to admit I hate having to pump up the tires on my bikes. Not only is it tiring but also causes pain to my lower back.

I do own one of those portable electric mini pumps that operate on 12 volts DC. I keep it in my car for emergencies. It will pump up a car tire but it takes about 5-10 minutes. Thing gets real hot while doing this and makes a lot of noise. PITA to use. Since you're not trying to pump up something with 3000 lbs of car sitting on it I would think it would pump up a bike tire much faster. Mine is rated for up to 120 PSI. Never tried it on my bike tires before. I'd consider buying one designed to work off of AC voltage but I'm pretty sure that even it worked really well it would still get real hot and still make a lot of noise. I see some really nice options for a foot pump on Amazon. I might give one of those a try and then hope like hell that it isn't more a PITA that the standard air pumps.

Of course there is always "Option #3 ", Fill the tire half way with a regular pump and then top it off using a CO'2 inflator. This is what I do when biking so why not do it at home? You can buy CO'2 cartridges bulk / cheap at many Walmart's. The down side is that if you do it this way you need a separate tire pressure gauge. Of course if you use the CO2 first and then top off with the pump you can use the gauge on the pump ( although this way is harder ). On the road or trail I use the pump first and then the inflator. On the road I just want inflating up the tire to be easy so I manual pump half way and then top off with CO2.

PaulRivers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721768S9/
Flow 35L/Min Larger air charge than other devices and quicker inflate the P195/65R15 car tire from 0 to 35psi under 4.5min. Max pressure 150 Psi.

Another feature I like is that you set the pressure then turn it on, and it turns off automatically at the given pressure. One drawback is that you'd need to screw on and on a schrader adapter.

I'm sure amazon sells larger electric driven compressors as if one needs to be quieter or do higher pressure.

PaulRivers

I mean they have made advancements since those older models. I bought one this year and it's less loud, faster, and gets less hot the than models I've used before.

In general the smaller the compressor the more noise/heat/etc it produces, I think if you get one of the slightly bigger models you'd see significantly less noise/heat/time/etc.

If you're at home where you can leave the compressor sitting in the same spot and don't care about size or weight (because you won't move it) you could also get something like this that's supposed to be "typing on a keyboard" level of noise:
https://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Haus...dp/B01IE0UT9Y/

01 CAt Man Do

I looked at your link. There is another model ( same brand ) that is a bit smaller that looked interesting. Same make but more of a suitcase size model that is suppose to be ultra quiet. I found a video and got a chance to listen to it. I hate to say it but it didn't seem that quiet to me. ( maybe they had the microphone too close to the unit ?? ) Looked like it worked very well though. I live in a condo so quiet is a must have. During the day this wouldn't be an issue but at times I like to take rides late at night after I come home from work. It would be rude of me to use something like this late at night if it was too loud. Would love to see one in person. Sadly a little too much money for me to dole out to roll the dice on.

PaulRivers

Yeah, I've been trying to find a quiet mechanical keyboard. People make youtube videos of the sound they make but they're almost worthless because the microphone volume gets adjusted to the sound to a normal range for you to hear. So super loud gets adjusted quieter, super quiet gets adjusted louder, and they end up sounding the same volume in a youtube video. It's frustrating. The only useful video I found had a decibal meter in the background with a realtime readout of the decibel level. They keyboards all sounded about the same but you could see from the decimal level that some were noteably quieter or louder.

I found the one I linked to interesting because they listed the decibel level in the item description at 68db. Of course marketing is marketing and who knows how accurate it is...but if it's correct it sounded close to quiet:

---------------------------------------------
Weakest sound heard 0dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
Telephone dial tone 80dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Train whistle at 500' 90dB
Subway train at 200' 95dB

....

Pain begins 125dB
---------------------------------------------


Yeah, for this reason I think the body powered floor pump is the best solution for most people.
But it's a bit different if you have a medical problem (whether injury or old age) where you're risking your shoulder using a pump...

I have taken advantage of amazon's return policy many times for things that looked good online but didn't work well when I received them...

P.S. I'd do additional research before buying it though, I don't own one and just posted it as an "here's an example of the kind of thing I mean" thing. Here's one that claims to be much quieter at 56 decibels. Still ugly though.
https://www.amazon.com/California-Ai...dp/B01LYHYHEA/

Another one with better reviews and marginally less ugly at 61db:
https://www.amazon.com/excell-Sac22H...dp/B076XLB8CY/

01 CAt Man Do

@Paul Rivers ...Yep, the California Air Tools product line looks pretty good. The video on the one you linked to is pretty convincing.

Pulled the trigger on a double barrelled foot pump today. I liked how the hose had nodes that were ready for both Presta and Schrader air valves. I'm just hoping now that using this kind of pump will be easier to use and pump faster than a standard floor pump.

PaulRivers

Interesting, like I said I've looked at them but don't own one, would be curious to see what you think after using it.

angerdan

01 CAt Man Do

Just got it in today.. Works like a charm. Audew dual cyl. foot pump. Easy to read gauge, built-in Presta valve node worked like a charm and was stupid simple. Now I don't know if it takes any longer or shorter time to blow up a tire using this vs. my Nashbar floor pump but the effort to pump up a tire to pressure is at least twice as easy and without any notable pain any where from any body part. That alone makes it worth the $30 price tag.

I pump up my 700 x 32C tires ....65psi front and 80psi rear. It does get harder to pump once the pressure in the tire gets higher but unlike with my floor pump it makes no real difference. I'm not clenching my lower back and I'm not breathing hard from the effort....win / win

rumrunn6

nice, plugs into the wall & has the right kind of chuck! I got a similar unit but had to cut the hose & add the hose & chuck I wanted. great whether I need 30 psi or 120 psi






got mine at Sears auto center but looks like Amazon carries it
Craftsman 120V Portable Inflator- Craftsman 75121

previously, I had this one, but it did not last. I think I kept the chuck tho cuz it worked well
BLACK+DECKER ASI300 Air Station Inflator

Litespeedlouie

In terms of full sized electric compressors, I have one of the Lowes Kobalt 4.3 gallon quiet-techs, and it works fine for bike and car tires, zero exertion required. I also got a trigger tire inflator with gauge which also works well (Harbor Freight's version is about $9), although the gauge accuracy and resolution may be questionable. My biggest problem was that the inflator is quick connect Schrader only, which is perfect for cars, but all my bikes are presta, and the little adapters all leaked, until I found one with an O-ring inside - that one works perfectly. My compressor can go to 150psi and the trigger allows gently adding air.

However, a full-sized compressor can be extra effort to handle and equip, maybe not worth it unless you also need compressed air or run air tools. All of the "super quiet" compressors I see for home use seem to use a similar, if not identical, twin piston that halves the motor speed (and thus reduces noise) with the same airflow. I would say it's certainly quieter than a traditional compressor, and tolerable indoors. Maybe about like having a small motorcycle idling. To be honest, I just use my Joe Blow foot pump for topping off 2 tires late at night. The Joe Blow is, however, terrible at car tires.

Falchoon

Fumpa Mini Electric Bike Pump

https://www.pushys.com.au/minifumpa-...bike-pump.html

Fumpa Electric Bike Pump

https://www.pushys.com.au/fumpa-electric-bike-pump.html