mrblue

I have a set of tubeless ready wheels and I'm thinking of actually using them as tubeless (been running them with tubes since I got them new on the bike). I'm pretty certain my little track pump won't seat the bead properly if at all. I looked at the booster pumps that you pump up a reservoir with air then it blasts the air into the tire but I've read a few reviews saying they don't work that well. Therefore, I'm thinking of getting a small air compressor (pancake style). Any suggestions/recommendations for air compressors (make/model)?

Thanks.

DOS

My airshot canister works great. Air Shot Ltd.

HillRider

I bought a Porter-Cable 6-gallon, 150 psi pancake compressor from Home Depot for about $130 a couple of years ago. For it's type it is reasonably quiet and the reservoir capacity makes it useful for a lot of jobs beside seating tubeless bike tires. I use it to fill car tires, air blow solvent off of washed parts, etc. It will also run some low demand air tools.

branko_76 

I've been using this little guy for the past 5 years as my jobsite compressor. It's lighter and much more quiet than a pancake type compressor...

https://www.senco.com/tools/details-page/pc1010

zacster

I have a Porter-Cable that I bought with the nailer gun as a set. I've never used it for pumping tires though since I don't have any attachments. In fact, after I did the job with it installing the floor trim I never used it again. Kind of a shame.

My point here is that I don't find it to be something I use, so I'd not recommend buying one just to pump up your tires. I'm neither a contractor nor a mechanic. In hindsight I should have just rented one, except that the job I was doing was somewhat piecemeal in that I needed to use it over a period of days, and the rental adds up unless you can stage it to do it all at once. Meanwhile it takes up space.

Just buy a bike sized cartridge pump. At least then you have something useful for the bike.

kingston 

I have this little HF compressor in the basement and an old 30 gal. craftsman compressor in the garage. The little one is quiet, fills fast, and is super handy, and I use it all the time. I never understand when people say that they don't have a need for an air compressor. As a homeowner, I couldn't imagine not having one (or two in my case). I use them all the time. I also highly recommend the park inflator. The compressor and inflator will be around $300 retail, so it's a pretty expensive bike pump, but it's an awesome setup.

Bill Kapaun

You'll often find the fittings & hose on the cheap pancake pumps to be the biggest restrictions to ADEQUATE air flow.
Change the fittings to a "commercial" type and a short section of larger diameter hose.

Iride01 

If you have to have an air compressor, I highly recommend you get a compressor with a tank as I think all before me have posted. I have a shop compressor in the garage and several portable compressors with tanks. Noise is why I now have two portable compressors. The first portable was deafening. The not so portable shop compressor that is older than me is the quietest of all.

I tend to always use a 10 dollar 10 year old Zefal floor pump I think I got at Walmart to top off and even fill them completely. Even when I'm right next to the shop compressor, I'll grab the floor pump first.

kingston 

I'm guessing you don't have the park inflator? It's a game-changer.

Iride01 

No I don't. Having the gauge right there to read the tire pressure when you release the trigger does solve one of my reasons for going to the floor pump first.

Does pulling the trigger also lock it to the valve so you don't have to push down hard on the valve stem?

At their price, I'll have to add it to my list as a suggestion for a stocking stuffer. I'd probably not spend that much on myself for that. But if any want to send me one.....

DrIsotope

Will you be using the compressor for any other tasks aside from seating/filling tires?
Do you care how loud it will be?
Do you want the cheapest option, or something more capable that's going to last awhile?

For reference, my shop compressor is a 30-gallon oiled model, and turns 30 years old soon. There are quite a lot of good options ~$200, which I realize is more than some are willing to pay. There are a few choices closer to a hundred bucks (pretty much limited to trim compressors) but they have limited utility.

I would never buy a Park inflator, because the pricepoint is simply absurd. What I've been using for years is a simple gauged inflator with a presta head on it. Under 40 bucks-- and there are cheaper options out there. I just wanted digital.

kingston 

I agree that the price of the park inflator is simply absurd, but nothing I have ever used even comes close. I have one of those simple gauged inflators with a presta head and would rather use a decent floor pump for everything but seating tires (which as a tube user is irrelevant for me personally anyway). The park inflator is just one of the many, many examples of absurdly expensive marginal gains in this hobby.

DrIsotope

My cheapo will take a 700x25 from unseated to 100psi in perhaps 5 or 6 seconds. If the Park can do it faster, that's great... I guess. But I don't need that kind of F1 performance for filling up tires.

I've used the Park a couple of times at the LBS. It's fine, if a little awkward. The mechanics commentary is mostly along the lines of "That's our fifth one. Warranty replacements every couple of months." Most tires seem to get filled straight from a ballhead chuck at the end of a coily hose.

kingston 

If all you need to do is seat tires and inflate them to good-enough psi, you don't need a compressor at all.

DrIsotope

I had a compressor (more than one, actually) long before I got into cycling-- so I don't understand how people live without one. I mean, how do people clean out their vacuum cleaners? Are there really people who don't own any air tools? I guess it's a thing.

Floor pumps are for people with too much time on their hands.

rosefarts

Going off what someone said about not using one. I bought an 11 gallon Coleman for about a third what it cost new. Because it wasn't getting used. If you shop around, that may be a good idea.

Oil-less is louder but no worries about spraying oily air into the tires.

I use mine for tires only, car/trailer/bike. I had a Dremel like attachment that I used but I prefer the agility and lower noise of an actual Dremel, so it's been shelved for a while.

I use it maybe once a month and am very glad I have it.

It's tucked away in a storage room beside the garage and only a hose coming from the wall. Cool setup, still pretty loud.

drlogik 

Buy a compressor that is more than you need. You'll find that you'll use for more than just blowing off the bike and filling tires. I went for a Porter Cable dual sausage compressor years ago and it handles inflating my Suburban tires, runs my nail guns, blows out my HVAC condensate lines and more.

walnutz

Not sure what you’ve read about manual types, but I’ve had zero issues with this:
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/specia...view-2017.html

Don’t rule them out. Everything else in this thread seems like overkill, but I don’t have a garage or workshop.

zacster

That should come with the pump as a single unit.

woodcraft

I've had a number of air compressors over the years, and currently own three. I never use one for bike tires, but don't have tubeless.

For blowing dust, this beats the pant off of a blow gun:

jadocs

Mine works great.

I'm going to circle back and tell you to do a double wrap of quality tape (such as DT Swiss) in your rims keeping the valve hole area a single wrap. It makes a difference and can be as dramatic as ...no way in hell able to seal it with a regular pump to being able to seat it with a regular hand pump.

To do a double wrap while still keeping valve hole single wrap. Start the wrap about an inch on one side of the valve hole, go around twice and end it on the opposite side of the valve hole.

walnutz

cool story bro



I didn't need a whole other pump and it was cheaper to buy this.