Air compressor recommendations?

+1 on this HF Pancake.
Worked like a champ out of the box to seat the beads on new Racing Ralphs 29 Evo.
I put it back in the box and stored till next time I need it (new bike or new tires...)
A little bit noisy inside my garage, but not a big deal.

 

For just basic stuff, once in a while......head over to Harbor Freight wtih $39.00. I got mine (3 gallon 120psi I think) for $30 and a coupon.

 

Some hints,

• I hang the rim on a hook so there's no outside pressure on the tire.
• Remove core, volume is important.
• Spray the bead with Windex, slicker than soapy water.
• After tire bead pops on it will stay on
• Replace core and re-inflate at leisure.

 

thanks for all the helpful replies. Debating between the cheapy (H-Freight) vs Craftsman (usually good quality, pretty reasonable price)
Luckily we have a similar Craftsman here at work so i can try b4 i buy ;')

 

Use lots of soapy water. For whatever reason, I can't get a tire to seat dry

 

Soapy water is part of the process for setting up tubeless. I converted some Rovals recently and just broke the bead on one side because it was such a great fit. Soaped up the one side and it sealed up instantly. Checking for leaks later it was air tight on the soapy side and leaking on the dry side. The Stan's would not seal the dry bead. Broke the dry bead and soaped it up. Again it sealed instantly but this time it didn't leak. I remember reading somewhere that the soapy water was a critical step. I now believe it is.

 

Might also be a critical step in rolling a tire off the rim. I will leave the bead dry and add stans after the bead is set.

 

Never had that problem Dean. I had plenty of Stan's in there but the dry side would not seal after a few hours. Maybe soaping it up gave it a cleaner seal?

 

Dt Swiss tells you NOT to use soapy water.

 

FWIW, I was at Orchard Supply today and they are having a special- 20% off all air compressors.
I believe it's for the weekend only.

 

This has probably alrady been suggested... But i use C02 Cartridges that I buy from walmart and it seats UST and Non UST beads with stans tubeless just fine on one cartridge for my DH tires. I have a 40 or 60 Gallon craftsman and it's loud as hell and it takes too long to fill for just two tires. If I am going to be using it more than just 2 tires I will fill it up.

 

I tried the 3 gal model, same brand from Wal-Mart, when it was on sale for $60 flat--if you know Wal-Mart sales, things ending in .00, typically are good sales; I think they're unadvertised manager specials. It was really loud (very annoying loud rackety sound, instead of a smooth purr like other quality ones) and didn't produce enough CFM to seat my tire, but it was a ghetto conversion. Didn't really use it for anything else. I tried to use it for cleaning, but it was simply too noisy and the tank didn't hold much, so it was turning on and off constantly.

I then heard of "High volume, mtn specific" floor pumps and gave it a try. It surprises me how effective and simple it is. I got the Topeak JoeBlow Mountain, which was on sale at HucknRoll for about $35. It's like my secret weapon. My old pump now just sits by my singlespeed commuter bike that uses skinny road tires. If you want to go all out, there's the Topeak JoeBlow Ace, but that's $80 or so... if you got that much to spend and want blingy, go with the Lenzyne. A riding buddy pulled one of those out of his car at the the trailhead and it was so cool that everyone was passing it around to do their tires, who normally wouldn't, just to play with the pump. It was really really fancy and really really nice feeling... just the price turned us off.

 

+2 on this baby. I have one and it is perfect.

 

Just kickin it out there. Saw Lowe's is running a special on compressors for Dad's Day.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_103500-4365...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

 

You may see this problem after you get your compressor. Most compressors run hoses that inflate shrader valves. I used to attach a Shrader adapter to the presta valve but I find the air delivery too restrictive to inflate some tires. And if you remove the valve core, you can no longer attach the Shrader adapter to the valve stem.

The solution: Get this from Harbor Freight. Only $9.99. Saw off the nozzle like indicated in the picture. I remove the presta valve core and the rubber tube goes directly over the presta valve stem and form snug fit. With this setup, you will have no problem delivering a blast of air to seat the tire. I have no problem inflating 26x2.4 size tires. My air compressor is one of those Harbor Freight Tools cheap small "pancake" compressors ($60 bucks 5 years ago). I run regular nontubeless tires and use stans sealant.

People who say they can use floor pumps to seat a tire are most likely running tubeless tires. Tubeless tires are more expensive, heavier but are easier to seat. If you want to convert none tubeless tires for tubeless use, you need an air compressor.
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-tool-accessories/dual-chuck-tire-inflator-with-dial-gauge-68271.html

 

I got this for my house since I can't stand the sound of most oil-less compressors on the market.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=642480&group_ID=681243&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

It delivers enough volume to seat all beads, and run air-tools that I have at the house.

 

snapon link = open wallet, and bendover....
But you shit dollar bills LOL

 

I didn't pay what they list on there from my dealer, but it wasn't cheap. I hate having to replace cheap tools often (because they fail at the worst possible time). It's not a matter of shitting dollar bills or not. When your paycheck depends on the tools you use, you tend to lean towards quality, and not quantity.

 

So I already had of these :



and one of these:



I attached some regular 1/4" vinyl tubing to it which I press over the stem.

I can fill it to 40psi by hand in a few minutes, and the VOLUME is more than sufficient to seat my tubeless tires.

 

Double post...