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Would you buy a cheap compressor (if so which one) or an airshot for seating tubeless??
Neither. Ghetto inflator.
airshot works well..
topeak have a track pump style with psi storage on the side which looks good, and i think airshot have developed a similiar one now..
if you make a ghetto one, use a pop bottle, rather than water bottle they hold slightly better pressure, so may not explode in your face
Just for tubeless, airshot. Compressors aren't quiet and take up a lot of room if all you're going to use one for is inflating tyres.
I use a compressor for tubeless but wouldn't buy another now - I never use it for anything else, it's too far from the car for the tyres and too heavy to easily move and it's a small one so won't drive tools.
I have a 25l compressor in my workshop, use it for tubeless, it's portable enough to be used for the car/motorbike tyres too. I also use the blow attachment for drying things off after cleaning too.
I did consider buying an airship recently to take away on holiday with me to make changing tyres easier.
An Airship? Sounds like a good holiday.
I bought an Airshot last year and found it fine for tubeless on my mtbs. However when I bought some tubeless road wheels I have found it useless for inflating stiff walled tubeless road tyres. I'm sure somebody will be on in a minute in true STW fashion to tell me that they don't use a pump at all but simply blow through the Presta and everything pops up nicely and its all my fault. This may be the case but isn't the purpose of these gadgets to make life easier? The Airshot doesn't, get a compressor , thats my next move.
Airshot - fantastic bit of kit. The only thing that defeats it imo are manky valves, but with the valve cores out, it hasn't failed yet.
Tubeless road tyres? - track pump alone did those. But they are stiff, so maybe try the airshot again without cores in.
done all the tricks , valve cores in , out. Gallons of washing up liquid, sealant etc. At the moment they are sat with tubes in at high pressure in an attempt to stealth seal the rim. This is the second attempt , the first with tubes in for two days made no difference.
I bought an Airshot and don't have any complaints. I recently used it to set up some 4.8" tyres tubeless on the fatbike, which was a pleasant surprise. It probably helps that I can get up to the max pressure with my track pump (at least according to its gauge).
FOG - have you got too much rim-tape in so the beads cannot raise up to seat? 2 layers usually for road, but maybe 1 of a tougher tape?
Don't think so but replacing rim tape is the next step!
I have a compressor bought for other jobs. The fact I bought and always use a flash charger rather than start the compressor tells you what my opinion is
Thanks everyone... I'll build a ghetto one I~ think.
I bought one of these...
Works pretty well. My Maxxis tyres can go up with a track pump, but it's a bit of a faff. My previous Conti tyres are what drove me to buying a compressor. Doesn't take up much room and is easy to move.
I built a ghetto inflator for the project, tbh it wasn't any better than a good track pump. I don't mean a quality track pump, I mean one that's good at tubeless, a Joe Blow Mountain or similiar. Lots of very nice track pumps don't shift air fast enough to be good at tubeless, you need some girth. I know folk swear by the bottle inflators but I wouldn't bother.
Had a go with an airshot the other day, it's very effective for a short burst, like the flash pumps and the like, I was impressed. But where a compressor wins is duration- if you've got a bad tempered tyre you can blast it with air for a long time while you fanny around trying to persuade it onto the beads. Gamechanger really, nothing else can do this. I wouldn't expect to inflate my fatbike tyres with an airshot frinstance.
But then the portability of my compressor is obviously terrible! So option the 4th- I got a fire extinguisher and built a cheaper, bigger Airshot. It needed a little ingenuity to do but nothing too tricksy, and it has many times the volume. There's obvious downsides to having a fire extinguisher full of compressed air, if anyone ever tries to use it to put out a fire... And it takes a long time to fully charge with a pump for the same reason that it can discharge for a long time. But it is a good balance imo.
My old track pump has seen better days and those Joe Blow jobs are quite a good price at Halfords, even better if I get BC discount too. And if that doesn't work I'll be round for a look at your fire extinguisher.
Theres a new joe blow pump with a pressurised canister for tubeless
Not cheap though