Air Compressors

[SPECIALIST]

Without wanting to change to focus of this thread....... why use compressed air to clean a cassette, chain and chainrings?

after i bath my drive train i like to use a compressor to blow off the excess then i soak everything in wd 40 then blow that off
epecially the chain then a wipe with a clean rag .Gets the job done really clean
Super anal lol but im very particular.Been doing it for years 13 infact

 

[Wellsey]

Grabbed this belt driven from repco the other day. Things a beast. And the cheapest I have ever seen a belt drive for...

Not sure if its still available./.

That is a steal.

 

[nickdos]

I'd be keen to know if indeed this does work. My impression was that you needed a compressor with a tank in order to get that first real blast that pushes the beads into the rim. Have you tried it yet?

Just did my first tubeless conversion with the $46 compressor. Good news is it worked and I got both tyres inflated. Bad news is, it was a bit of a PITA. I've decided to keep the cheapy 12 V compressor as it got the job done.

The biggest problem was my rims, I think. They are the stock P-XC2 rims that came on my Trance X2 and they have a channel running down the centre of the inside of the rim. This is a known hinderance to mounting tubeless (with the tape ghetto method that I used) because the bead has a habit of falling into this groove. I've read accounts of people not being able to seat the bead on rims like this with full-blown industrial compressors so having a big tank is no guarantee.

The trick was to use a tube to seat one side of the rim, remove tube and install valve, then use plenty of soap suds and pat the tyre while inflating. I also had to pull the tyre out a bit where it wasn't seating. Having the compressor chugging along the whole time meant that when I finally got the last bit against the rim it inflated fine. In retrospect I might've been better off with the 20" split tube method (stretched tube means tyre doesn't fall into groove) but I preferred the tape method for its ease of re-seating and the fact its easier to install a tube if I get a flat on the mountain.

FYI, my front Ardent 2.25 was pretty straight forward whereas the rear Ikon 2.2 was the problem child - thin side walls meant it was prone to collapsing when trying to inflate.

 

[Jeffgre_6163]

I just bought a 40lt direct drive from Bunnings for $139.00
No hose or airgun but when you work for a cabinet making business it was not big deal
Money well spent, mounted up the ghetto tubeless on my Reign X0 a piece of piss and I used it tonight to blow dry the Maestro bearings from my Trance.
Wish I has bought one years ago and for $139 it was bargain.

One odd, and I think remarkable thing, was that when I unpacked it and assembled the wheels etc I discovered that it was fully charged at full pressure.
Gods knows how long ago it was that it left on the ship for Australia from China but they must have test run it in the factory and never bled off the air prior to packing.
I was amazed that it had held perfect pressure for what could have been months!

 

[frensham]

Ok, silly question perhaps.

How do you attach the hose of the compressor to your tyre valve? All the tyre attachments I have seen are for automative schrader type valves. Will these still work with presta?

 

[bluesmurf]

If you go to your LBS and ask for a presta valve adaptor, they are a little brass thing that screws on to your presta valve and enables you to use a schraeder pump fitting. They are about 4 or 5 bucks, if that

 

[Knopey]

Ok, silly question perhaps.

How do you attach the hose of the compressor to your tyre valve? All the tyre attachments I have seen are for automative schrader type valves. Will these still work with presta?

Not a silly question at all - I spent a week looking in all hardware shops for the damn thing. The LBS answer is spot on - cost me $3. You loosen the valve on the bike, screw the brass adapter on to the valve, then put the compressor attachment on.

 

[frensham]

Not a silly question at all - I spent a week looking in all hardware shops for the damn thing. The LBS answer is spot on - cost me $3. You loosen the valve on the bike, screw the brass adapter on to the valve, then put the compressor attachment on.

Great. Off to the LBS today. Purchased one of those $109 deals from Super Cheap Auto. The 20m of hose is a bit of overkill for my little shed though, but the pressure gauge/tyre inflator will get good use. Surprised at how compact the unit is too.

 

[Wellsey]

Great. Off to the LBS today. Purchased one of those $109 deals from Super Cheap Auto. The 20m of hose is a bit of overkill for my little shed though, but the pressure gauge/tyre inflator will get good use. Surprised at how compact the unit is too.

Just make sure you keep the oil up to it. I blew up my first Super Cheap compressor through lack of maintenance and running a die grinder.

They don't like air tools.