Tire Air Compressor

[Herb]

Since I'm doing my own tire changes and my local service station now charges $1 for air, I was thinking of buying an air compressor. I need it powerful enough to set the tire bead. I'm assuming that those portable ones that folks carry on their bikes will not work, right? Any recommendations? I'm frugal.

 

[Mellow]

They will seat a bead.. but depends on how the tire is sitting on the rim... some will take a strap and run it over the tire or big zip ties around wheel/tire... Harbor Freight sells a pretty affordable pancake compressor.

 

[RedLdr1]

The compressor I carry won't handle it...it is for post repair re-inflation use only. Try using a ratcheting cargo tie down strap around the tire to help set the bead. Then a relatively small tank compressor, like This, might work... But if you are truly frugal you will quickly see that you can "buy" a lot of air for that compressor investment....

 

[karl]

http://www.nt-owners.org/forums/showthread.php?2236-Air-compressors
don't forget drain off the condensate on a regular basis...

 

[ARKNT]

A larger compressor can be handy when having trouble getting a bead to seat but if you are trying to save $$ what you need is volume. This can be achieved with a fairly large (2-3 gallon) tank and hose/tire chuck large enough to push the beads out while some air is leaking out the still unseated beads. If you have a tank like that a smaller compressor could work, it would just take longer for the compressor to refill the tank.
With that said you still need a compressor bigger than an on board carry with you type. Most of those I have used would fail if used that much. Save the small one for the road. Also keep in mind once you get a compressor you will find more uses for it. car tires, blowing dust off before disassembly etc.

Brad

 

[elizilla]

The gas stations in my neighborhood, even if you pay the dollar for the air, you may or may not be able to inflate your tires with it, since more often than not they have something wrong with their hose or chuck. I got fed up with scrounging for a working gas station air hose, and bought a compressor. I think I paid $79 for it. It served me well for seven or eight years, until it died this year. I have already replaced it, because it is super useful. I got it to air tires but it came with a kit that had the little blower nozzle, which I have used to clean the crud out of the spark plug holes before pulling plugs, and for cleaning carb jets. And I bought a $30 impact wrench at Harbor Freight which has been great for breaking loose countershaft sprocket bolts, and for stuck fasteners in general.

IMHO, it's definitely been worth what I paid, even if it only lasted a few years.

 

[karl]

Herb do you have power in your shed? Something like this should work for you:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&R=202885344&catEntryId=202885344
You can extend there ability by putting a reservoir tank in line with it. +1 on using a strap to seat the bead on your tire and then remove the core on the valve when you inflate the first time. This one or something like it would do what you want. And run that die grinder and...

 

[Phil Tarman]

One of the downsides of lots of truck stops is the fact that their chuck won't fit the NT's stems. That's part of the reason I've got metal 90-degree valve stems on both wheels.

 

[RedLdr1]

Until you have your valve stems changed out Here is an cheap and easy solution. I carry one on both bikes under the seat...

 

[Curious Mike]

I fought getting a pressure gauge and/or air chuck on the NT's valve stems for 9 months until I bought an Accu-Gage EZ Air Tire Pressure Gauge from Amazon. The Accu-Gage along with the Craftsman pancake compressor I bought recently has turned what was an exercise in frustration to a piece of pie. And oh, how I like pie. Since you hold the gauge (and with it the air valve) in your hand, the angle on the air chuck doesn't matter. Also has a button on top of the gauge to release air out of the tire if necessary. This thing works great.

 

[bicyclist]

Also has a button on top of the gauge to release air out of the tire if necessary. This thing works great.

A buddy has one and loves it. He pumps in a little extra and then releases the excess until he has what he likes. No fooling around with putting in some and checking and putting in some and checking and then letting some out and checking. Just 2 smooth moves. Add air and then release until correct.

 

[Warren]

Until you have your valve stems changed out Here is an cheap and easy solution. I carry one on both bikes under the seat...

Here is another similar solution from Stop N Go. It is a right angle valve extension that is used as a temporary extension for when you are filling up.
http://www.stopngo.com/products/90-Degree-Valve-Extension.html

 

[Phil Tarman]

Here is another similar solution from Stop N Go. It is a right angle valve extension that is used as a temporary extension for when you are filling up.

At least they tell you it is a temporary extension. The Concours rear tire was extraordinarily hard to adjust pressure with the stock tire stem. Somebody told me BMW had a $9.95 brass extension that worked great. I went to a dealer in Denver, was treated very well and ended up spending about three hours just hanging around and talking bikes.

The next time I needed to adjust the tire pressure, I put the little extension on. I doubt if it weighed an ounce.

I never took it off until one Saturday afternoon when I pulled onto I-76, heading for Lake McConaughy in Nebraska. I got up to about 75, set my Vista Cruise, took my right hand off the throttle and felt a funny little twitch. I put my hand back on the throttle just in time for the bike to start trying to throw me off. I pulled in the clutch and just held on, not using any brake. I managed to get off the Interstate and stopped.

The rear tire was completely flat. I couldn't begin to get the bike onto the centerstand and it wouldn't sit on the sidestand until I took off the panniers and the top box. And even then it was close to falling over. I dug out my compressor,hooked it up and started trying to get some air into the tire. That's when I realized the rubber OEM stem was broken off on the side of the stem opposite to the 90-degree bend on the extension.

It may not have weighed much, but it had flexed that stem until it broke. Someone told me a couple of days later that it was temporary extension and should be taken off when you weren't using it.

True. So very true.

45- 85- and 90-degree metal stems are all available and work great!