Petrol Station Air ...
 

[Closed] Petrol Station Air for Bike Tyres

 ed80
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

I've been struggling to get my tyres bedded onto the rim when going tubeless. Some tyres go fine and others just don't, I've tried taking out the valve cores, sticking tubes in for the night and taking them out and using washing up liquid bubbles and all that good stuff, but for these tyres I think I just need more air.

I'm too tight to buy a compressor, is it safe to use the car tyre air compressors at the petrol station, or will it burst my tyres?


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:12 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Yes it will, alomost certainly burst them........

........if you put more air in that you need.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:14 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

I will never forget exploding a tyre when I was a kid, using the petrol station pump. That said, I suspect we weren't being very clever about it... ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:14 pm
Posts: 8832
Full Member
 

Just remember to let go of the trigger when you have enough air in them & you will be fine. It will not be whoosh bang all over before you know what's happening.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:16 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

you need to find one with an old style pressure gague, not a new fancy digital effort!


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:17 pm
Posts: 8832
Full Member
 

take a friend with a camera in case you do end up covered in shredded rubber & tyre sealant. I don't think it will happen but always best to be prepared.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:19 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

^ I agree. Please have a camera at hand.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:24 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

is the badger picture still circulating on here? the one where he blew up the tyre with the slime in it? there were a ton of photoshop pics done after which he didn't seem to find as funny as everyone else. ๐Ÿ™„


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:28 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

[url= http://www.lost-soul.co.uk/drac/Singletrack%20-%20Mountain%20Bike%20Magazine.htm ]ahem[/url]

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:29 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

CO2 cannisters do the trick buddy.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:38 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

that old singletrack layout got me all nostalgic!


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 1:54 pm
Posts: 919
Free Member
 

Whoa, its like a time warp. Like school holidays - they were all sunny.

Anyway, back to the post. Put an innertube in them and use a normal pump. Much easier.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:08 pm
Posts: 1
Free Member
 

I will never forget exploding a tyre when I was a kid, using the petrol station pump.

+1 and it went BANG I thought the garage owner has died


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:16 pm
 sv
Posts: 2815
Full Member
 

Washing up liquid on the bead helps it seat a lot easier.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:17 pm
Posts: 89
Free Member
 

Most new ones are these jobs where you set the pressure and it then inflates the tyre very slowly. I tried it at uni when i didn't have a compressor to hand and it was impossible - not at all practical for tubless tyres. I have since seen some of these garage compressors with a rapid inflation from flat mode, which may give a burst of pressure like what you need for tubeless.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:19 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

meehaja - Member
that old singletrack layout got me all nostalgic!

The spelling's still appalling though.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:24 pm
Posts: 8739
Full Member
 

I'd have a think about what tyres and rims you're using - needing a petrol station in order to inflate your tyres isn't entirely practical.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:25 pm
Posts: 919
Free Member
 

+1, some solutions seem to create more problems.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:27 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

I will never forget exploding a tyre when I was a kid, using the petrol station pump. That said, I suspect we weren't being very clever about it...

Heh me too, the attendant was far from amused.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:30 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

FWIW I had an absolute b1tch of a time getting a new tyre to inflate this weekend. I tried leaving a tube in overnight and trimming the little bits of flash on the bead but no luck.

I almost gave up, but what worked in the end was using a *MUCH* more concentrated washing up liquid solution - it sealed the leaks just long enough to get seated. Plus, make sure you are lightly squishing the tyre around the valve area to help seal it.

You could use CO2 to seat and then a track pump afterwards though - some people find CO2 makes the sealant go funny.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:32 pm
Posts: 129
Free Member
 

What scottidog said

[url= http://www.co2cartridges.co.uk/cat_280.html ]LINKY[/url] There are plenty others out there and it saves loads of hassle


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 2:36 pm
Posts: 4747
Free Member
 

Ive not tried it with bike tyres, but on a car trailer ive had success seating a tyre using neat washing up liq, and putting a ratchet strap around the tyre circumference. When you tighten it it kind of squishes the sidewalls and bead out onto the rim. Few quick blasts with a track pump and I was away.

I did try the lighter gas method with less success.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 4:00 pm
Posts: 9016
Free Member
 

Please do it on Friday morning Ed so that 6 of us can point and laugh when the tyre explodes. Martin would love it...


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 4:02 pm
 ed80
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks for the tips. Got some CO2 inflators on order. If I try the petrol station tactic I'll make sure there's a camera handy, just in case I end up looking like a plaster's radio...


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 4:16 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Thanks clubber, that brought tears to my eyes again.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 5:21 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

If you increase the effectve diameter of the rim by laying insulation tape in the bed of the rim you will find the tyre goes up with less hassle. An extra two layers of tape did it for me the other night when fitting a trailraker to a mavic crossride. Lay the tape in and then push the valve through. If you find the bead going on to the rim too easily it probably won't inflate.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 5:33 pm
Posts: 91157
Free Member
 

Why would it burst them? They only go up to 50psi anyway, which isn't anything like enough for road tyres.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 5:56 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Only if you're a completely cack handed divet.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 6:03 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

The pumps near me (which are digital) seem to inflate above the pressure you've set very quickly, then slowly let the air out until they reach the right pressure.
I reckon it'll probably blow the tyre, unless you set it below what you want and then finish it off by hand, but I don't know if that works on tubeless.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 6:14 pm
 sv
Posts: 2815
Full Member
 

If you do run sealant and inflate with CO2 make sure and let it down again and refill with air to avoid curing the latex. Always neat washing up liquid on both beads for Ghetto tubeless and UST tyres.


 
Posted : 25/10/2010 7:04 pm
Posts: 569
Free Member
 

i wouldnt trust they new tyre inflators at garages,it took me 20mins to blow up a bike tyre because the inflator was to big for the tyre valve,i had to keep my finger over one end and then use the flat tyre option to eventually inflate it,cost me nearly 2quid aswell!!!


 
Posted : 26/10/2010 9:08 am
 marc
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

[img] [/img]

How much pressure do you think you'll need?


 
Posted : 26/10/2010 9:13 am