I'm giving up with my Beto Airtank/tubeless inflator thing after about a year of frustration. I don't think that it gives anywhere near as big a rush of air as my old 2 litre PET ghetto inflator did and is largely useless. It seems that a good track pump would be as good. I've noticed some Airshot look-alikes on ebay and Aliexpress which may be better (but is 1.3L of air enough?) but I'm reluctant to waste any more money, when I could just probably go to a petrol station and seat a tyre for 50p. I thought about drilling out all the gubbins in the head of the Beto which slows down the air flow also. Anyone tried that?
i used a coke bottle with a couple of valves drilled in the lid for ages which worked fine, but i needed to clamp the tube, which was a pain
got one of these and it's been great
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007706254676.html
...I could just probably go to a petrol station and seat a tyre for 50p.
You couldn't, they don't work like that now.
Set pressure target.
Measure pressure. Puff a bit in. Stop.
Measure pressure. Puff a bit in. Stop.
Measure pressure. Target met. BEEP.
Fire extinguisher ghetto inflation is where it's at if you haven't got a proper compressor with an air tank.
That's the one I've seen from China. So it gives a big rush of air. then?
The Schwalbe one I've got is <2L I'd guess. Has no issues doing a 2.5" enduro tyre. Don't know what it is rated to but I normally take it to about 100psi and that is sufficient. I'd never take my coke bottle that high, probably only got to about 70psi with that.
You can work this out using Boyles law if you assume no loss of air and change in temperature. Neither are true but it then gets a bit more complex.
Real Airshot user here (used it last night in fact for 2 wheels - both big volume Maxxis). I can't quite believe I spent so many years faffing with ghetto setups vs the ease of the Airshot. No faff with soapy water etc, just peel off the bead, bit of tyre jizz, reseat the bead, remove the valve core and bang on the Airshot - big tyre inflated straight away easy. Zero mess. Zero faff.
Only problem I have found with the Airshot is that the hose degrades and splits when a few years old, I contacted Airshot and they couldn't/wouldn't supply a replacement.
That's the one I've seen from China. So it gives a big rush of air. then?
yep 30mm 29er rims 2.4 -2.6 tyres
I've been using my faithful old Airwave Airblast track pump since I went tubeless 10yrs ago. It has a lever that switches it to fill an internal reservoir, and a flick of this lever then releases the air in one sharp blast. The reservoir isn't quite big enough to generally seat the bead of a big 29er tyre in one go, but it seals it enough that a few extra pumps of air does the job.
When I got mine it was about £60 in a Chain Reaction sale. Looks like Halfords currently do a very similar looking model for £50
Might be worth a look if you don't already have a track pump.
I'll second the ghetto Fire extinguisher method. Have always had access to a compressor but that's going soon so converted an old 5l dry powder extinguisher I had lying in the shed. There's some good vids on youtube to follow but mine was a bit different so some faffing about with connectors etc but done four 29x 2.4 tyres and its great. Good little project if you can.
I decided to have one more go with the Beto tank before I binned it, so I took the hose off and enlarged the air holes in the fittings at the tank end (It was massively restricted), then took the chuck off and tried to drill out all the plastic restrictors in that, gave up and just pushed the tube end over the valve instead and threw the chuck in the bin. Hey presto, it worked!
Only problem I have found with the Airshot is that the hose degrades and splits when a few years old, I contacted Airshot and they couldn't/wouldn't supply a replacement.
Not my experience, our Airshot is easily 6-7 years old and the hose is fine and it's only ever failed to inflate one tyre in all that time.
Not helping the OP but something must have happened in rim/tyre development as I have managed to inflate tubeless tyres with a basic track pump for the past few years without issues. They just go up instantly now it seems. Or perhaps I have been super lucky. If not, doesn't a bit of Fairy liquid do the trick too?
Only problem I have found with the Airshot is that the hose degrades and splits when a few years old, I contacted Airshot and they couldn't/wouldn't supply a replacement.
Not my experience, our Airshot is easily 6-7 years old and the hose is fine and it's only ever failed to inflate one tyre in all that time.
Same here. Possibly older than that and used regularly - frequent tyre swaps. I used a ghetto 2L plastic bottle for years beforehand but the Airshot is just easier having the valve etc rather than folding the tube over. Plus not having the (probably unfounded) fear of the plastic bottle letting go!
Can be worth checking FB marketplace - I picked up a portable compressor for £20 fairly recently to seat stubborn/stretched tyres that my tubeless pump couldn’t handle.
My advice would be to just buy an Airshot. It will last for ever, the price will fade into insignificance over the years and you will be glad of it every time you use it. You’d be supporting a Welsh company too.
The Schwalbe one I've got is <2L I'd guess. Has no issues doing a 2.5" enduro tyre. Don't know what it is rated to but I normally take it to about 100psi and that is sufficient. I'd never take my coke bottle that high, probably only got to about 70psi with that.
You can work this out using Boyles law if you assume no loss of air and change in temperature. Neither are true but it then gets a bit more complex.
The Schwalbe one is a rebranded Airshot I think
There are any number of solutions.
The easiest fire extinguisher one is a 2kg Co2.
Empt obvs.
1. Remove horn at the valve.
2. Acquire track pump hose which has a sealing bung or bulge at pump end.
3. Push the hose into valve outlet and secure with the horn nut. Might need a washer or two to pack it out.
You can get fancy and drill out the over pressure burst disc to fit a filling Valve or simply fill it from the hose.
(using a bit of pipe or old valve to connect hose to hose)
I never bother with pump heads, the hose pushed over the valve works best for me.
I actually prefer a smaller cylinder and made one from a vehicle extinguisher with filling valve and shut off like an air shot.
Purely for space and the fact that it has a cool little pressure gauge.
I have an airshot you can have. Since I got reserve valves and a good track pump it's been sat gathering dust on a shelf.
^yes they are pretty much redundant now.
I have an extinguisher one but a mate asked this question recently and other than the general badness of chinese ripoffs of other people's IP I couldn't think of a reason not to get one.
Having said all that it's been ages since I used mine, the joe blow mountain has handled every non-fat tyre I've inflated for at least a couple of years.
Not helping the OP but something must have happened in rim/tyre development as I have managed to inflate tubeless tyres with a basic track pump for the past few years without issues. They just go up instantly now it seems. Or perhaps I have been super lucky. If not, doesn't a bit of Fairy liquid do the trick too?
it’s usually the luck of the nominals, I love WTB byways as they always go on first time with no hassle, others have been a grim affair. (Although the with the WTBs Second time or third time the airshot makes it easy as they seem to get harder to get up after you need to remove them).
Tubeless seems to be a binary thing, piece of piss or a total ****ing mare.
I’ve a love hate relationship and if you’ve a lot of bikes with it then it can be meh but I live in a place with a lot of stuff that does tyres in and not using tubeless would be mad.
its subtleties in the sizes and cleanliness of the rim tape as well as the tyre wheel size.
I begrudged the cost of a powershot but over the years It’s proved to be a worthwhile purchase.
The Schwalbe one I've got is <2L I'd guess. Has no issues doing a 2.5" enduro tyre. Don't know what it is rated to but I normally take it to about 100psi and that is sufficient. I'd never take my coke bottle that high, probably only got to about 70psi with that.
You can work this out using Boyles law if you assume no loss of air and change in temperature. Neither are true but it then gets a bit more complex.
The Schwalbe one is a rebranded Airshot I think
I'm pretty sure it is too can’t remember where I’ve seen this stated.
I have an airshot you can have. Since I got reserve valves and a good track pump it's been sat gathering dust on a shelf.
Being devils advocate I bet a good track pump and reserve valves if you’ve a few bikes isn’t cheap thou 🙂
The Schwalbe one I've got is <2L I'd guess. Has no issues doing a 2.5" enduro tyre. Don't know what it is rated to but I normally take it to about 100psi and that is sufficient. I'd never take my coke bottle that high, probably only got to about 70psi with that.
You can work this out using Boyles law if you assume no loss of air and change in temperature. Neither are true but it then gets a bit more complex.
I think an air shots max is 160psi but you’ll probably need a good pump for that and I’m pretty sure I don’t crank mine up to that.
I have an extinguisher one but a mate asked this question recently and other than the general badness of chinese ripoffs of other people's IP I couldn't think of a reason not to get one.
Having said all that it's been ages since I used mine, the joe blow mountain has handled every non-fat tyre I've inflated for at least a couple of years.
I’m sounding like an airshot bot, but I think the issue I have is stuff letting go at pressure can be a bit un-fun, in theory the China copy is probably fine as it not a rocket science product but your relying they’ve got the engineering right and they’ve pressured tested everything and alls good.
I;’d also say that it’s got a long service life ,can’t remember when I’ve bought mine but it’s probably 7+ years.
As I’ve said I’ve a love/hate relationship with tubeless but have enduring love for my airshot.
Same as my Tailfin rack -pricey but in the long run, yum yum 🙂
It's just not that big of a worry tbh. I mean, you can make something that can handle these pressures out of a coke bottle and rtv sealant. And all the valve and pump side is just basic stuff, tried and tested. It's probably harder to make a metal cylinder that can rupture dangerously at 160psi than it is to make a safe one.
Not to say it's completely nothing- I mean, you can get hurt by a bike tyre popping off.
If you've got the space and it doesn't need to be portable, I'd just get a cheap 50l compressor, you'll find all sorts of other uses for it.
I've got a larger volume one, but at 120psi max it's never failed to seat a tyre.
I have an airshot you can have. Since I got reserve valves and a good track pump it's been sat gathering dust on a shelf.
Being devils advocate I bet a good track pump and reserve valves if you’ve a few bikes isn’t cheap thou 🙂
Can't put a price on convenience and ease!
They came with the wheels and I managed to pick up a Joe Blow from Go Outdoors in a sale,
So no, not cheap. But we're talking mountain bikes so to sniff at £30 valves when we pay some ridiculous money for disposable components like tyres seems a bit silly.
Whilst at an enduro race a few years ago, Airshot were doing demos and on race day they lent it to a guy a few tents over, it ruptured with a bang, and the Airshot guys told him he'd exceeded the pressure, I'm not sure if they beefed up construction after that