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I'm getting into tubeless and need something to inflate my tyres. I've seen the ghetto 7 inflator made from a fire extinguisher - has anyone else actually made one? How easy / hard is it?
I use the pop bottle ghetto compressor, it does the job mostly. If I mount the tyre with a tube overnight first it seems to do the trick every time.
Ghetto pop bottle works fine for me - I'm fairly sure there is a thread on here somewhere with easy to follow instructions.
On a related note TR tyres have also been a revelation in terms of less faff!
Another pop bottle ghetto user here...hasn't failed yet
The 'ghetto 7" is a piece of p***.
Pop bottle +1.
Garage compressor
Just fit tire , throw sealant in , inflate as if it was tubed.....
No hassle no messing , never failed yet ...i mostly run non tubeless tires
Pop bottle +1.
just checked the original pop bottle thread - next weekend's project!
From that thread, see:
[u]How you use it[/u]1 (optional depending on how stubborn the tyre is) – Remove valve core
If you remove the valve core, how do you remove the tube from the tire without it deflating immediately? What I miss?
When i tried it, the compressor wasn't to inflate the tyre, but to seat the bead, so removing the core just let more air into the tyre quickly to blast it outwards from the centre of the rim. Then you can put the core back in and inflate. I had to use lots of hot washing-up liquidy water too (geax barro on pacenti tl-28 - hellish tight). A pain in the arse, but works in the end (pop bottle method for me too)
Suspected so - cheers
I made a fire extinguisher compressor. Took about 10 mins to make and works very well. There is a thread on here on how to make it. Well worth it.
Pop bottle but 2 linked together , never fails .
Garden sprayer. But I've just seated the last three road and cross tyres with cheap 12oz CO2 cartridges. Doesn't need a whole cartridge either.
Spare tyre from the car. Just remember to pump that back up when done...
Have you tried just a track pump yet? I'm using a high volume one (dirt drive) and it seats most tubeless ready tyres fine. No need for soap, tubes in overnight etc.
Non-tubeless ready tyres needed all the above faff though. Some rims are better than others too. Pacentis are particularly easy to get a good seal with.
Pop bottle +1
I went halves on a compressor with a mate - it really is a breath of fresh air (no pun intended), especially for fat tyres. If you're in Edinburgh you're welcome to head up to mine to use it.
High volume track pump- my air tower 2s feel like cheap junk but they do shift a lot of air. And a proper compressor when I'm at home and feeling lazy.
I've got a coke bottle too but tbh I'm not convinced- I'm yet to have it inflate any tyre that beat the air tower, and it's failed to inflate tyres that the big compressor did. Just built a nice fire extinguisher to replace it, for the car but I think I've overdone it with the volume, it takes forever to inflate 😳
When I do it:
- Disconnect lemonade bottle from valve
- Rapidly put finger over valve before very much air gets out
- Get valve core ready
- Remove finger; screw in valve core before much more air gets out
By this point the tyre will be softer, but still seated and inflated. Pump it up properly and job done!
I've just been putting a strap around the tyre to reduce its volume and push the bead out when using a track pump, worked so far on a variety of set ups with little faff.
Was using a pop bottle compressor but recently bought a Joe Blow mountain pump which has worked on the last 5 or 6 tyres that I've done.
Finished making the ghetto today and working nicely. I bought one of these to avoid holding / kinking the tube ;
And it does the trick. Tres Bon Tres Bon
TiRed - MemberGarden sprayer. But I've just seated the last three road and cross tyres with cheap 12oz CO2 cartridges. Doesn't need a whole cartridge either.
CO2 will freeze the sealant - it was just a lump spread across the inside of the tyre
I have a bottle rocket/pop bottle that I made a while ago and always used to just use it as standard.
Last week I was airing up a set of Dampf Evo's on some old Sun SOS rims fitted with a Joe's rimstrip and just for kicks tried track pump alone. It wasn't looking like it would do it until I pressed down on the top of the tyre over where the valve is, and then they went straight up and stayed up. I've heard this technique mentioned a few times but it's the first time I've tried it.
OP, I think you're missing something about valve cores. The point of taking the core out is that it lets you get air in faster than with the core in, which is helpful for seating the beads. When the beads seat you'll probably get a loudish 'bang!' from the tyre - possibly more than once. Go round the inflated tyre while it's still on the pump and satisfy yourself that the bead is properly seated (heels of hands on edge of tyre to see if it comes away from rim). When you're happy, hold the rim off the ground while taking the pump off. The tyre will deflate almost instantly, and if under it's own weight against the wall could unseat the bead a little hence weight relief. Put the sealant in the tyre now, then put the core back in, then reinflate as normal.
Personally I like to add an extra step in and after seating the bead, put valve back in and pump back up to 30-40 PSI and leave the tyre like that overnight (valve closed, off the pump) to check it's ok - then put the sealant in the next day.
Once the sealant is in, remember to spin the wheel to make sure it's all over the inside, and don't be alarmed if you see some little white spots appearing on the sidewalls depending what you're mounting...
as for kinking the tube while airing up the bottle to lock the air in it, the inline valve looks neat, but personally I normally just kink the line back on itself and stand on it... 😉
Just a track pump.
I use a tyres that actually fit the rim ..
I seat them with CO2 without sealant, then add afterwards and reinflate with a track pump. This is for when the track pump won't seal.
My rule of thumb is that if it doesnt work with a track pump it wont work in the middle of nowhere. So i add tape untill that tyres tight enough to seat with a track pump then they'll usualy go up with a handpump too.
I wrote a handy tubeless guide for my bike club
https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/440e985d1c813ac9411972a8350c00cb20150110212021/886103
I think you might have got away with that
Boardinbob, just read your link and it's really helpful, thanks.