I just killed the track pump in the garage and was going to just order a topeak mountain but then I thought, I could take the mountain from the car, and get one of these tubeless flash charger doohickeys for the car, could be useful sometimes…

But most times, when I use the pump that lives in the car, it’s to knock a few psi into a tyre at the start of a ride. So I don’t want to have to charge up the inflator pump doofer every time, just to add effectively 2 or 3 pumps worth of air. And I gather that’s how most of them work, you can’t bypass the air can.

So… are there any that work just as well as a normal pump for normal pump jobs, while also doing the tubeless blaster thing? Or, I suppose the other question is, am I overthinking this- will it still do that job OK?

They work by being huge capacity, as you rightly say, you can’t bypass the reservoir (even if you’re not charging it), so merely attaching the pump will remove a good proportion of the air from your tyres purely to equalise the pressure. On a road bike I reckon mine lets c40 psi out, so to add 5 you actually need to add 45psi! MTB isn’t as bad, but you can’t do a couple of strokes and be done.

It’s a first world problem, but I’ve bought an additional track pump since I bought my Flash Charger, and keep the latter for tubeless tyres only.

If I could only have one track pump though it would be a Flash Charger, it’s brilliant.

Bontrager flash charger works as a normal pump until you need to fill the chamber then it’s just the push of a lever

No, the flash charger works like njee20 says, you can’t bypass the reservoir. I don’t know if other makes are different. You can keep the chamber closed between tyres so you don’t have to pump it up after the first and maybe it would hold pressure between uses, I haven’t tested that

Sort of works, not very well!

I have the flash charger. Wouldn’t have known about the issue in njees post without reading about it. I use as a normal track pump also and have never noticed this before, seems to work normal for me so the pressure loss on an mtb tyre can’t be too bad.

I have the flash charger as my only track pump and it is first world problem level annoying for pumping up road tires. Not so bad pushing an MTB one up to only 25psi. It is teh awesum for tubeless inflation though.

I think the topeak Joe blow booster tubeless will allow you to bypass the reservoir and function as a normal pump. It wasn’t available when I got the bontrager one. It also has a hilariously ridiculous name. So maybe have a go with that one?

Hmm. OK, cheers folks! I guess I’ll get a normal pump, sounds like I’ll not get on too well with the super-pumps. I have a compressor in the garage so this is just for the car. Ta!

I really can’t say I’ve noticed my flash charger being a problem. Only when removing the head tightly spoked wheels under pressure. So I just shut the valve, remove head and then whoosh, or use it to get the other tyre going.

There’s always the option of an airshot or the new specialized version of the same thing

Pretty sure my JoeBlow Booster thing doesn’t have this problem of letting out air. I’ve not had it long and only used it twice but I don’t remember anything like that happening. It’s also the size and weight of a small child, which is reassuring for build quality too.

I have a compressor in the garage so this is just for the car

Your choice, it’s a slight annoyance every time you want to top up a tyre but a life saver on the odd occasion you need to seat a tyre that is being a pain. Not a cheap option though

New Lezyne twin chamber pump is eagerly awaited, with digital gauge too….

Yep. I’m waiting on the Lezyne before deciding what to buy.

What about taping an airshot to the new track pump 😉

Pretty sure the Topeak has a bypass for the reservoir. Used a flash charder, first thing the owner said about it was the lack of a.bypass.

I’ve got a flash charger, it’s not an issue. Once you pump up the first tyre you flip the switch and the chamber holds whatever pressure it’s at. It holds pressure fine for weeks. From then on you’re never actually starting ‘from zero’ so to speak, you always flip the switch and start with a pressurised chamber.

I’ve put my normal track pump in the car now and just use the charger in the shed, no way I’d do that if it was a pain.

pictonroad – Member

I’ve got a flash charger, it’s not an issue. Once you pump up the first tyre you flip the switch and the chamber holds whatever pressure it’s at. It holds pressure fine for weeks. From then on you’re never actually starting ‘from zero’ so to speak, you always flip the switch and start with a pressurised chamber.

Does that not mean you’re going to teh other extreme, and thinking “I’ll add a psi or two and bring it up to mid 20s” and then blasting it with 90psi?

I think the thing here is, it’ll be being a normal pump almost all of the time so I want it to not just do that job, I want it to be exactly as good as my £20 pump is.

Does that not mean you’re going to teh other extreme, and thinking “I’ll add a psi or two and bring it up to mid 20s” and then blasting it with 90psi?

That’s what I found. Fine if you’re always pumping up the same tyres, because you know you’re starting from a comparable baseline, but if you’ve got the chamber ‘charged’ with the volume of air to equalise your MTB at 30psi (say), then you go to pump up your road bike it doesn’t work so well.

It really isn’t a huge issue, but it is an issue IMO.

It also has a hilariously ridiculous name.

Fun fact, or so I’ve heard, “Joe Blow” is the American ‘generic name’ (basically their version of Joe Bloggs), it’s not meant to sound rude or funny or anything like that.

I have a 2 MTB’s a road bike, cross bike, 2 kids bike and a pram, not noticed it being a pain at all, at worst it’s a minor issue. You really can add a tiny bit of air using the switch and remove it with the button.

Mine was a present, there’s other options on the market down that weren’t there when I received mine.

Personally, I’d MUCH rather have a compressor but don’t tell the Mrs.. 😕

Clearly I’ve failed at Flash Chargering and need to try harder!

The blasting with 90 psi doesn’t happen. What was 90psi in the volume of my 25c road tyre ain’t 90psi when it gets squirted into a Surly Bud.

The flash charger works as well/better than any 20 quid pump I’ve used.

The joe blow booster is really good – set to charge to pressurise the chamber or inflate to either release the chamber or blow up normally.

Flash Charger is genius, specially for tubeless setup and is fine as track pump – do what Pictonroad says and it works fine without having to pump it right up each time. It hardly loses any pressure over weeks. The only thing I would say is a pain is the pressure gauge which may be accurate but is not easy to read and is only marked in 10psi segments. As a result you will probably need a separate pressure gauge as well. Some of the newer versions may have a better gauge – thinking Lezyne with the digital gauge….

stu_d – Member
The joe blow booster is really good – set to charge to pressurise the chamber or inflate to either release the chamber or blow up normally.

If I was buying now this is what I’d want. Sounds ideal

Can’t believe no one’s suggested standard track pump plus pop bottle doohickey… 🙂

I’m waiting for more options before I invest

Joe Blow sounds good, but I like the sound of the Lezyne one too

plus pop bottle doohickey

No point suggesting that to Northwind, if I remember correctly he already has the grand daddy of ghetto inflators made out of an old fire extinguisher. Takes him a couple of days to get it up to pressure but would probably seat a truck tyre once he gets there 🙂