I had such hard time seating a tyre that my old pump sprang a leak. Resorted to CO2 in the end. Now I need a pump with enough volume to seat tyres, but which will also do ~120psi for the road bikes. Plenty of reviews talk about pressure but not volume.

Any suggestions?

Any track pump, but I made one of these for the price of a bottle of pop and a couple of tubeless valves, it’s still working well 18 months later….

Ghetto Tyre Inflator

there’s a nice looking track pump specifically for tubeless……

flashcharger-floor-pump

My rattly old Blackburn Airtower does the job 99% of the time. If that doesn’t work I have a mildly terrifying ghetto-inflator.

Flash chargers in stock at Triton and 10 quid cheaper than most other places it seems.

I got a Lifeline (wiggles own brand) metal one and it inflates tubeless no bother. About £25 I think.

A cheap track pump and one of these http://enduro-mtb.com/en/the-review-airshot-portable-tubeless-tyre-inflator/ expensive take on the ghetto inflator but well engineered and a great idea imo.

I’ve done 100’s of tubeless conversions (I used to work for the original Stan’s No Tubes distributor in the UK) and my advice is that any quality track pump should be able to inflate an appropriate tubeless conversion setup

if you need to flood the setup with a huge volume of air (i.e. a compressor) then its not a “good fit” and any problems on the trail are going to be very difficult to resolve.

It really comes down to issues of tolerance / fit between your chosen wheel rim and tire, and setup quality / technique of the conversion.

Personally I have run tubeless conversions for years, and would not use a setup that requires a compressor to inflate. I’ve switched choice of tires, or redone my setup if required to get an easily inflated conversion

I’ve been using the Bontrager Flashcharger for a few months now and it works really well, just seats everything with minimal hassle. They’re £85 at Pedalon, which isn’t cheap, but is still 15 quid off the RRP.

The main advantage it looks to have over the stand-alone commercial inflator is that you can simply carry on pumping in air if the tyre only partially inflates without disconnecting it and risking the beads popping back off and, of course, it’s a tack pump as well as a high pressure inflator.

I guess it depends how often you change tubeless tyres, but it takes most of the palaver out of the process.

While we are on the subject of difficult tubeless setup I wonder if anyone has had any experience trying to convert mavic 721’s (used to be D521) to tubeless ?

I’ve done loads of other conversions successfully but having a nightmare trying with this rim. I’ve tried loads of different tyres that I would normally consider good for tubeless but no luck. Any tyre is just so baggy on the rim. I’ve tried using a rim strip and a ghetto setup no it’s not going up.

I can get it to inflate with a compressor but as soon as you take the constant air supply away it goes down very quickly, it just won’t seat on the rim.

Think I’ll have to accept defeat with this rim, but before I do I wondered if anyone has managed to convert it to tubeless?

there’s a nice looking track pump specifically for tubeless……

flashcharger-floor-pump

Mine turned up at the LBS yesterday, not had a chance to go and get it yet, should be excellent if it does what it says on the tin though.

You can get small compressors with 15 litre reservoirs for £80 – they’ll always deliver more air than a track pump or flashcharger type pump.

So unless you have limited space, don;t like noisy compressors or go ghetto I’d look at at compressor for tubeless setup.

So unless you have limited space, don;t like noisy compressors or go ghetto I’d look at at compressor for tubeless setup.

Plus one. Always works (IME), safe and quick.

I’ve done 100’s of tubeless conversions (I used to work for the original Stan’s No Tubes distributor in the UK) and my advice is that any quality track pump should be able to inflate an appropriate tubeless conversion setup

if you need to flood the setup with a huge volume of air (i.e. a compressor) then its not a “good fit” and any problems on the trail are going to be very difficult to resolve.

I see what you’re saying, but 99% of trail side fixes that sealant and a bit of pumping doesn’t fix involve fitting a tube (maybe once a year, when a flint properly tears a tyre). I’ve had a fair few ‘proper’ UST tyres and rims that just won’t go up without a bit of a pop from a compressor. With the cost of a tube hovering around £5 and most non ghetto compressor equivalents coming in at around £80 anyway I think the compressor is the best option if you change tyres a bit or have a few bikes tubeless.

Plus you can paint the fence with it, mini sandblast a bit of rust off kit etc..

You can get small compressors with 15 litre reservoirs for £80 – they’ll always deliver more air than a track pump or flashcharger type pump.

Not much use at a race though!

if you need to flood the setup with a huge volume of air (i.e. a compressor) then its not a “good fit” and any problems on the trail are going to be very difficult to resolve.

I do agree, but I find tyres either get a bit baggy, or the tape gets compressed. I’m not going to buy new tyres every single time I want to change, nor am I going to add a turn of tape every single time I change tyres to bulk the rim out. If I have a problem on the trail that’s led to a complete deflation I’ll just stick a tube in. I’m not messing about with any tyre trying to get it to seal with a mini pump, or I have CO2, and it’s a moot point.

Ironically they worked a lot better before the advent of tubeless ready tyres IMO, old Evolution Schwalbes were flawless.

I wanted that Bontrager thing, couldn’t get one and ended up with a Lezyne Dirt Floor Drive.

It works strikingly well – the airflow is far better than the previous floorpumps I’ve had( but I can’t readily recall what those were, making this comment of little use…)

I’ll second the Lezyne Dirt Floor Drive, much much better than a standard track pump.

Any high volume track pump should work well for mtb tubeless tyres as opposed to a high pressure pump which are good for road tyres. eg the Lezyne Dirt pump is much better at getting tubeless tyres seated compared to their classic versions. Never had to use a compressor or reservoir type thing.

Could use an inverter at a race, assuming you don’t have two sets of wheels anyway? (keep the engine running though!)

I’ve not actually tried that though. Maybe need a generator and pimp your ‘pressor out to other racers to recoup

i agree with the above about choosing a wheelset thats easy to go tubeless, other wise it becomes a laborious horrible nightmare…

im now easily tubeless on the current rims with my track pump, but ill be getting a bonty flash charger or airhsot when i next have spare cash

then it really will be totally stress free swapping tyres and a 2 minute job max

if you cant get it on with a track pump, then for me its a real nightmare getting it sorted, i need to be able to do it at home if needed not rely on shops compressors etc to get a tyre on

Slight hijack:

Has anyone tried the Joe Blow Fat Pump? Without thinking too hard about it the high-volume aspect means it should be pretty good for precisely this application, right?

Could use an inverter at a race, assuming you don’t have two sets of wheels anyway? (keep the engine running though!)

I’ve not actually tried that though. Maybe need a generator and pimp your ‘pressor out to other racers to recoup

Or just buy the Bontrager pump 😉

I’ve had success with the non-dirt Lezyne floor drive too.

the new tubeless ready maxxis tyres go on my stans rims with a mini pump – rim / tyre combination is everything.

My Schawble tyres go on my UST rims with a standard floor pump but my Conti’s were a pain to get seated / sealed on the hardtail.

I gave in and bought a compressor and now they’re a piece of cake. My compressor was £100 from Screwfix, so the same as some of the posh track pumps. If anything happens on tehe trail, then its tube time for me.

I use a Joe Blow, had it for years, now on my 3rd pump head…

Thread hijack…

calling ‘esher shore’! I have been having issues with tyres not seating properly on Notubes rims. Still got a section of bead on my Minion DHF not seating. How high a pressure can I go to get it to seat? I have had more than one tyre blow off the rim and it scares the Sh1t out of me!

I use 21mm tape so that the bead seat area is clear and the tape can adhere to the rim-well properly.

I have been having issues with tyres not seating properly on Notubes rims. Still got a section of bead on my Minion DHF not seating. How high a pressure can I go to get it to seat? I have had more than one tyre blow off the rim and it scares the Sh1t out of me!

IMO you’re much better to pump to 20psi or so and physically try and pull the bead out, rather than rely on pure air pressure, which can just cause it to explode.

I had trouble with Specialized (2Bliss) Butchers on 819s recently – think that Leyzene will do nicely!

Do the compressor only crowd never go away for mtb holidays or go to races or anywhere that a tyre swap might be needed?

How high a pressure can I go to get it to seat?

Are you lubing the rim/bead with a bit of washing up liquid and water? I wouldn’t go with pressure alone.

I’d be getting worried at 30psi and probably let a bit of pressure out and try to pull it around by hand like njee says. By 40psi I’d be cowering waiting for the BANG!

Do the compressor only crowd never go away for mtb holidays

I’m reading this thread for that very reason. Wonder whether a ghetto inflater will arouse any suspicion at check in. Don’t think I will take it in my hand luggage.

I have a Lezyne Dirt Floor Drive siting around not being used as most of mine go up with my standard topeak. So if anyone want to buy it drop me an email, based in Surbiton but can meet around Central london if needed.

Thanks

Do the compressor only crowd never go away for mtb holidays or go to races or anywhere that a tyre swap might be needed?

I don’t race or go away for long holidays due to a baby and I’m largely too lazy to changes tyres….even before I went tubeless. I tend to go for tyres that do OK in all conditions rather than ones to suit certain conditions.

I’ll stick a Rock Razor on my full sus next month and that’ll stay on until September, then I’ll go back to a Hans Dampf.

i agree with the above about choosing a wheelset thats easy to go tubeless, other wise it becomes a laborious horrible nightmare…

I run Stans Flows and last year I gashed a tyre at a race rendering it un-tubless-able. Had no spares so bought a suitable tyre from the bike shop that was on-site. Absolutely no way my track pump, which never failed me before. was getting this on the rim. Even the portable compressor the bike shop had wouldn’t get it seated. Had to put a tube in overnight then remove and try again with the compressor in the morning, and even then it was a minor miracle it worked. That was tubeless rims and a tubeless ready tyre.

Do the compressor only crowd never go away for mtb holidays or go to races or anywhere that a tyre swap might be needed?

If I travelled a lot, maybe I’d try the Bonty pump. But more likely I’d take or build a ghetto inflator there. Or just not swap tyres, I generally swap in Autumn to something spiky and back to faster treads in Spring.

Just saying for a 100% solution, if I’m spending £80, I’d get a compressor. If the pump or the cannister thingy were under 40 I’d give them a go, sure.
But I already have a compressor and an inverter anyway, just not tried it out and about as I’ve not had a need too.

Mine turned up at the LBS yesterday, not had a chance to go and get it yet, should be excellent if it does what it says on the tin though.

If it doesn’t you can borrow my compressor 😀

If it doesn’t you can borrow my compressor

Even if you do have an inverter most compressors are a bit of a ball ache to take to races – but if you have one with you in the field anyway then that’d be great!

So went and got the Flash Charger today, tried it on a Thunder Burt on my LB rims – baggy fit, no chance with a track pump. Flash Charger was a little underwhelming first time, not much happened. Cleaned the valve out a bit (core still in) and it worked straight off. Impressed. Does what it says on the tin.

We’ve recently got a Lezyne Dirt high volume thing and I wouldn’t say it is any better for tubeless than our battered 20 year old SKS track pump (and due to high volume won’t do anything over 70 psi). And the screw on valve fitting is the most useless piece of junk I’ve ever had the displeasure to use (slow to fit and remove, leaky and randomly unscrews valve cores at the worst possible moment).

As said before – a good setup won’t need anything more than a regular track pump. I’ve found a number of slacker tyre / rim combos needed to be inflated with a tube first and then a slosh of sealant and some furious track pumping – but everything worked in the end without inflators or compressors.

Trouble with really slack combos is that the do the tube thing, then deflate to remove and the bead unseats. If I’ve got a really baggy tyre I’ll put another turn of tape on, but that adds weight and makes tighter tyres really tight.

The Flash Charger certainly seems like it’ll work on those awkward combos, I’d be a lot more keen to randomly change tyres with a spare 10 mins!

I have the Leyzne pump. It’s not bad at getting tubeless tyres up, but I’m sending it back this week due to the fact The gauge is 15 psi out. I’ve heard this is a common problem which isn’t good enough IMO

Went for a steel floor drive. Seems like a very nice pump. Certainly better made than my old one.

Used my Flash Charger for the first time last night, as the others say, it does exactly as it says on the tin. Got tyres up that my Lezyne wouldn’t.