Tire pump advice

[Pedro]

5 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Garage tire inflators are also woefully inaccurate. 

Days and days on the road not in 4 star surroundings finding and paying for air becomes very tiresome. 

Hence the suggestion of overinflating at the end of the day and using your precision tool to adjust down to proper pressure wherever you rest.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

3 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Hence the suggestion of overinflating at the end of the day and using your precision tool to adjust down to proper pressure wherever you rest.

Still have the inconvenience of finding and stopping to inflate.

Thats the bit that gets very boring when you’re so tired after days n days in a row. 

Have a trusty old tyre pressure gauge, still love it but all it told me is ok you’re fine to go or worse you’re not so go find something else to do the inflating. 

[Sir Fallsalot]

8 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Still have the inconvenience of finding and stopping to inflate.

Thats the bit that gets very boring when you’re so tired after days n days in a row. 

Have a trusty old tyre pressure gauge, still love it but all it told me is ok you’re fine to go or worse you’re not so go find something else to do the inflating. 

As far as accuracy goes at the speeds you riding tyre pressure is not so important i run 15psi on and off road on the 650 and notice very little difference in the way the bike rides with correct pressures in them so 5psi out you wouldnt notice unless your rubbing the footrests in every bend and getting the tyres hot

 

[Sir Fallsalot]

9 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Ok no sterling pound coins available. Looks like my wallet is almost fully euro

A fiver is all I have for comparison but you get the idea. It’s smaller than a five pound note but bigger than 5 euros. Obviously the depth is missing but you can kind of get that from the pics.

 

I have lost my faith in the battery powered pumps since mine gave up the ghost, it's not had a lot of use and the last time i used it it showed 100% charged but went flat adding 4psi to the tyre plugged it in to recharge and it showed 100% charged tried it again it wouldn't pump left it on charge over night and still no joy so i repurposed it and now i plug it into the bike to power it

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

18 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

As far as accuracy goes at the speeds you riding tyre pressure is not so important i run 15psi on and off road on the 650 and notice very little difference in the way the bike rides with correct pressures in them so 5psi out you wouldnt notice unless your rubbing the footrests in every bend and getting the tyres hot

 

As someone who never bothered much with tyre pressure I learnt the hard way that it makes a difference to the stability on corners/roundabouts etc. particularly with a fully loaded bike. Very low tyre pressure feels like riding on jelly and properly inflated feels planted. 

Maybe you might not notice so much because all your off roading makes that unstable feeling second nature and your natural balance compensates, if they are too low I feel the difference.

At speed it’s the difference between enjoying a corner and backing off because the bike doesn’t feel right. It used to be only when that happened I’d eventually think what’s going on with the bike it doesn’t feel… doh

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

20 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

I have lost my faith in the battery powered pumps since mine gave up the ghost, it's not had a lot of use and the last time i used it it showed 100% charged but went flat adding 4psi to the tyre plugged it in to recharge and it showed 100% charged tried it again it wouldn't pump left it on charge over night and still no joy so i repurposed it and now i plug it into the bike to power it

I have no doubt it will have a limited lifespan (all the reviews for these things say as much) but it gets used so I’ll know when it’s on its way out and for the convenience the £27 it price is worth it. 

[Sir Fallsalot]

11 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I have no doubt it will have a limited lifespan (all the reviews for these things say as much) but it gets used so I’ll know when it’s on its way out and for the convenience the £27 it price is worth it. 

But that's just blind faith mine was used to top up the bike tyres in the garage when they needed it, i used mine probably a month before it's demise it was good then the next time it was toast there was no indication it was on its way out it just stopped so i decided i don't trust them anymore luckily it was in the garage and not out on the road where i rely on it and it could be the inconvenience of £27

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

24 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

But that's just blind faith mine was used to top up the bike tyres in the garage when they needed it, i used mine probably a month before it's demise it was good then the next time it was toast there was no indication it was on its way out it just stopped so i decided i don't trust them anymore luckily it was in the garage and not out on the road where i rely on it and it could be the inconvenience of £27

Fair enough. I like being able to turn up at airport parking do the tyres and leave, no wasting time checking the pressures and then having to go to garage to find air and when moving on everyday it’s a relief to not have to add finding air to the job list.

I suppose I consider its ability to fully inflate a flat not its primary purpose and won’t be fussed when it conks out. Where as that other compressor is more an emergency tool. I don’t want to carry both. 

[Sir Fallsalot]

On 26/03/2023 at 10:46, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Fair enough. I like being able to turn up at airport parking do the tyres and leave, no wasting time checking the pressures and then having to go to garage to find air and when moving on everyday it’s a relief to not have to add finding air to the job list.

I suppose I consider its ability to fully inflate a flat not its primary purpose and won’t be fussed when it conks out. Where as that other compressor is more an emergency tool. I don’t want to carry both. 

You can still do that with a pump that plugs into your bike but knowing your luck with batteries your better off with a hand pump 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

Just now, Sir Fallsalot said:

You can still do that with a pump that plugs into your bike but knowing with your luck with batteries your better off with a hand pump 

I did think that

Then I thought NOCO should make a plug one in for their jumpstarter. One battery pack that does everything, jumpstarts, inflates tyres, charges your phone/laptop etc etc 

And maybe a connector that allows you to leave it plugged into the bike and auto charges only when the bikes running. 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

I haven’t seen a pump that connects to your bike with a pressure gauge. Do they exist? 

[Sir Fallsalot]

5 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I haven’t seen a pump that connects to your bike with a pressure gauge. Do they exist? 

I've been using this AA recommended one for years its next to my battery one for a size comparison it fits in my jacket pocket. I did do a test on it a while back to see how accurate the gauge is i'll see if i can find it. I'm hoping my battery pump experience is a one off as i have a few friends that have had them longer than me and their still going but my confidence is gone in them but at the moment as a converted plug in it works better than the AA one

[Sir Fallsalot]

@Slowlycatchymonkey They all worked out to be within a few PSI of each other once i realised i lost air unscrewing the pipe off the valve 

[boboneleg]

I'm a great believer in the saying 'you get what you pay for'  . We all like a bargain but if you buy cheap then that's usually what you get, something that's made cheaply.

This is my Cyclepump air compressor, it's nearly 12 years old now and has never failed.  It is housed in a strong metal case so it can take the knocks when you're transporting it in your panniers over rough ground.  It has a brass chuck instead of plastic and the power cord is 8 foot long so you can plug into your bike and still blow up your mates tyre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

On 26/03/2023 at 12:15, Sir Fallsalot said:

I've been using this AA recommended one for years its next to my battery one for a size comparison it fits in my jacket pocket. I did do a test on it a while back to see how accurate the gauge is i'll see if i can find it. I'm hoping my battery pump experience is a one off as i have a few friends that have had them longer than me and their still going but my confidence is gone in them but at the moment as a converted plug in it works better than the AA one

How does this connect to a bike battery when your out and about?

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

20 hours ago, boboneleg said:

I'm a great believer in the saying 'you get what you pay for'  . We all like a bargain but if you buy cheap then that's usually what you get, something that's made cheaply.

This is my Cyclepump air compressor, it's nearly 12 years old now and has never failed.  It is housed in a strong metal case so it can take the knocks when you're transporting it in your panniers over rough ground.  It has a brass chuck instead of plastic and the power cord is 8 foot long so you can plug into your bike and still blow up your mates tyre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the simplicity but is there no gauge?

[boboneleg]

12 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I like the simplicity but is there no gauge?

I use a pencil gauge like this, fits in your pocket .....

 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

5 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

I use a pencil gauge like this, fits in your pocket .....

 

That’s what I automatically think of when I think of a tyre pressure gauge. 

I’m a bit torn, I want a compact all in one compressor that autostops inflation for everyday use but also something robust like you have. I’m put off by the extra faff plus I’m changing to NOCO battery conditioners out here (for the fast jump start if needed) and they don’t have the standard SAE end on them - of bloody course

I’ll probably just wait for my battery compressor to give up the ghost

 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

NOCO make this for tyre inflators etc so it’s a possibility

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GC010-X-Connect-Female-Plug/dp/B009MI9K1G/ref=asc_df_B009MI9K1G/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310668964056&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4170498781974596078&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-436575906943&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

[Sir Fallsalot]

4 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

How does this connect to a bike battery when your out and about?

I have a fag lighter on every bike even though i don't smoke  just plugs in there, i also back charge the battery on some of the bikes though them, makes it easy if their all the same

[boboneleg]

19 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

I have a fag lighter on every bike even though i don't smoke  just plugs in there, i also back charge the battery on some of the bikes though them, makes it easy if their all the same

I do the same but with SAE connectors

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

19 hours ago, boboneleg said:

I do the same but with SAE connectors

Ordered