Ever since I got my Road Tubeless wheelset, I have wanted an air compressor. If you have ever tried to mount tubeless tires with a hand pump, you know what I am talking about. There is plenty of advice online about selection of an inflator. There are not a lot to choose from and the Park Tool inflator is the gold standard. Things got a little more complicated with the compressor. There is really no information online to aid in the selection of a home compressor specific for bicycle use. I made one mistake and almost made a bigger one. Based on that, I think this is a story that merits retelling if it can help someone else avoid the same mistakes.
I asked Dawn to buy me a compressor for my birthday. I selected a portable 3 gallon 135 psi Craftsman compressor from the Sears store. The 135 psi rating was prominent on the packaging and that seemed like plenty of pressure for bike tires. Then I got the thing home. It was a piece of crap. It vibrated all over the floor with a noise like demons being tortured. It struggled to maintain 80 psi. I took it back to the Sears store for a refund. They explained that the 135 psi rating referred to the maximum pressure capacity of the tank and made no guarantee that the compressor would produce that pressure..
By happenstance, I met one of the salesmen from Sunroc building materials. He told me to come over to their store and he would help me pick out a compressor that would get the job done. I went to Sunroc later that afternoon, but prior to that I went online and identified the Dewalt 2.5 gallon 200 psi compressor that I ultimately purchased. Sunroc did not have the Dewalt compressor in stock, but it was available through their corporate distributor. I suggested we order it, but the Sunroc guy said it would be grossly inadequate and would not produce the 110psi that I needed for a road tire. He showed me a couple of different 3 hp industrial type compressors. I think this guy was 100% well intentioned but the compressors he wanted to sell were fairly expensive and they were huge. They would be fine in a big farm shop, but cumbersome in a garage or basement bike shop. Nevertheless, this guy spoke with some authority and had me convinced that the smaller compressors would be inadequate. I was ready to buy the big compressor, but I forced myself to control my impatience and get a second opinion. It was like the Simpsons episode in which Moe buys a massive navy surplus deep fat fryer and boasts to Homer that it will flash fry a buffalo in seven seconds. Homer complains: “But I want it now!”
I talked to Brian, Ryan, and Joe who all had some experience with compressed air. They advised me not to buy the big compressor. Ryan took my inflator home and tried it with a compressor similar to the Dewalt compressor. It worked great. Based on Ryan’s recommendation, I bought the compressor. I set it up this morning. The new compressor is compact, quiet, and powerful. It produces a constant 200 psi, but you can regulate the output lower. I have the output set at 110 psi. The Park Tools inflator is easy to use and easy to modulate. I have filled a number of road and mountain tires this morning to test it out. This is not really something that most cyclists need at home. It is a probably a necessity in a busy retail shop, but a luxury for most home shops.
One final thought. As I am typing this, I am watching Voigt’s hour record attempt on a second screen. Go Jens!
Cooper Freer Compressors is an established compressed air service provider in Northampton, Corby, Leicester, and Peterborough. Over the years, we have been meeting many and varied compressed air demands of our customers across the UK. We specialize in supplying new air compressor installations, repair and maintenance across many industry sectors.
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