important features, and share what you should know
Today, most keen cyclists are more aware of the importance and benefits of accurate tyre pressures than ever before. Add in increasing tyre volumes and faster pressure loss from tubeless and you have a list of reasons to own a decent pump with a trustworthy pressure gauge.
While floor pumps, air compressors, mini hand pumps, CO2 inflators, and dedicated pressure gauges continue to hold their respective places in the market with little innovation, the category of battery-powered electric inflators has quickly gone from underground to widespread. Now, with the simple push of a button from a hand-held device you can check and top up your pressures or effortlessly fill a flat tyre.
I’ve been actively testing and reviewing products in this category for over a decade (this may be my sixth written review on the subject?), and it’s safe to say that I’ve become a fan of some of these inflators that, in the simplest sense, could be viewed as pressure gauges that inflate.
Long promised and a few days late (we didn’t want this buried in all the amazing TDFF coverage), this edition of Threaded examines the current and rapidly changing state of portable electric tyre inflators. I’ll compare a handful of popular options, discuss what I consider important features, and share what you should know. I’ve tried to keep this one brief, but there are a lot of thoughts to air.
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