Keeping up with Tire Pressure

[Herkguy]

This is a very simple question but couldn't find the answer after 5 pages of search so here I am.

What do you guys use to fill up your tires in your garage? I am running out of quarters driving to the local gas station to fill up my bikes tires, plus I am not getting a good cold reading since I have to drive to fill them up.

I don't have any air tools, so would only need a compressor to fill up my bike and cars, do you guys have any cheap, but good, suggestions?

Also can anyone reccomend a good tire pressure gauge?

Finally, I have read 33 front and 36 rear, is that a pretty good starting guess? I weigh probably 200lbs geared.

Thanks!

 

[motojoe122]

I have a Slime kit for the bike, it comes with a little compressor and a bottle of Slime. Your local auto parts or Wally World should have it.

 

[ChevyFazer]

You could use a bicycle pump, or buy one of 12v tire compressors

 

[Erci]

Bicycle floor pump works perfectly well to top of tires. Only takes about 5-7 pumps per tire to bring it up by 1psi.

I do have air compressor.. LOVE it .. but used to use floor pump before without issues. 33/36 is fine. Manual states that load weight over 200 should go to 36/42, but to still use 33/36 for high speed riding.
I'd just keep it close to 33/36 full time (especially since you don't have a compressor).

 

[Botch]

My gas station is only two blocks away, so I ride, check, and fill (and the air is still free here in Utard).
You could measure the tires before you leave home, note that "the front is 3 psi low", drive to your gas station, measure, and then add 3 psi more from that reading...
Are your tires low often? I seem to only have to adjust pressure with the seasons. I also have one of the wireless pressure valve-cap systems, which was a great purchase!

 

[Norbert]

Good for you for keeping up with tire pressure!

I had the slime pump, but gave it to my brother....
Why? It was getting stripped by the tire valve threads.
Here's a good review:
Slime Air Compressor vs. AirMan Sparrow Air Compressor - webBikeWorld
Now in hindsight the slime pump will fulfill your needs. Plus, it's only like $30.

I also have an air compressor in my garage, like Erci.
It's great! I like all the attachments, too. Super-convenient.

Now, if you want a very high end air portable pump, check this out:
CyclePump
It's very reliable, has a great attachment to the valve, and can inflate your tire to 90psi --high enough to set the bead.
Pricey, but nice to have if you're in b.f.e. with a flat or a tire with a gash in it. In that case you have to take off the wheel. Break the tire bead. Put a radial patch on, and pump the tire back up.
Overkill if you're not going offroad.
Guess who got a cyclepump for christmas? (ME!!)

Also, a hand pump while touring gets old real quick. I had one and it sucked.
If you're really against electronics, check this one out.
AirRevolution Powersports Foot Pump Tire Inflator by MiniFootPump - MFP.AR : TwistedThrottle.com

 

[pulverizer]

A good bicycle tire manual pump works fine. Since you will only be adjusting your pressure a couple PSI at a time this is all you should need. I use one in combination with a good tire pressure gauge. You should be checking your tires frequently enough so that they are never off by a couple PSI anyway.

I use the same method for my car tires, but of course that takes a little more effort, since they hold a lot more volume of air...

 

[PhotoAl]

Have a small pancake air compressor from Harbor Freight. Use it for the FZ and the cars. For pressure have a QuickCar pro series 0-60 PSI guage - don't recall where I bought it maybe Cycle Gear on sale or from a vendor at the track. It is tough and has a large but not giant gauge.

 

[Motogiro]

I have a little Husky 1-1/2 gallon tank compressor and also a 7 gallon portable tank for road emergencies.
another thing I found out was as soon as I swapped from the rubber valves to metal (90 deg.) ones my tire pressure varies very little in comparison.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

+1 on the cycle pump. I don't do LD road trips without it...

Its a bit heavier duty than the Slime (I have the Slime pump on the boat, vibrates a bit)...


As for a very good gauge, I use the Accutire gauge:

Accutire MS 4710B Motorcycle Tire Pressure Gauge

Very accurate, to the half pound goes super low(as low as 5 PSI) as well as over 90 PSI. Its not built in so you can use it on all your vehicles. The small cycle pumps also can be carried on the road as well for emergencies..

Small pancake compressors (about 5 Gallons) are small enough to store (at home) and on sale can be obtained for under $100 (I bought a Porter Cable for $80.00).

For the garage, my Porter Cable 20 gallon, 2 HP, 150 PSI, 110 volt takes care of everything else..

 

[Drinky]

I have a regular air compressor as well. Works fine.
My bmw has tire pressure control so I never have to check

 

[Clovis]

I use a slime air compressor. Cost $15 at Lowes.

Basically one of these.

Slime COMP04 Tire Inflator

I throw it in a bag along with a tire gauge. Make sure you pack a tire gauge as the built in one isn't accurate at all.

 

[mave2911]

I use nitrogen in my tyres - and as nitrogen is inert, stable, doesn't increase pressure when hot and doesn't seep through the rubber like air, I only have to check my tyres about every 6 mths or so.

Don't know who'd supply it in the States (or other places) but Bob Jane T-Marts are the only place to get it here (short of buying your own cylinders)

It is also used in commercial aircraft tyres, and is said to increase mileage etc.

All I know is that with nitrogen, the hot tyre pressure is the same as when cold, and they don't lose pressure.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[04fizzer]

I have a Slime kit for the bike, it comes with a little compressor and a bottle of Slime. Your local auto parts or Wally World should have it.

That's what I use for my bike, truck, and my wife's car. It takes for ever on my truck tires, but it works pretty well for the bike.

 

[04fizzer]

I use nitrogen in my tyres - and as nitrogen is inert, stable, doesn't increase pressure when hot and doesn't seep through the rubber like air, I only have to check my tyres about every 6 mths or so.

Don't know who'd supply it in the States (or other places) but Bob Jane T-Marts are the only place to get it here (short of buying your own cylinders)

It is also used in commercial aircraft tyres, and is said to increase mileage etc.

All I know is that with nitrogen, the hot tyre pressure is the same as when cold, and they don't lose pressure.

Cheers,
Rick

I call BS on the whole nitrogen thing. For 1, inert doesn't mean squat. Nitrogen still follows the ideal gas law in that as temperature increases/decreases, so does the pressure in a fixed volume.

Also, as air is 70% nitrogen, IF nitrogen isn't leaking out of the tire but O2 and whatever else is in the air does leak out, wouldn't that mean that after a couple "top offs", the tire would contain mostly nitrogen anyway? It's all hype.

 

[2006_FZ6]

I use one of those little Black and Decker air compressors. I used it for the kids soccer, basketball, football, etc but found it worked fine for tires. It takes a little longer to fill up more volume in the FZ6 tires. But it's handy and there is an automatic shutoff you can adjust when the pressure gets to the pound you desire.

 

[Dave.TX]

My bike has Shinko tires on it and the air pressure is pretty steady most of the time. I do have an air compressor at home (love it!) so that makes things easy. I do need to get a travel compressor though.

 

[Evitzee]

A simple bicycle pump works fine in the garage, no need to break out a compressor. I check every couple of weeks and adjust it as necessary. Simple.

 

[mave2911]

I call BS on the whole nitrogen thing. For 1, inert doesn't mean squat. Nitrogen still follows the ideal gas law in that as temperature increases/decreases, so does the pressure in a fixed volume.

An interesting read...

 

[ChevyFazer]

I call BS on the whole nitrogen thing. For 1, inert doesn't mean squat. Nitrogen still follows the ideal gas law in that as temperature increases/decreases, so does the pressure in a fixed volume.

Also, as air is 70% nitrogen, IF nitrogen isn't leaking out of the tire but O2 and whatever else is in the air does leak out, wouldn't that mean that after a couple "top offs", the tire would contain mostly nitrogen anyway? It's all hype.

It's not hype nitrogen is better then compressed air because of one thing, pure nitrogen contains 0 moisture and moisture is what mainly causes things to leak out over time, also nitrogen dose follow the same law but it changes a lot more gradual so you don't have quick pressure fluctuation, wich also contributes to better tread life. After all most race teams fill there tires with nitrogen, I dont think they would do it just for hype when tires are more often then not the most important part of therir set up