How to Use an Air Compressor to Fill a Bike Tire
One often needs an air compressor to fill a bike tire. Unfortunately, the bike tires are too small for one’s mouth or hands as a pump. In these blog posts, we will talk about how to use an air compressor to fill a bike tire.
Using an air compressor will also save you time because it can take up to six hours for your body heat alone to inflate a bike tire. An air compressor is always available at most gas stations and auto shops, but it can also be purchased online or found at garage sales. Read on to know more information!
Why Should You Use an Air Compressor to Fill a Bike Tire?
Running a bike tire to near-empty is dangerous and reduces the life of your tires. Filling your tires back up with air will keep you safe and preserve your tires’ quality, so they last as long as possible.
Using an air compressor lets you fill your bike tires higher than usual, to reduce pressure for those bumpy roads or trails. You can find air compressors at any home improvement store, and they’re very cheap. It only takes a few minutes to buy one and set it up, so there’s no reason not to do it!
Things You’ll Need:
- An air compressor with rated pressure
- An air compressor hose
- An air compressor connector to attach to the nozzle
- A bike pump connector
Steps to Follow: How to Use an Air Compressor to Fill a Bike Tire
Step 1: Check Your Tire Pressure
To check your tire pressure, you’ll need to use an air pressure gauge. This piece of equipment can be found in most gas stations and corner stores, so it shouldn’t take long to track one down.
Next, remove the pressure cap (located on the rim of your tire) and place it on top of the air hose at the tip of your gauge. Once this is done, insert the tip of your hose into your valve stem.
Step 2: Read Your Tire Pressure
Once you’ve found a suitable area to insert the hose into your tire, use your free hand to turn the wheel of your bike so that it is facing you. Then, read the pressure amount found on the side of your tire’s valve stem.
Step 3: Add Pressure
After finding out the amount of air pressure that is needed to fill your tire, you next need to find an air compressor. Now, these can be found at many gas stations and corner stores as well, so it shouldn’t take too much time or effort for this step.
Step 4: Connect Your Hose
Attach the hose to the compressor’s pressure release valve, and turn the dial to the required tire pressure amount.
Step 5: Fill Your Tire
After adjusting your hose to receive the correct amount of air, use it to fill your tire. Continue doing this until you’ve reached your desired PSI. However, please remember that overfilling your tire may lead to an accident, so be careful and stop as soon as your tire is fully inflated.
Step 6: Remove Your Hose
Once your bike tire has been adequately filled with air, remove the hose from the valve stem. Then use your hand to cover it tightly so that no air can escape or enter.
Step 7: Put the Pressure Cap Back
Finally, put the pressure cap back onto your tire. This action can typically be completed by giving it a clockwise turn. From this point on, you should be able to ride your bike without having to worry about unexpected flat tires. Of course, you will need to repeat this process before every usage of the product.
Some Tips and Suggestions:
1. Use a small air compressor. A 16-20 gallon tank is the standard size but won’t have the capacity of larger units.
2. Place or mount your compressor to be near where you will be using it for easy access.
3. Make sure your compressor is set to the correct pressure corresponding with the target psi needed for your bike tire.
4. Use a pressure gauge if you have one so that you can monitor how much air is going into your bike tire, and be sure it’s in between 65-80 psi (recommended).
5. You can let out some air before you stop if it’s over 80 psi, but remember to add back in the same amount of air to reach your desired psi.
6. You can use other items such as a car tire pressure gauge and knuckle duster valve cap instead of an actual bike tire pump and an inflation hose.
7. Always check and see if your tube valve has an arrow or line pointing to it before you attempt to connect the inflation hose. This will help you locate/identify your valve stem.
Things to Know Before Using an Air Compressor:
1. Make sure you know what PSI your tire is supposed to be filled with so that you don’t under or over-fill it.
2. Make sure your tire is clean and free of sharp objects before using an air compressor to fill it.
3. Use a bike pump or a CO2 cartridge/pump to check that the bead around the rim has not been damaged in any way before using an air compressor to fill a tire. This is especially important if you have had a flat tire and used a CO2 cartridge to fill it.
4. Stop filling the tire as soon as the bead around the rim is inflated because you can easily damage your tube by over-filling it with air from an air compressor.
5. Never use an air compressor to inflate a tire with a tubeless valve because, as some people have tried and failed to do so, it is not effective.
How Do You Use a Tubeless Tire With an Air Compressor?
Air compressors are explicitly made for tires; they can fill a tire quickly and efficiently. This is helpful if you have a slow leak in one of your car’s tires or if you want to inflate the tires before driving on them. However, if you do not have an air compressor, there are other ways to increase your bike tires.
A bike tire may be filled by using a pump that attaches to the bike’s frame or by making an improvised pump from other objects. The advantage of using an air compressor is that it can fill both tires quickly, and it has the necessary power to inflate a small bike tire.
Final Words:
There are a few things to keep in mind when using an air compressor for bicycle tires. For starters, it is necessary to have the valve stem facing down to release any excess pressure before filling up the tire. The bike’s wheels should also be off the ground and positioned on either side where you will fill up your tires- this will allow for greater access to inflate both sides evenly.
Finally, never exceed 35 PSI as too much could lead to severe injury or damage! If you follow these simple steps on how to use an air compressor to fill a bike tire, you’ll soon find out how easy it is to take care of those pesky flat tires without having to lug around a bulky pump; everywhere!
