Road Tubeless & Air Compressors

[sethjs]

I've been experimenting with air compressors to mount/seat road tubeless tires. Not going super well, so hoping for collective wisdom.

The wheel's a Roval CLX 50 w/the default tape from Specialized.

I've tried mounting IRC RBCC Formula Pro 25c. And also Specialized SWorks Tubeless 26c.

Neither mounted easily. Multiple attempts. Multiple shots at spraying soapy water around the tire. Removed the valve core, etc.

The airshot canister was much more successful at getting the tire to seat.

I've now tried with both a Porter Cable (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006C ... UTF8&psc=1) and a Bostitch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042 ... UTF8&psc=1)

What on earth am I doing wrong? I'd have imagined it'd seat super easily.

[pedale]

What's wrong with the airshot?

Those compressors would only provide you a slightly bigger tank, but what you need the most to set tires is high flow not volume, and not using your arms to pump.

[Miller]

What on earth am I doing wrong? I'd have imagined it'd seat super easily.

If a TLR tyre is reluctant to inflate my second reaction (first is to be cursing the damn thing) is to add a layer of tape to the wheel. Do one diameter with a bit of overlap. You don't need to do anything special to seat the tape, air pressure will do that, you can remount the tyre immediately and try inflating it again. Extra tape generally does the trick.

[velomane]

I might be stating the obvious, but are you removing the valve core? I take out the core, then use a schraeder adapter. Works every time, including my very first try at mounting a tubeless tire.

[kode54]

Yes, helps with filling the gap so the tire bead can pop on. Before this, air would leak out and no compressor or CO2 or anything helped. Adding the extra layer of tape provided enough seal to get the tire to set.

What on earth am I doing wrong? I'd have imagined it'd seat super easily.

If a TLR tyre is reluctant to inflate my second reaction (first is to be cursing the damn thing) is to add a layer of tape to the wheel. Do one diameter with a bit of overlap. You don't need to do anything special to seat the tape, air pressure will do that, you can remount the tyre immediately and try inflating it again. Extra tape generally does the trick.

[sethjs]

So the problem I'm having isn't getting it to retain air once it's seated. Rather, I'm having trouble getting it seated into the two channels. I was actually wondering if I should take out a layer of tape.

Yes - I am removing the valve core.

[AJS914]

If you are getting air into the tire then you need to over inflate it until the tire pops into the two channels. Just mounting Conti GP4000s on a tubeless rim takes 120 psi to get the tire to pop on. I normally run them at 75/80psi.

[MikeD]

It's volume (not necessarily pressure) that seats tires. Tire inflator chucks are flow restricted. I had to use a high flow air duster nozzle with the valve core removed to seat a set of tires with an air compressor. This is with tubeless tires that were used and I think the beads stretched a little so they didn't make a good seal with the rim bed so they wouldn't pop out to the sides.

[sethjs]

I was wondering about this. I've been using the Prestaflator to regulate the pressure. Been wondering if it restricts the flow too much and what to try hooking up to the compressor instead.

[AJS914]

It's volume (not necessarily pressure) that seats tires.

Isn't volume and pressure essentially the same thing? A higher pressure means a larger volume of air entering the tire. Anyway, it has worked for me so far. Overinflate until the tire pops on and then back off the pressure to the desired riding pressure. I'm sure lubricant also helps here to get the tire bead into the channel.

[kode54]

not really.

mtb tires is more about volume
road tires is more about pressure

that said, alot of floor pumps are made specifically for mtb and road tires...specific to volume versus pressure.

[TobinHatesYou]

It’s airflow (CFM, M^3/H) that matters in all scenarios, HTH. Obviously “HV” pumps with bigger cylinders are capable of more airflow per stroke.

[MikeD]

It's volume (not necessarily pressure) that seats tires.

Isn't volume and pressure essentially the same thing? A higher pressure means a larger volume of air entering the tire. Anyway, it has worked for me so far. Overinflate until the tire pops on and then back off the pressure to the desired riding pressure. I'm sure lubricant also helps here to get the tire bead into the channel.

No, they are not and you need both pressure and high volume to make it work, but be careful you don't use too high a pressure or you risk blowing the tire off the rim. You can set the regulator pressure on the compressor to prevent that. If you're not getting enough air flow rate, you can't build up enough pressure in your tire because the air is leaking out between the rim and the beads faster than its coming in.

[dim]

What on earth am I doing wrong? I'd have imagined it'd seat super easily.

If a TLR tyre is reluctant to inflate my second reaction (first is to be cursing the damn thing) is to add a layer of tape to the wheel. Do one diameter with a bit of overlap. You don't need to do anything special to seat the tape, air pressure will do that, you can remount the tyre immediately and try inflating it again. Extra tape generally does the trick.

+1
also, you can add sealant to the tyre before you attempt to pump, this does the trick aswell

[petert123]

Even with wheels that are "tubeless-ready", like Hunt's where they really push going tubeless, I had to put a normal inner tube into the tyre - inflate it - leave it a bit - take it out and it seated very easily.

After 6 months of seeing what the tubeless fuss is about, I'm going back to tyres and tubes - it simply does not solve a problem on the road, I still get punctures and by the number of threads on WW it's plain unreliable - don't see any threads about mounting tyres and tubes here?