Okay, so most of you have probably seen ghetto systems for seating tubeless tyres onto rims that people have made out of old drinks bottles. Well Airshot is the refined, reliable head of the class – this is our Airshot review. Charles Jones from South Wales first borrowed his friend’s homemade setup a year ago. He then made his own improved version, spending eight months taking his prototype along the ever winding road to production. Charles not only wanted a more reliable product but a safer, more efficient one too. Would you honestly be happy pumping up an Irn Bru bottle to 160psi?

The Airshot is the saviour of tubeless setup.

I have to say I was excited when the Airshot box landed on my desk, mainly because of the ease I hoped the tubeless system would bring to a sometimes frustrating workshop task. The pastel blue aluminium exterior is pleasing to the eye, whilst the metal fittings and two-way air valve instantly fill you with confidence. Time, care and attention have gone into the final product. The metal bottle has a capacity of 1.15ltrs. Attached to it is a 500mm rubber hose that joins the bottle via the air tap, whilst the top of the bottle holds the main interface; a presta valve.

Removing the presta valve core will help inflate the most stubborn of tyres.

Eager to see the Airshot in action, I quickly attached my regular track pump to the Airshot’s valve. The instructions say not to fill the bottle with any more than 160psi – I chose to take it to 120psi. In the box you get fittings for presta valves and a neat little adaptor for inflating a presta valve with its valve core removed. I opted for leaving the valve core in for my first try. Once you’ve screwed the Airshot onto your valve you simply open the air tap and let physics run its course.

I was greeted with the reassuring bangs and pops as the tyre’s bead seated on the rim in a satisfactory manner. The tyre was on and only needed a quick top-up with the track pump. Remember, the main use of the Airshot is to seat the tyre, something that is normally a faff if you don’t own a compressor. Again its main usage is out in the field or in home workshop situations. When topping up the tyre’s air you can simply leave the pump on the bottle and keep pumping through the bottle to get your desired pressure. The 120psi I had in the bottle translated to 30psi in the tyre. This transfer is all down to how well your tyre fits the rim, and the initial seal. When you have air in the bottle you can slowly hear it leaking, this is an intentional design feature. Charles understandably doesn’t want people riding around with the bottle on the bike or in a hydration pack fully pressurised!

Quality fittings give you reliability as well as efficiency.

So why Airshot?

• Reliable: Metal bottle and quality fittings.
• Safety: Pump up the bottle to 160psi with confidence.
• Ease of use: Simple air tap and presta valve fittings for use with or without a valve core.
• Price: A very fair price tag when you consider the quality and reliability.

We tried the Airshot with all manner of combinations, the more stubborn the tyre/rim combination the closer we took the bottle to its 160psi capacity.

We say:

Airshot is a must-have for all things tubeless. Even if you have a compressor at home, you will still need to change tyres at races or weekends away. Don’t risk a ghetto setup blowing up or breaking when you really need it. Airshot is a trouble-free easy way to inflate tubeless tyres.

Comments

comments

TAGS