Tech Tuesday: Inflate Your Air-Shock Without a Pump

May 10, 2011

by Richard Cunningham

Ever try to adjust the pressure in your fork or shock on the trail and accidentally release all the air? If you don't have a shock pump handy, it's probably game over. Don't bother attempting to pressurize it with a tire-pump. Air-sprung shocks and forks have such small reservoirs, that the minuscule air seepage that occurs when the pump-head is attached and removed from the valve defeats the process. Shock pumps have special inflation heads that retain an airtight seal while the head is engaging the valve stem. This allows users to precisely inflate their shocks and forks. You may have another inflation tool in your arsenal which, if used carefully, will recharge your saggy suspension in a split second.

Two classics: an Innovations Co2 inflation device and a Park Mini tool.

What you'll need to pull this off:
• A Schrader-adaptable Co2 inflation device that can be metered.
• At least one Co2 cartridge.
• A small Allen wrench or a shaped air cap that fits inside the Schrader valve to release pressure.

If your air cap has a pointed top, you can use it to tap the valve stem to release gas pressure from the shock.

Riders who carry Co2 inflation devices will discover that a short burst of high-pressure carbon dioxide will do the trick. The key element to this magic is that the pressure in a Co2 cartridge is so high, (over 1,000psi) that the inflation device will unseat the Schrader valve and fill the reservoir without the need to depress the stem. Follow these simple steps to get your suspension back in the game:

1- Check if your pressure head will adapt to your fork or shock's Schrader valve (most will) and next, ensure that the pressure head can make a tight seal. Often, suspension valves are tucked out of reach of right-angle heads, so if you choose a device, purchase a straight type, or one with a slim-profile, angle-head.

Use caution when inflating the shock. Short bursts will do the trick - and don't worry about threading the inflater on the valve stem, the Co2 pressure will overpower the valve.

2- Load the cartridge. We prefer the simple screw-in/screw-out Genuine Innovations Microflate Nano. Have your shock or fork's air cap removed and a small Allen key or similar device handy to release pressure.

3- Press the head onto the valve (or screw it on, depending on the head) and then inflate the air-spring with a very short burst of Co2. Be conservative - your inflation device can overpressure the reservoir in the blink of an eye.

Use a small Allen wrench to access the valve tip and tap it lightly to control how much pressure you release.

4- At this point, your fork or shock will be as hard as a rock. Some air caps have a small spike on the top to assist in releasing gas pressure. Hold the cap inverted on the valve stem and tap it with a finger to release pressure in small spurts. Use an Allen key to tap the valve stem if your air cap won't do. Give your fork or shock a shove every so often to check for the correct pressure and stop when it feels close. If you are a fastidious whiner type who absolutely MUST have the perfect suspension sag setup, then read step five carefully.

5- WARNING. Suspension makers will cry like babies when they read this tip. Inflating your suspension with a mega-high-pressure Co2 device is an emergency trailside measure to be executed with care. Get it right the first time because this method, in the best case, will run the air pressure to or slightly over the manufacturer's maximum values. Get your suspension close enough to ride home and call it good. Use the reminder of the gas to fix a flat - you'll have plenty left.

Got a trailside suspension tip? We'd love to hear it.

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Tech Tuesday

Author Info:

RichardCunningham
Member since Mar 23, 2011
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54 Comments

55 2

Downhill340 (May 10, 2011 at 0:22)

When I read the title I thought he was going to use his mouth to blow it up :LOL:

Greenwood102 (May 10, 2011 at 5:21)

haha your mouth would probably just explode

48 3

pedalbitesucks (May 10, 2011 at 10:29)

I know a few girls that could probably do it.

jamesridesbikes (May 10, 2011 at 10:32)

haha me too man

pieters (May 10, 2011 at 11:30)

yeah i was thinking it would be a genius solution witch required less tools but no, i guess no pump means buy something else instead...

Downhill340 (May 10, 2011 at 14:33)

Any way there is no point in this.You can use a pump multiple time you would have to refill the canister every time (if you can refill them) Bring a pump its cheaper.

Caiokv FL (May 10, 2011 at 14:48)

cgi.ebay.com/Blackburn-Toolmanator-3-Bike-Multi-Tool-Shock-Pump-/270745354765?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f09ae420d#ht_2564wt_822

todtay (May 10, 2011 at 19:36)

pedalbitesucks, leave yur mom and sisters out of this.

Lester22291 (May 10, 2011 at 21:28)

that little pump really isnt going to help you if you lose all your pressure, its for making "minor adjustments". if you lose all the pressure in your shock (although i dont really see how that could happen) this seems like a great way to get you home.

excellent tech tuesday in my opinion

15 0

samnation FL (May 10, 2011 at 7:41)

Boom problem solved
www.blackburndesign.com/tool_toolmanator3_new.html

whattheheel (May 10, 2011 at 8:26)

+1!!!!

scottvt (May 10, 2011 at 13:07)

Now thats a cool multi tool.

Caiokv FL (May 10, 2011 at 14:44)

OMG whoever did it is a genius!

mountguitars (May 10, 2011 at 19:26)

any reviews of this tool? if it works this is probably the most awesome multi tool i've ever seen.

whattheheel (May 11, 2011 at 8:08)

I have played with it for a while. Your defo not going to air up your shock from 0 to 200 but for smaller tweaks and stuff like that it is an awesome setup!

T-woot (May 10, 2011 at 0:30)

I don't carry CO2 yet. Hand pump hasn't let me down yet you know? During long rides or where there aren't typically any other cyclist I carry my shock pump just to be safe, beats walking back to the car or having to deal with a soft shock for miles on end. Interesting tip though, reminds me of putting a bunch of leaves in your tire if you didn't have a spare tube to get home.

riggadon (May 10, 2011 at 8:20)

A co2 pump is so worth it. Just get a small nozzle thing that takes threaded and non threaded cartridges. I buy 10 packs of co2 cartidrages made for bb guns for really cheap, and they fill up a tire instantly

Caiokv FL (May 10, 2011 at 14:43)

you can also tie a knot in your tire, it works awesomely well! In case of flats, not in case of low shock pressure.

hahahaha

iamamodel (May 10, 2011 at 20:39)

As an environmentalist and a racer, I find a happy medium in only using a CO2 during a race. Out on the trail it is hand-pump only. The good thing is that I've never flatted during a race since switching to tubeless a year ago.

riggadon (May 11, 2011 at 9:00)

makes sense. i guess my trade off is that i ride my bike everywhere, so the amount of c02 a little canister emits is nothing compared to the co2 i would emit if i were to drive places

iamamodel (May 11, 2011 at 20:59)

^^ Oh, I wasn't even considering the CO2, I was thinking of the energy and materials gone into making the canisters. My floor pump is 20 years old, and both my hand pump in my pack is about 15 years old, so I think their environmental impact has been paid in kind. I know CO2 canisters are recyclable, but thaqt takes energy too. Hand pumps convert food to air-pressure. Plus a tyre inflated by hand will stay inflated MUUUUCH longer than one inflated with CO2 (CO2 leaks out of butyl rubber in half a day).

wake-n-rake (May 10, 2011 at 8:50)

Ummmmm.....stating the bleeding obvious, but why not check the pressure before a ride? If the pressure drops drastically during a ride, I'm not convinced that telling people to risk 'blowing up' their shocks is the right thing to do!

camdenthekid (May 10, 2011 at 13:55)

yeah thats some pretty sketchy stuff goin on

12 2

TheoSheridan (May 10, 2011 at 0:11)

I would NEVER put a C02 cartridge ANYWHERE near my suspension... I'd rather walk home TBH

freddiehg (May 10, 2011 at 0:13)

why not? im not ignoring the fact that very few of us would ever have need for this specific product, but why exactly would you refuse this product?

21 2

TheoSheridan (May 10, 2011 at 0:15)

It just scares me. Not gonna risk $600+ of suspension for the sake of finishing a ride...

WAKIdesigns (May 10, 2011 at 0:16)

Yea, I would rather buy (and I have bought) a handpump with low/high pressure modes... co2 cartridge is good for racers only, period.

mozz (May 10, 2011 at 5:07)

Also CO2 had a lower specific heat capacity, meaning your damper heats up the spring rate will increase more than usual and it will heat the oil more than usual. Imo it would be better to ride with a flat shock.

19 1

lux-freerider (May 10, 2011 at 8:43)

Crazy idea : Just carry around a 20$ shock pump on your riding bag ...

allebong (May 10, 2011 at 9:09)

Agreed. What's the point in explaining how precise a shock pump has to be compared to a tire pump, then suggest we use something even less accurate? And would I be the only one who is uneasy with putting a 1000psi cartridge near a 300psi rated shock? Ok if the internal volume of the shock is much less it'd be ok, but I wouldn't take that chance.

Or my solution: use coil forks

WAKIdesigns (May 10, 2011 at 9:38)

I was speaking of pretty inaccurate pump that I own, apparently from Specialized. Has low/high volume switch on it, one for tyres, one for shocks, sucks for both, but it's better than nothing and it's light. As I would with any pump, I use it only as a emergency solution, to get you home without too much swearing. Carrying a shock pump in your backpack on a XC/AM ride, sounds to me even more wrong than using Co2 cartridges.

lux-freerider (May 11, 2011 at 8:57)

Why is carrying a shock pump in your backpack around wrong ? I have my shock pump and tire pump with me on all rides, don't see any downsides to that ...

10 0

juanny (May 10, 2011 at 8:52)

"At this point, your fork or shock will be as hard as a rock."

READ: OVERINFLATED and probably f*cked

blendo (May 10, 2011 at 9:50)

Conspiracy theory: this Tech Tuesday was paid for by local bike shops and suspension companies. When we wreck our shocks trying this we'll have to bring them in to get them serviced and they'll make money.

tacevil (May 10, 2011 at 9:01)

This is tech advice!Wow.Maybe next week we can learn how to stuff a flat with leave,grass and other crap on the ground.Thanks for the expert advice.

jcook1989 (May 11, 2011 at 11:32)

1. I'm certain that on the ride where your shocks air valve comes off and something sneaks up there to release the pressure you already had better odds of being mauled by a cougar.

2. I would so much rather walk out then potentially ruin a $300+ air shock.

Tech Tuesday's slipping.

orientdave (May 10, 2011 at 6:12)

Just asking.... unless you are a racer and don't have the space, why wouldn't you take a shock pump instead of a tyre pump?. I take my shock pump.... and er... use it on both the tyres and shock if needed.

taletotell (May 10, 2011 at 6:48)

That must take forever to pump up a tire. At least you get your pressure right though

taletotell (May 10, 2011 at 6:51)

Very MacGyver. I can't knock ingenuity.
I just carry along a shock pump too. It weighs less than the amount of water I go through in a ride and it's rotational weight that really makes the difference for handling anyway, right?

DARKSTAR63 (May 10, 2011 at 8:49)

Yeah, I agree that its a cool trick. Im just not sure I will ever run into this problem. I check my shock before rides, not with a pump but by feel. I check with a pump every third or fourth ride just because sometimes the shock has a tendancy to slowly bleed off air. Otherwise I leave it alone. I would never try to let air out half way through a ride unless I had a shock pump handy, because more often then not you let out too much when you depress the valve- even if you are careful. When I first got the bike.....I was playing around alot with the pressures, so I just carried my pump with. Now that I think on it, the only scenario would be this. Your shock begins to leak just fast enough that it needs air to get back to your car. You have no pump handy so you use the Co2.........the shock needs to be overhauled anyways because its leaking so why not give it a whirl.

yannickbisson (May 10, 2011 at 15:44)

There ya go. Hell, I carry both pumps...always. Someone always needs help.

taletotell (May 10, 2011 at 17:31)

The day you don't bring it is the day you need it.

wookiefreeride (May 10, 2011 at 8:13)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... just ride with a pump.

necronutz (May 10, 2011 at 7:52)

i have to agree with TheoSheridan, but there is a solution

www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=47184&menuItemId=0&eid=0

jagarcia89 (May 10, 2011 at 7:41)

I just carry the specialized pump, it goes from shock pump to tire pimp with the rotation of a switch

ericraabe (May 10, 2011 at 9:40)

have fun when you crash and it explodes in your pants

dom69foco (May 10, 2011 at 12:33)

and what explodes in your pants..?

ericraabe (May 11, 2011 at 9:41)

CO2 cartridge

dom69foco (May 11, 2011 at 16:42)

oh i set you up nicely there and you wasted it!

Worm-Burner (May 12, 2011 at 3:54)

Oh? I thought he meant that pouch of sticky Gel I carry around...

ericraabe (May 12, 2011 at 13:25)

mature...just like a pinkbike name with the number 69 in it

dom69foco (May 12, 2011 at 14:55)

maturity is overrated

ericraabe (May 13, 2011 at 9:36)

only joking

zakholmes96 (May 10, 2011 at 7:48)

jxj