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Tubeless Inflator - Scrimper Style

Apr 1, 2015 at 2:49
by Luka Chadwick  
In many cases, you can set up a tubeless tyre with a track pump and some big arm muscles, but thats a whole lotta' effort when there is a very simple method to going tubeless using old stuff you'll find in the recycling bin or at the bottom of your bike box. In this article I will explain how to make your own inflator and set up a wheel tubeless. Sorry for the crappy pictures and the dirty floor, and worse still, dirty bike. (I know, I'm going to hell) THIS IS NO APRIL FOOLS!

You will need:

2 x presta valves with removable cores
1 1.5l plastic bottle
A pair of mole grips
A track pump
A bucket of soapy water
A set of tyre levers
60ml (or 75ml if you want to be extra safe)
A TR tyre and wheel, taped up with a TR valve
An electric drill with a 6mm bit
A bit of blue tac or sugru
A couple of small zipties
A set of pliers
A short length of rubber tubing (I got some airline tubing from a fish shop)
If the tubing blocks the air getting into the presta valve you will also need a teet from an old lube bottle

To make your inflator

Drill two holes side by side in the bottle lid

Cut out the valves leaving a bit of inner tube.

Remove the core from one valve

Thread the two valves up through the wholes you drilled and lock them with the lock rings. Tighten up as tight as possible with a pair of pliers.

On the inside of the lid, you can put a bit of blue tac or sugru to make sure it's air tight. Don't put in on the cap's thread though.

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If your tubing is about 5mm thick you can avoid this step, but any smaller and you'll need to pull out the teet dispenser from an old lube bottle with some pliers and then cut out about 5mm of the thickest section of the cone part. Push this about 1.5 cm into one end of your tubing. The top of the presta tubeless valve should sit in this part to allow the airways to not be blocked by the otherwise tight tube.

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Push the other end of tubing onto the coreless valve in the lid. Put a ziptie or two on it to hold it tightly.

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Screw the bottle onto the lid.

Put the mole grips on the tube to stop air escaping and then put your track pump on the second valve in the lid. Pump up the bottle and check for air leaks. If you hear something leaking, first check the mole grips are tight, then check the bottle and lid are tight, next the individual valves, and finally push the pump onto the valve to make sure it's properly locked. Check again and repeat until no air escapes.

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Set up your wheel:

It helps to have had the tyre inflated with a tube for about 48h before you set it up just to make it more pliable.

Clean the rim well and the inside of the tyre with the water. Dry the rim and tape it with tubeless tape or a bit of duct tape a couple of times around, if not already done. Now apply the rim tape, again if not already done. If your rim tape doesn't have a valve in it, apply a tubeless valve and tighten it up.

Wet the tyre bead and rim with soapy water and put the tyre on the rim.

DO NOT YET APPLY YOUR SEALANT!

Put the tubing of your inflator over the valve on your rim and pump the bottle to about 60 psi.

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Hold the tube on the valve and release the mole grips. Inflate until you hear the tyre 'pop' into the rim.

Check for any leakages or whole in the tyre. You may need to patch up any wholes with a super patch.

If you have to fix a whole in your tyre, repeat the sealant-less process until you know the tyre is secure. (Re-wetting the rim and tyre each time).

Now put sealant in the tyre (60-75ml each, generally)

Carefully put the tyre the rest of the way onto the rim and most importantly, make sure your tyre graphics line up to your rim decals.

Repeat the inflation process and then inflate the tyre with the pump on it's own to about 40psi.

Spin the wheel a couple of times and bounce and spin it too - this will ensure the sealant goes into all the crevices and all around the bead. Sit the wheel horizontally rotor side down on the bucket an leave for a minute. Do the same on the drive side of the wheel.

Let it sit for a good few hours or overnight and make sure there are no leakages. Re-adjust the tyre to the desired pressure and you're ready to role.

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lukachadwick avatar

Member since Jan 14, 2013
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