RevZilla has CO2, electric inflators, and all the flat-repair and inflation options you need. rvz.la/3reVgx5

Good on ya for including the obvious real life solution, the hand pump. Seen a ton of these comparisons and most leave it out but they include a bunch of weird gizmos that can run out of battery/cartridges. If I run out of arms I've got bigger problems than a flat

I disagree with the take that the CO2 inflators are wasteful, when you look at the full product lifecycle. They require relatively small resources to produce (steel) and are very recyclable when empty. Also, unless you’re getting flats frequently, you’ll have them for many years. Contrast that with the mixed construction of the bicycle pump, 12V pump, and LiOn pump. These products will eventually head to the landfill, require enormously more complex and energy intensive manufacturing, especially the latter two, and the mixed materials mean it’s extremely difficult to reuse or recycle components. Plastic recycling is not really a thing. It’s greenwashing and the vast majority of plastics end up in the landfill.

Bacon strip plus hand pump is a must. Fancy as battery operated ones are, sometimes they stop working the very moment you need them the most.

Another tool that sometimes gets missed for dealing with punctures is needle nose pliers. If you need to extract a nail or sunken screw or other piece of debris, they’re invaluable to get the debris out so you can plug the tire, but not often included in a basic manufacturers tool roll.

The dynaplug inflator is hands down my favorite. I carry it with some basic tools and rope plugs under my gsxr rear seat. And I’m always the friend who can keep everyone’s ride going. Thanks Ari for inspiring me to be “that fix it guy”!

It's worth noting that they do 25g co2 cartridges (which i noticed that you have on your your link). They are common and can be found at most bicycle shops. You would need less cartridges, although they cost slightly more. There are also 38g cartridges, but they aren't that common. It's also worth noting that with bicycle pumps, they come in 2 types - high volume or high pressure. Make sure that you buy a high volume pump. They are designed for mountain bike tyres that have bigger volume but need lower pressure. The high pressure pumps are for road bikes that run up around 100psi but much lower volume of air, so they have skinnier barrels to allow higher compression but move less air. The time it takes to pump up a big tyre with the 2 different pumps is noticeably different. Oh and some pumps also have the ability to act as a co2 inflator as well.

I'm ancient enough to remember a pump that you screwed into the cylinder head, replacing one of the spark plugs, and you cranked the engine to pump the air. And no, you didn't get combustion gasses in your tire; it indirectly did the pumping. There were horror stories of the steel ball that hammered up and down in the fitting dropping into the combustion chamber though.

My favorite mini hand pump for moto and bicycle is the Topeak turbo morph digital. It has a small hose, digital readout, and foot pad for pumping standing up. I find it much easier to pump than a regular mini pump.

Brilliant video, was happy to see the old school hand bicycle pump!

Ari, some 40 years ago, my father and I took a 5,000 cross country trip - he on a Gold Wing 1000 and me on a CX500 - he picked up a piece of safety chain that was ground down to a "J" shape which put a sizable hole in his rear tire. After removing the piece of chain and plugging the tire, he used a device that would screw into one of the spark plug holes (as you know, easily accessed on a Gold Wing) and ran the engine on 3 cylinders until the tire was inflated. Not sure what it was called, and while it only will work with engines with exposed heads, but it sure was slick.

For me it's either the 12V or the handpump, and leaning mostly towards the hand pump. You can set it and forget it, but when you need it it'll be there and it will get the job done. The 12v is a great alternative, especially for group trips where you only need to carry one for the whole group, and can also be useful for use with a car or camping equipment etc.

I have experience with battery pumps, and that exact type of hand pump. The handpump lives in my sidebag, and is my emergency option. If i'm going on a long trip, with a lot of miles planned, I'll toss the battery pump in a sidebag, because the likelihood that i'll have leak that i'll need to top off the tire repeatedly goes up, and the battery pump is nice to have. The scavenger hose is a cool idea, you could get someone to help you and you could scavenge air out of their spare tire for example. That way you don't drop the pressure from one of their running tires, and they can re-inflate their spare later. It does require the assistance of someone else though, because stealing air out of the non flat moto tire makes it dangerously low as well, not helping your situation.

I carry a 12V inflator. It has no battery to deteriorate over time or catch fire and is dead simple. And my current one is 30 years old and still going strong. It is the way to go for me on a large touring bike with big tires that would take a lot of CO2 cartridges or 10-15 minutes with a bike pump.

Yet another awesome video from Revzilla and The Shop manual; you guys never disappoint. A Fanttik lithium powered inflator and a Dynaplug plug kit saved my ass when I found the front tire on my R3 flat at work one day. I was able to plug it, fill it, and limp back home to switch bikes during my lunch break. Tubed tires are cool, but if you commute just about everyday on a bike I feel that tubeless is the way to go for this ^^ very reason. My new bike is a V-Strom 650- tubeless tires, but still capable of taking the embankment if the zombies come during your commute. 😙

Great video! For years, I carried a foot pump. It was cheap ($10-20), available at any major retail store, and works way better than a hand pump. Plus they always have a gauge. It was obviously a little bulkier than a hand pump, but it was way faster and easier. Last year, I switched to the battery-operated inflator because of the speed and multi-use options. I keep it along with some basic tools in a small bag that I switch from the bike to the car with relative ease.

I carry a CO2 inflator and at least three 16g cartridges inside of my plug kit. The plug kit came in a very convenient zippered pouch, and there is just enough extra space under the seat of my Versys to have it in there behind the OEM tool kit. That way, on the side of the road I always have a small set of tools, and a way to plug and fill my tires.

Your content is why I keep watching, so I think you are doing everything right and want to see future episodes

Thank you so much for sharing this xo

What a complete and helpful video, man! Thanks!

Would be good is they could combine the Lexin with those portable jump starters then you'll have a very useful backup tool.

I carry a Stop & Go RCP Mini-Air Compressor 12V DC inflator (4" x 6" x 2"). It was about the smallest I could find, definitely an emergency use item, not for general inflation. It only costs ~$25, includes case, and plugs into either a 12v cigarette lighter outlet, a Battery Tender SAE quick-disconnect if you have one wired to your battery, or directly to your battery via a pair of alligator clips. I carry it in a small bag with a bacon-strip type patch kit (with added razor blade for cutting away the excess) and a kickstand pad.

Thanks for all the Great content

Big fan of the battery powered pump. I carry one in my saddlebags and have used it to not only top off my bike but fully inflate a heavy duty truck tire from flat. I also used it to inflate all 4 tires on a late model mustang when we pulled it out of storage. The light and phone charger is a bonus. I also like the fact it inflates to the pressure you set so I can top off a tire while checking fluids and I don't have to babysit it.

In my experience, if you go co2 its best to bring a scavenge hose too. Just because while co2 is great *usually*, if anything goes wrong (oops, you had two holes, or you didnt plug well enough) and the first fill is lost, you're screwed. The wcavenge hose adds no appreciable bulk or weight, so between the two you know you can reseat a bead or grab air from other riders or a car in a pinch

I’ve got that same Lexin, can’t recommend it enough. It’s bullet proof, portable, low maintenance and works like a charm every time.

EXCELLENT!! BEST USEABLE REVIEW EVER ON PUMPS. BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR HOW MANY TIMES THE LEXIN CAN FILL A TIRE ON ONE CHARGE! POOF! YOU DID IT.. YOU WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE A HIGH PRIORITY FOR INFO BUT COULD NOT FIND IT. THANKS SO ILL BUY SOME MORE STUFF FROM YA LL

I prefer to carry 2-3 CO2 canisters (w/ mini-inflator) and a mini bike pump. It's a small package and provides redundancy in the unlikely event that I get a flat (have never had one in 40,000 kms of on and off road riding). One tip - look for some of the higher end bicycle CO2 inflators and pumps - a little more pricey but very compact and lightweight.

Aftermore than one instance on the road where CO2 cartridges werenot sufficient, I went to 12V inflater...specifically one that plugs into the SAE connector I installon all my bikes. It has gotten a workout but by the inverse of Murphy's Law, never on my motorcycle in about 50K miles since I made the switch. Has helped three other motorcycles get back on the road and one stranded motorist (4 gummi plugs to get that tire plugged enough to get to a town...or even cell service).

I just picked up a battery powered inflator like that, but its dual powered and it was only $39. The one I got is a 3 cell with 12v input for when the battery is kaput. It looks very similar to the unit you have. I tried it out and it took my front tire from 18psi to 33psi in a minute or 2, and my rear tire from 33 to 36psi in 20 or 30s. It took about 30min to recharge to full after that.

Thanks

Great video thanks guys. I'd be interested to know what options are capable of seating 180/55/17 tubed tyre.

I have a bike pump under the seat and It is a Lezyne mini pump. There are usually two types of pumps, high volume or high pressure. I purchased the high volume model to make it a bit quicker to fill.

Love it !

You should follow up with methods of reseating the tire in the field, as that is by far the bigger challenge. The thing I don't like about the Lexin is that you cannot replace the batteries easily.

OK, it's not cheap, but I went through a bunch of cheap mini-compressors for several years until I decided NO MORE. Bought a CyclePump from Best Rest products and I've never needed anything else. Thing has lasted me over 20 years now and has been used many many times. Usually to pump up another rider's tire after I fixed it. It packs fairly small in the included pouch - smaller than my tool roll. While it comes with a lifetime warranty, I doubt I'll ever need it because it's just built like a tank. All metal and high quality parts. One of the best modifications I made to my bike was to install a 15amp rated SAE pigtail to the battery. Not only does this allow me to quickly attach my BatteryMinder maintainer for winter storage, but my heated gear connects to this and my CyclePump. Yes, this is expensive at $160. But how many things do you buy for your motorcycle that cost far more than that and don't last? Tires, Helmet, etc... This is the LAST pump you'll ever buy. It just works.

My favorite show from the channel

Ari always comes with the best advices.

I'm using a leg powered bicycle pump. Yeah it's a little bigger but I only need gravity instead muscles.

I like the lexin. When not in the bike, it rides in my truck. It takes a lil time but still has no problem topping off my truck tires when needed.

Long ago (late 80's? '90s latest), I had bought a cheap Campbell Hausfeld plug in the cig lighter as an edc for my car. Then after years of non-use, I opened the case, pulled the motor and air pump out (it had no gauge) and put the works into a cobbled together box with the head and hose out of the case, the switch mounted in an added bit of a same mil-spec case, with the hose and wires just wrapped around the works. Fits nicely under the seat of my ST1100, and has seen more use for others, than it has for me, though I have had need for it (repairing a tire in Ranger Texas one hot August Sunday, especially) and considering I never got around to giving the motor cooling holes in the case, has worked a lot and long years. The last big use was inflating a spacesaver spare for an old couple who had a blowout, and when I got their spare on it was low too. Took a bit, but got them on their way to the VA for his appointment. Last year, the plug broke, so I wired in the twin plug the battery maintainer uses.

Interesting timing, just bought the Lexin early this week. After watching this video I'm still confident I chose the right pick.

I got a Xiaomi self contained compressor brick in my tankbag with my road tools and being a cheap douche, i haven't replaced my leaky front tyre yet. Its been used every day for this season and honestly? It runs great. I set it to pump while i get the locks off and strap in, and it usually finished when i am done prepping.

The Lexin would be my choice for a long trip or long day ride, LOL I also have the dyna plug pump I like their plug system so I go the whole kit, and I carry co2 cartridges on my bicycle and I keep a small hand pump in my backpack.

12v compressor for the win

All we need is more shop manual and more On Two Wheels or whatever it's called now. More Zack and Ari shenanigans, and if ur taking requests. Bring back the dreads!? Hahaha NO, but more On two wheels!

I got a square AA pump with a gauge and light on it. It's only like 12cm by 12cm, half the size of the puncture kit. Works amazing. Tried to inflate the tyre to 42psi and it melted, so I wouldn't go over low 30ish.

Lexin for me. Thx for the awesome advice. Ordering on Amazon immediately and pretending to be surprised on Christmas morning

I use the MicroStart Inflator. Has worked perfectly for the past 1.5 years to re-inflate our tires, after airing down for off-roading.

I use the Fanttik portable pump which is USB rechargeable, has a screen to tell you your current psi, easy to adjust and is quick

There are now High Volume hand pumps made for mountain fat bikes and I use one of those for the completely manual backup method.

Exactly what I was looking for. Planning to tour and need to make a small travel kit

I use a battery style pump for my bike and it has worked very well. I have a charging plug on my bike so I can charge the pump if needed.

I carry the same hand pump on my trail bike but off road pressures aren't as big an issue than on the road bike, for that my puncture repair kit has CO2 cannisters and if I'm close to home, I call my wife to come out in the car which has a 12v air pump. Keeping my options open.

I've been on bicycles for about 20 years, and I'm partial to the hand pump; followed by a trip to a gas station for a speedy top off/pressure correction.

I have the hand pump always with me (at least on the GS)... plus the 12v one in the proper flat tire kit (which i have extensively modified) and i have used it once just to top up the front tire... but as always... when i was on the Kawasaki with nothing of the before mentioned things with me... i got a leaking front tire valve... obviously....

always have to send out the Stompump reminder for non-electric options . . . way way more realistic than a hand pump for the larger volume of motorcycle tires

I wonder if the compressor from that lexin battery thing can be found separately. Looks like that way you’ll get a quieter pump, as well as possibly in a smaller package too.

The scavenge hose is great for filling from a passer by's pickup truck; it's only a drop in the bucket with such a big volume of tire.

I bought a kit with 5 CO2 cartridges plugs and pliers and everything you need to plug a tire and it saved my rear tire twice. 4k miles and still holding

i have a relatively cheap fanttik battery pump i originally got for my bicycle and its fallen off my bike at speed and still works great so thats also a good option i know keep it on my motorcycle

Bought a CyclePump 12V inflator in 2010 and still use it till this day. Not cheap but worth every penny...

I carry a slime brand inflator on street trips. On dual sport or dirt rides I think the co2 option will be my go to.

I love my dynaplug but I'd love it even MORE to have a second set but it's been unavailable for over a year everywhere😿‼️ Matched with MICRO-START SPORT! My preferred selection plus I can help someone out with a air or a jump.

Nowadays there are plenty of tyre compressors that both have a rechargeable battery and can be connected to a 12V supply on the bike. I took one with me on a tour of Ireland from my Zero DSR (which has a bigger battery than most ICE bikes). It goes by the name of AUTDER by ICARMAINT but there are plenty of similar mini compressors fitted in to small tubes.

Well I learnt it the hard way. Did all the checks the night before my ride and started early the next morning. Within half an hour of my ride my rear tyre was flat. It was too early and no shops were open. Looks like when i filled my tyre last night the valve somehow got loose and it ended up draining the air and there was no puncture. If I had a small compressor I would have continued I stead of waiting for 2 hrs for the shop to open.

I look forward with anticipation to seeing more of your rigorously scientific long-term damage proxy quick-test method 😁

Thanks so much Ari, another great one! Quick question, I suppose all these are good for tubed tyres, what about TL? eg when the bead was "broken"?

I bought a battery powered inflator like the lexin but looks more like a speed gun 😂 off of TEMU! Had it for about 7 months now and its all i use, my old 12v one never gets used because the battery powered one is so much more convenient and blows my tyres up in less than 30 secs (admittedly not from flat), but couldnt reccomend them enough! Especially for the 20 of so quid it cost me 👍

I use a Topeak Mountain Morph hand pump, which has a little foot pedestal and pushes a bit more volume than the pump in the video. Not a fan of disposable cartridges or depending on any battery power in an emergency situation.

I’ve had to use mine

Rocky Creek for me for years. I'm stranded anyway if I don't have 12V, and it's easy to wire a port for the pump.

I'm leaning towards the 12v. The LiPack version is cool, but the price tag seems like a luxury rather than a "must have".

I have the Bosch and the Xiaomi battery pump! the Xiaomi is like 30usd and its the best i had to test

REI sells the Cannondale mini hand pump that can also take CO2 cartridges for anyone interested. If you're going to carry a hand pump why not throw in a few tanks and have both methods in one

One factor worth consdiering is if you have a tubed or tubeless tire setup for you bike. Hand pumps, in my experience, are not the easiest to use if you ever needed to re-seat a bead of a tire. Possible, but lots more involved than letting an electric pump sing while you sweat, swear, and fiddle with the wheel and tire.

Ari is awesome.

I carry a Bosch easy-pump. Never let me down. Although it’s a bit bulky.

Been using CO2 cartridges on mountain bikes, gravel bikes and road bike - in fact, used two on a gravel bike puncture this morning. They are great, but if your bacon strip repair fails (yes, there is a very petite bacon strip tool kit for bicycles) and you have wasted a CO2 canister then you might lack the CO2 to get moving. They are more reliable when you are putting a new tube in to the tyre - in the case of my bicycles, a tube in to a tubeless tyre - it that will probably not be the solution for road motorbikes. So while my current approach is a bacon strip kit and C02 canisters (always carry a couple of extras), seems to me the better approach is a decent high volume mini pump- there are a few out there that work like a mini track pump so you pump using more than your arms.

I actually got one of those Lexin ones. At least for around town if I can't reach a inflator. If I was going on a road trip, I'd probably take one of the other as well for redundancy,

I use a 12v Taiwan brand Coido that I bring anywhere. The lifepo4 inflator is the most popular for those riders in the Philippines traveling long distances.

I took the survey, but forgot to mention something. I have an old-ish bike, and I would love to hear some suggestions from you with regard to finding replacement parts, especially when they are not common, or even discontinued. How can I find them? What is okay to replace with something newer, and how can you tell? Thanks Ari! Your videos are a huge help to me.

The Lexin moto p5 pump is a life saver!!!

I've had a 12V inflator blow out on me (thankfully in my driveway and not on the trail.) I think I'll take the hose as a backup.

I'm thinking some kind of scavenge hose/hand pump hybrid might be the way to go. Most of what makes a hand pump a pain in the ass is the contortions and awkward ergonomics you that you have to put yourself in to operate it. Having a length of stand-off hose could help a lot. If that same hose could be used to jump off of another tire, that would be a very useful combo to have.

Lithium battery operated tyre inflators like the lexin pump used here is very useful till the battery is dead. I used a similar Xiomi/Mi pump for 2 years and had to throw it away just because there is no after sales support. No battery replacement either. every other component was okay. But in the end, its pretty much useless. Hence invest wisely after checking with the manufacturer for after sales service/support

I'm glad I have the #1 choice I paid $55 for mine from an electric bike company. It's a really nice, custom red colored one Efficient.

Something else to consider, with the portable lithium inflator, similar to my jump start battery pack, I can use it to charge my phone at camp and if need be, charge the battery from my USB hub connected to the battery on the bike while I’m on the road

Hi Ari, thanks for this remarkably useful video. I ride motorbikes since 1990 and I ve been not in need of pump a tyre...until last summer. Fortunately a couple of guys stopped and helped me out. QUESTION: what for reparing the hole? Is the "cork screw" and self vulcanising "rope" the only way. I have also seen precoated tapping screws that looked clean and clever (and do not imply damaging the tyre plies...). What is your advice? Thanks

Ari. I love the Baja simulator. You should pad it a little so it's more like a real ride

i grabbed a cheap 12v compressor from autopart store, peel off the plastics and added a carabiner to hold it when working, and voila! cheaper than a hand pump, survive 5 years so far and still works fine.

The problem not addressed in the video with the scavenger tube or CO2 cartridges is a plugged tire that still leaks. It's more common than most of us think and if you're only running 12 pounds in your plugged tire you have an even better chance of working that plug out. With the hand or electric pumps, you can continue to top up your tire until you can get home or to the shop. Once you've used the CO2 cartridges or scavenger setup, you're done... Also, a flat tire is the single most debilitating yet roadside fixable problem one could have... If you're not carrying a kit, you're asking for a tow home.

They make bicycle mini-pumps that also act as a CO2 inflator, so you can have the speed of CO2 and the reliability of the hand pump for not much extra storage space. Even if you lose or run out of CO2 cartridges, you can still use arm power. Make sure to get a pump that's designated for mountain bikes, since a road bike pump, while being smaller/slimmer and lighter, will manually fill air a lot slower and will likely be mkre expensive since they're made to take high pressures (~100psi), which is a feature you won't need on a motorcycle.

I bought trh xiaomi battery and it's far better for quiet efficiency and multiple refills versus say the canister or hand pump or bleed tube. Yeah it's chunky heavy but being able to fill deflate and refill for softer tires off road is a big plus.

Go for the hand pump!

A note on bike pumps. They come in high volume and high pressure models. The high pressure models are designed to put over 100 psi into very skinny road tires and the high volume are designed to move a lot of air into fatter mountain bike tires. You 100% want a high volume pump for your motorcycle tires.

I think something worth noting is that the size of the tire matters. On a scooter I used CO2 cartridges because it takes way less of them to fill the small tires.

Hand pump is the bet way to go on long trip ! Never runs out of power...

I’ve got a Rechargeable inflator and it doesn’t get much easier. Also means I can check and keep my tyres at the right pressure every week

The scavenge hose never demonstrated getting the flat up to 30 psi.