The Airchecker is pretty darn simple to use. Pushing the single large button in the center turns it on, which is followed by a subtle 'beep' before the gauge zeros and is ready to use a second or two later. Pushing it on the valve is then followed by another 'beep' that lets you know a reading has been taken and you can pull the Airchecker off, or you can use the orange air bleed button to precisely meter out air to a single PSI until you have it exactly where you want it. If you do pull the Airchecker off the valve, you can put it back on without resetting gauge, which is pretty handy, but it does automatically turn off after twenty seconds or so of not being used. I found that to be a bit quick, with it often turning off between me being able to check the pressure in the front and rear tires. Obviously a pretty minor complaint. Also, the swiveling head makes it easy to read the backlit display if you're using the bleed button to adjust pressure, but it isn't that useful if you're pulling the gauge off after each reading. I've been using the Airchecker before every single ride and have found that my tubeless tires tend to lose a few PSI overnight, which is quite noticeable on the trail when you're only running 18 or 19 PSI (or lower) to begin with. Yes, an analog gauge doesn't require batteries, but the little black Airchecker has become a mandatory piece of kit in my workshop that allows me to know the exact pressures that certain tires work best at, thereby making it easy to be sure that they're always set correctly for the day's ride. It's also small enough that I'll even bring it with me if I'm going on a road trip for a few days. $24.99 USD isn't exactly pocket change, but it's money well spent in my books. - Mike Levy |
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And this one looks very similar to mine, so definitely a gadget to carry on all the times, it's light and battery last ages!
@Bones: how accurate can the SKS be? According to the top reviewer on CRC, the Topeak is very accurate.
And for you those complainers "every time you check it you lose air"....really? REALLY? Come on, thats a minuscule amount of air and far less than it loses sitting in your garage for a couple days. If you losing that much air when you check your pressures, give up and go home.
Or am I missing something?
If I were to read 22 psi and then take the gauge off I will loose a tiny bit of air. However I doubt it is more than 1/10th of a psi.
Then I go for a ride and like my pressure. The next day I can have the exact same reading of 22 psi and then still be happy. Sure, it isn't actually 22 psi (maybe)... but it is a number that you can trust.
It's nice when you're traveling or at a buddies' house, because it seems every other pump I try is about 5psi off from each other. Using the gauge, at least I can be consistent.
Mine's been working about two years. Still original battery. Check pressure every day before my ride.
I'd like to buy another different brand one to compare them. Maybe I'll buy this one I don't know yet.
I wouldn't expect any gauge I own to be more than one or 2 psi off true. I've compared different digital gauges and found them to be within .1 psi from each other at 30psi.
And who really cares if it's not super accurate anyway, as long as it is consistent that is what matters.
But I agree this is kind of nitpicking and if it's working fine, it's fine, regardless of having been accurately measured or not, though it's also like torque: it's probably fine to tighten by feel if you know already from experience how tight it should feel (eg.: by having done it with a torque wrench before), but if you're just wild guessing, you'll probably be off range by more than you imagine.
Then again, recc'ed ranges probably are pretty conservative and more like optimal range, rather than absolute limit.
The point in digital gauges, tought, is you get an actual reading without having to guess from a tiny simplistic dial - here's an example: I have a shock pump that goes up to 400psi - you can imagine how inaccurate and inconsistent readings will be from such a dial.