The day my shop's air compressor died mid-tune up

I was in the middle of a full tune up on a customer's gravel bike last Tuesday, about to seat some tubeless tires, when the old Ingersoll Rand compressor in the back of my shop just coughed and stopped. The motor was making this grinding noise and then nothing, just silence. I had three other bikes waiting with tires that needed seating and no way to do it without that air blast. I ended up having to use a floor pump and a ratchet strap technique I saw on a YouTube video from some guy in Portland, which actually worked after like 10 minutes of fiddling. The tire seated with three loud pops but I was sweating bullets the whole time thinking I'd pinch the tube. Has anyone else had to MacGyver their way through a tubeless setup when your gear fails on you?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_fisher379d ago

@carter.laura exactly, my buddy's floor pump exploded mid-tire seat and he used a co2 cartridge and a prayer.

carter.laura10d ago

Does it ever feel like gear always picks the worst possible moment to fail? It's like tools and machines have a sixth sense for when you're up against a deadline or in the middle of something delicate. That ratchet strap trick is a lifesaver though, proves that half the battle is just knowing how to improvise when stuff goes sideways.

raymitchell10d ago

Funny, I’ve never had gear fail on me at the worst time. Maybe people just don’t maintain their tools right or keep backups around. A floor pump and a strap isn’t MacGyvering, it’s just knowing a basic trick you should’ve looked up before you started the job. If your compressor dies mid tune up, you probably ignored it making noise for weeks.