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One of the best additions I’ve ever made to my home workshop setup was adding a compressor. Not only does it make seating tubeless tyres a breeze, but it also means quick and accurate tyre maintenance.
The second airline has an air gun for cleaning parts and keeping water ingress out of hubs, bottom brackets and headsets, which makes life much simpler.
The downside is my budget compressor (found in Aldi’s ‘Isle of Dreams’) came with a dreadful inflator kit that has an inaccurate gauge and a poor connection.
I quickly upgraded to Park Tool’s sturdy INF-2, which has served me well for the last four years. The only downsides were the rather bulky handle and the short head that can be tricky to fit onto some wheels (it won’t fit in the available space on either my BMX or 20in-wheeled folding bike).
The analogue gauge has also become less accurate as time has passed, and now, if I want a more accurate reading, I must resort to a second gauge.
Solid build, solid value
Prestacycle’s Prestaflator Pro looks to be a solid successor to the INF-2; it's lighter and has an extended hose that makes it easier to fit on smaller wheels – or wheels with higher spoke counts – and it's well-priced.
The Prestaflator Pro features a gun-shaped body made from cast aluminium with a bead-blasted finish. The long hose is made from a reinforced polyurethane, which is supple and flexible. It also includes a safety blower tip, so you can use the Prestaflator as an air gun for cleaning or drying bike parts.
The Prestaflator is compatible with ¼-inch I/M hoses and comes with a quick coupler to attach to a compressor.
It’s rated to a massive 300psi (20.7 BAR), so it should take plenty of wear and tear. The same goes for the connectors and moving parts. All are made from either stainless steel or 6061-T6 alloy.
In use, the Prestaflator Pro is excellent; the slender trigger has a stiff yet progressive spring. That makes small pressure adjustments easy because you can feed small amounts of air into a tyre. There is also a pressure-release button that further enables small adjustments to get the pressure right.
These combine with a clear digital gauge that features a backlight to make reading easy even in the dark. The gauge is powered by two AAA batteries (included).
The gauge reading is noticeably faster than the dial gauge I’m used to, with the pressure changes shown almost instantly. Prestacycle claims that because the digital gauge is made using non-wearing circuitry, it won’t wear out or lose accuracy as traditional dial gauges can.
The gauge reads up to 255psi (17.6 BAR) accurately, not that you’re ever likely to require tyre pressures that high.
Upgraded adaptor
As well as the inflator, the Pro model ships with a lock-on Schrader adaptor, along with the standard Presta head with a urethane pump head gasket that locks onto Presta valves securely. The Pro also includes the very user-friendly Pro Presta head, with its simple auto-locking push-button release head.
The head alone retails for £37, which makes the Pro package something of a bargain. Prestacycle offers a full range of spares and components, so the Prestaflator Pro is fully rebuildable.
There are very few rivals for bike-specific compressor heads; most cheap options are multi-use (for auto and bike use) and, in my experience, not great for bicycles.
The INF-2 is priced at £120 / $135 / AU$290 and the highly regarded EVT 2 In 1 inflator costs $177. Both are significantly more expensive than Prestacycle's option.
Prestacycle Prestaflator PRO inflator bottom line
The Prestaflator Pro is the best and best-value compressor inflator head I’ve tried. It's accurate, easy to use and the build quality is excellent. It's repairable and rebuildable, too.
Finally, the inclusion of the upgrade adaptor improves the value for money.
I’d recommend the Prestaflator Pro to anyone who already owns a compressor or is considering buying one for their home workshop.
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Product
| Brand | Prestacycle |
| Price | €79.00, £80.00, $79.00 |
| br_whatWeTested | Prestaflator PRO Digital Bicycle Tyre Inflator |
