There's nothing much worse than getting a puncture on a ride, but Rideair, currently on Kickstarter and seeking your funding, is a refillable compressed air canister that makes inflating a flat tyre as easy as pressing a button.
Rideair, described as “the next generation of effortless air pumps” is a refillable compressed air canister designed to fit into the bottle cage on your bike. Unlike a disposable CO2 canister, the Rideair is charged using an air compressor, the sort you get at a petrol station or in a bike shop, so you can use it again and again.
An extractable inflation tube with a presta and schrader compatible head attaches to the valve and it's simple a matter of pressing the button to inflate the tyre. Rideair reckons it takes just two seconds to inflate a flat tyre. There's a pressure guage on the unit as well.
It is constructed from aluminium and the 650ml tank can hold up to 300 psi, which is good for inflating a 25mm road tyre up to about 70 psi 2.5 times. It’s not clear if it’ll go higher than 70 psi, but that’s certainly enough to get you home or even to allow you to continue your ride.The Rideair weighs a claimed 450g and also features a combination metal cable lock so you can lock it to your bicycle when you leave it unattended.
It’s a smart bit of design. It’ll appeal to urban and city cyclists who want a quick and easy way to inflate a flat tyre without the hard work involved with using manual pump, especially a diddy mini pump that requires a few hundred strokes to get to a decent pressure, and don't mind carrying in a bottle cage of backpack. It’s size will limit its appeal to road cyclists though, it's too big and takes up a bottle cage, it would be nice to see the same design transformed into a smaller version that could fit into a jersey pocket or be mounted alongside a bottle cage.
The company is seeking $37,000 funding, they’ve currently achieved $26,321 with 38 days remaining. At the moment you can pledge $55 funding and get a Rideair pump, but they do appear to be going quickly. Check it out here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2073772882/rideair-the-next-generat...
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.