Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Birzman Roar Control 16g

8
£19.99

VERDICT:

8
10
A simple and effective inflation method offering plenty of user control
Weight: 
77g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

Birzman's Roar Control 16g CO2 Inflator is pretty similar to others on the market but it does offer one neat touch over some of the cheaper models: you can control the flow by twisting the CO2 cannister.

  • Pros: Controllable gas flow, light weight
  • Cons: Foam cover could be tighter

CO2 inflators are ideal for race situations, or any event when you just need to get going again as soon as possible, but the drawback with a lot of them is that they're either on or off, and when that gas is being released it doesn't hang about. With a pump you can whack a bit of air into the tube before stopping to check that the tyre is seated right and true before pumping everything up to the right pressure. With the Roar Control, though, you can do this too.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

To use, you puncture the seal of the cartridge by screwing it into the adaptor until the metal spike breaks through. Then keep screwing it tighter and the fitted rubber o-ring stops any gas being released.

To get the CO2 into your tyre you just unscrew the cartridge slowly and the gas is released, with you controlling the flow rate by how far you unscrew it.

For that first 20-25psi you can just let it trickle out, then tighten to seal the cartridge while you check everything is seated right, then away you go: unscrew to fully inflate the tyre in a matter of seconds.

If you've ever used one of these systems before you'll know how cold everything gets when the gas is discharged. Literally freezing. And if you hold the cartridge in your bare hands you can end up with burns, so Birzman provides a neoprene sleeve to slide over it. It's not that snug a fit as some of the foam ones I've used, though, and can slip around the cannister while you're trying to unscrew and adjust the flow of the gas.

As you've probably worked out, the Birzman uses threaded cartridges, and it seems to work with any on the market; well, all the ones I had kicking around the house like Wiggle's Lifeline or Topeak.

The 16g cartridge is capable of inflating a 700 x 25mm tyre to 95psi.

As far as quality goes, the adaptor head is a tidy piece of kit, CNC machined from aluminium alloy, and it's threaded to enable it to be screwed onto either a Presta or Schrader valve.

> Buyer's Guide: 14 of the best pumps and CO2 inflators

On its own it weighs just 16g with another 2.3g for the neoprene sleeve. Add in the cartridge at 59g and the whole setup weighs just 77.3g, which is barely noticeable in your back pocket.

Looking at value, its £19.99 price tag doesn't look too extreme either. Wiggle's Lifeline version is £12.99, but that's just for the head itself. The Birzman comes with that neoprene sleeve plus three 16g cartridges, which would set you back another £6.

Lezyne's Control Drive model is £23 with no cartridge, or £25 for a single one.

Overall, the Birzman is easy to use with good attachment points for the cartridge and for connecting to the valve. It's not the cheapest out there but it's not the most expensive either.

Verdict

A simple and effective inflation method offering plenty of user control

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Birzman Roar Control 16g

Size tested: 16g

Tell us what the product is for

Birzman says: "Roar Control allows for effortless, controlled inflation by lightly turning the CO2 cartridge to increase, decrease or stop the flow of CO2."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Birzman:

Head

CNC machined aluminum (Presta / Schrader)

Size

4.2 x 2.3 x 1.4cm (adapter)

Weight

16g (adapter)

Includes

3 x 16g cartridges & 1 neoprene grip

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It fits well on the valve and does the job it's designed to do.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The gas control.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Loose sleeve.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's sensibly priced against the option and works exactly how it's intended: a very good product.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Kinesis Aithein

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

Latest Comments