Muc-Off CO2 Inflator Kit

According to the description on the website, the Muc-Off Inflator kit helps you "inflate your tyres quickly and get back to riding in no time!" – and I'd have to agree. The chuck works really well, inspiring confidence that it won't release gas while attaching, there's a button that lets you control the release once it's attached, and a neoprene sleeve to stop you freeze-burning your fingers – which not every CO2 inflator comes with.

In the kit you get two 16g road cartridges (there's a mountain bike version of the kit with 25g cartridges), one CNC-machined inflator head with soft-touch press down button to control the CO2 release, and the neoprene sleeve.

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As far as quality goes, the adaptor head is a tidy piece of kit. It's CNC machined from aluminium alloy and is threaded to enable it to be screwed onto either a Presta or Schrader valve. This means there's no swapping out of components if you happen to have bikes with both valve types. The head fits any weight of threaded cartridge, from 12g to 25g.

With the chuck attached to the tyre valve, CO2 is released by pressing the button on the rear. This lets you control the flow of gas with surprising ease given the speed that it's capable of inflating at.

In use, the chuck goes frosty, and each time my tyre has inflated with no discernible leakage – as I've experienced with some cheaper chucks.

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I found the threaded valve much more confidence-inspiring than alternatives that simply push-fit, though it does mean getting cold fingers when unscrewing. If you haven't used an inflator before, you might not be aware of how cold they get when the compressed CO2 gas is released; it's cold enough to burn your skin and even stick. Definitely something to be avoided!

Muc-Off's solution to this is simple yet effective: a neoprene sleeve is supplied with the canisters and provides a welcome barrier between metal and skin. This sleeve slots snugly over a 16g cartridge but can be used loosely around a 12g cartridge if needs must. It's often taken for granted that a sleeve will be provided with a chuck, but this isn't always the case, so is something to look out for. For example, one is not included with the Genuine Innovations AirChuck.

One of the supplied 16g canisters is enough for most road tyres, but for gravel riding or bigger than 28mm tyres you'll want to invest in some larger canisters or Muc-Off's off-road version of this kit. A 16g canister was enough to get my 23mm tyre up to 100psi with gas to spare, a 25mm to 90psi, and just about managed around 65psi with a 28mm 700C tyre... enough for most.

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Inflators come in a wide range of styles and prices. Given the inherent risk of finger freezing, I've always steered clear of the cheapest ones unless they've been well tried and tested. The Muc-Off offering sits fairly near the upper end of the price scale – it's slightly more expensive than the Birzman Roar Control inflator, though slightly less than Lezyne's Control Drive – but you do get a well-made product from a brand that knows what it's doing. The seal is good, and the pink, although not to everyone's taste, adds a bit of bling to the low points of rides.

Verdict

High quality, simple yet effective design with added bling