Zefal Tubeless Tank

Road tubeless is becoming more and more popular, with a significant percentage of the wheels we've had through lately being tubeless compatible. Some combinations of wheels and tyres inflate quite easily with just a track pump, others are much less willing, hence the fact that you can now buy a bunch of devices like this Zefal Tubeless Tank to help with the process. Unfortunately, this one isn't among the best out there.

We recently did a video group test which pitted this against some rival devices, and Liam found that it got a 25mm road tyre to seat easily but struggled with larger tyres. I've mostly been using 30mm Schwalbe S-One tyres and my experience matched Liam's – the pressure wasn't delivered as fast as it would be with a compressor, and the tyre was consequently often more reluctant to seal against the Hunt wheels I was using.

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The Zefal Tubeless tank is a simple device, really – it's an aluminium cylinder concealed in a plastic housing. There's a port on one end to which you connect your track pump to pressurise it. You'll want to make sure that you've securely fitted the pump to the tank inlet because – bizarrely – Zefal hasn't opted to fit a valve here. So if your pump head pops off the tank inlet, it will dump all its pressure out and you'll have to start pumping again.

On the underside is a hose coiled up, which you connect to the tyre valve. It uses a simple push-fit with a rubber seal onto the valve stem. The most notable detail on the device is probably the large pedal that is used to open the output and inflate the tyre. Other tubeless tanks use screw valves or levers, but this system leaves both hands free as it is easily operated by foot. Is that a significant advantage? I'm not convinced.

Zefal recommends inflating to 10 bar (145psi) although the tank can cope with as much as 16 bar (230psi); 10 bar was no problem for my track pumps, but I'm not sure they would have managed 16. With 10-12 bar in the tank, I found that, more often than not, the tyre wouldn't seal and the air would just blow out around the rim. Certainly compared with using an air compressor, it requires a bit more care. If the tyre hasn't sealed within a fairly short time frame, you've lost most of your air and you need to start over.

Zefal includes a tool for removing the valve core, opening the airway into the tyre and allowing faster inflation. This made a significant difference – with the valve core removed, the tyre would typically seal and inflate more than 50% of the time. Is that good enough? Well, no, not really, when other devices seem to work more consistently. The Beto tank we tested recently is a good example, managing to seal tyres reliably even with the valve core in place. The Beto is also a little cheaper than the Zefal, and impressed with its shop-standard ruggedness.

> Video: How to change tubeless tyres

By contrast, the Zefal's plastic casing doesn't feel quite as robust. I tested it by deliberating knocking it off the workbench onto a concrete floor a few times, and it emerged largely unscathed. One time the top half of the casing unclipped and came loose, but none of the fixings were broken, and it was simple to reassemble.

By most measures, then, you can probably buy better, and in some cases for less. The point of a device like this is to make tubeless tyres less of a faff, but if you're not guaranteed a seal then it doesn't really achieve its aim.

Verdict

Underwhelming performance and less robust than some similarly priced units – not among the best available