Customer Reviews

SKS Airchecker Digital Airgauge

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I mainly use this for my mountain bike with Schrader valves, but it also works great on my car tires. The gauge is accurate to 0.5 psi, which helps when trying to get my bike tires to a consistently low pressure without getting pinch flats. The only con is the unit turns off pretty quickly, but at least the battery should stay charged since it can't be left turned on. Overall it's been a great gauge.

Very pleased with the accuracy of this gauge,only con is cycle time. Backlit & with case,would highly recommend.

SKS makes some good stuff but this air gauge needs improvement before I can recommend it to anyone.

Pros:

- digital display with a bright orange backlight (#1 feature)

- lightweight and ergonomic

- 0.5 psi accuracy (bar readings at the press of the button)

- head rotates (very cool)

- does schrader and presta (caveats below)

- bleeder valve (limited usefulness)

- auto off

Cons:

1) The SKS Air Checker only works with a real schrader valve.

This limits it's usefulness if you have presta valves and need to use an adapter. For example, if you are using a Kool Stop Presta Valve Adapter or similar you will find that the schrader end of the gauge will not take a pressure reading. This is because the presta valve pin tends to sit lower in the adapter than a schrader pin does in its stem and this fails to activate the gauge. Removing the adapter just to take the reading is something you don't have to do with other gauges (see Zefal below).

This is technically the fault of the adapter but it bears mentioning because it is a genuine limitation that will frustrate you when trying to refill your tires when there is no gauge on the compressed air line. If a tire gauge supports schrader valves and is intended for bicycle use, then it needs to work with the adapters and not stick to the specific dimensions of a schrader valve not matter how correct that may be.

2) The display does not update after using the bleeder valve.

The display does not update after pressing bleeder valve. This requires you to remove and reseat the gauge without loosing too much air through the presta valve. This is hard to do even with practice because the gauge makes a tight seal on the valve stem. When you loose some air, the usefulness of the bleeder valve becomes moot especially when you've lost more than you planned to bleed. This is a disappointment because the 0.5psi accuracy of this unit should have allowed me to bleed the air pressure down precisely.

The Zefal Twin Bicycle Tire Gauge is still my favorite (small, light and works great with presta valve adapters even though the 160 psi range can make it hard to read the exact tire pressure - the main reason I was hoping to replace it with a digital version).

If SKS can loosen the tolerances of the schrader end of the valve and update the display after pressing the bleed button, this gauge would be a best seller at this price point. I'd even carry one in my car.

I've recently received this gauge and have so far been quite happy. The tool seems to be of high enough quality (as nice as any other digital pressure gauges I've had for my car), is easy to use, and compact enough to easily bring along on rides.

The only issues I have are small.

1) The presta fitting can be quite tight, it can be a little hard to remove from the valve. After using it for a while I've found the best way to remove it is to hold the valve with one hand while pulling the gauge off with the other.

2) I'm concerned the unit may turn on by being bumped in my seat bag, shortening the battery life. I haven't had this happen yet to my knowledge, but the button isn't recessed much and I have quite a bit in my bag. To work around this I think I'll likely just keep the batteries out of the tool until I need it.

i knew coming in by the previous reviews what to expect. to measure psi you have to unseat from presta and reseat. you can't deflate and measure psi at same time. oh well. it works fine for me with presta valves. i'd imagine it will work a bit better in the future when the rubber gasket on the presta side loosens up a bit.

The SKS airchecker is an excellent tire pressure gauge. It is quick and easy to use/read. I have used it on both presta and schrader valves on my families bikes and I have even used it on the car. Well worth the money.

I had one of these when they first appeared in the US market. It worked great! Quite accurate! Lost it on a biking trip. This one works just as great! Buy it at Amazon. They had the best price too!

I have been using this tire pressure gauge for over 2 years now and it is by far the best I've owned. I went through so many tire pressure gauges before finding the SKS. It is accurate and easy to use. I use it on road and mountain bikes (Presta valves) as well as for our cars (Schrader valves). It is accurate at low pressures of 20 psi for mountain bike tires as well as high pressures of 120 psi for road bike tires. It even comes with a nice storage bag. For the price, quality, and performance of this tire pressure gauge, I am very impressed. I've also given it as a gift to a few friends who also ride and they have been happy with it.

This gauge works absolutely perfect. Read the manual and you will see you have to release air THEN remeasure. Only gauges i can think of that show you as you go down are analog/dial gauges. Plus its more accurate to get a reading twice. Works perfect on presta valves, just unscrew the valves push up firmly and you get a reading in 1sec. For schrader valves (car tire valves) its exactly the same just push against the valve and 1sec reading.

Accuracy: I have a snapon dial gauge that i use for my car (schrader valve) only goes to 60psi so didnt bother buying adapters for the presta valve. My tire shows 31.5psi on the snapon gauge (twice the price as this one) my SKS air shows 32 and my other schrader digital gauge shows 32 so im going to say the .5psi accuracy is spot on. Only problem i found with this is using it on car tires its very small and has a short head to measure. Its made for bicycle use but can be used for cars as well just need more clearance. My other digital gauge is longer and made for cars so has a angled head.

Overall 5 out of 5. Does what its supposed to do worth great for both presta and scrader valves without any issues. Gives you an accurate reading. The auto off works great i can easily measure both tires before it shuts off so plenty of times. Don't let other reviews keep you from buying it its perfect.

I paid 20.44 3 days ago and as i write this review price changed to 19.83 go figure.

Got this to measure my bike tires which have a presta valve. Works perfectly. Also the deflate button seems nice.