Tool Time

Tool Time

Normally, I would find it hard to get amped up over something as mundane as a tire-pressure gauge, but this Accutire digital gauge (part #TG130) from Roadgear (800/854-4327; www.roadgear.com) is an exception. At $70, it’s not a giveaway, but for riders who love good tools and take pride in their rolling stock, coughing up that

much for a tire gauge is not out of the question.

You activate the gauge either with the On button or by pushing the 14-inch-long swiveling hose onto a tire’s Schrader valve.

The pressure is displayed in digital form with Vz-inch-high LCD numbers in 0.1-pound increments, along with an analog display via little LCD segments that appear sequentially in one-pound increments around the outer edge of the face.

Blue backlighting makes the readouts clearly visible day or night. A spring-loaded clip on the hose’s business end lets you clamp the gauge onto a Schrader valve for handsfree operation, and depressing the bleed button drops the pressure while the readouts change accordingly. A rubber ring around the chrome-plated bezel helps protect the

gauge, which arrives in a stylish, form-fitting case.

I’ve owned one of these gauges for more than a year and have been very pleased with its performance and accuracy. It reads from 0 to 60 psi, and when I checked it against a $300 gauge used in Indy-car racing, it was accurate well within its claimed 1 percent. Unless you’re riding a big-rig tourer or a bike with spacious luggage, the Accutire is too big for inclusion in most carry-along toolkits. But for a home garage-where cars, trucks, bicycles and other devices that require inflation are likely to reside-it’s a worthy addition.