I would like to start carrying a small hand pump in my jersey as a backup to CO2. Noticed in some ads that some put out more air per stroke than others. Would be nice to have one that left some energy left when done. (Or is that only wishful thinking?)
if you are talking about “for training” I cannot reccomend the mini pumps…
but a nice, fullsize frame pump is the poop.
g
I carry a mini pump but it’s a mountain bike model. A little more diameter but a lot easier and faster to fill tires. Then there’s the mini pumps that operate like a small floor pump. No experience with those, though.
for training rides, skip the throw away CO2 cartridges entirely and get one the best mini pumps in sport:
the quicker pro pump
.
Topeak Road Morph G. Best frame/mini pump on the market in my opinion.
Anybody ever use Topeak’s Micro Rocket AL?
Avoid the SKS Puro pump. I got a flat last Sunday and could only get maybe like 60 psi in the tire. It looks all cool and euro, its small enough to fit in my jersey pocket, but it works like crap. I’ll probably give the thing away on craigslist or something.
That Topeak’s Micro Rocket AL looks pretty good I may pick up one of those.
Peace,
Rob
I am a sales rep for Blackburn, so I am not going to comment on this being better or worse than others.
I have been carrying the Air Stik SL. It works great…no where near as nice as a floor pump, not as fast as a CO2, but works well, is tiny, and gets the job done. I have used the Air Stik 2 stage as well, which was faster, but I carry this like you as a back up for CO2 on long rides, not as my primary pump, so I usually grab the smaller one.
I am a sales rep for Blackburn, so I am not going to comment on this being better or worse than others.
I have been carrying the Air Stik SL. It works great…no where near as nice as a floor pump, not as fast as a CO2, but works well, is tiny, and gets the job done. I have used the Air Stik 2 stage as well, which was faster, but I carry this like you as a back up for CO2 on long rides, not as my primary pump, so I usually grab the smaller one.
http://www.blackburndesign.com/road_pumps.html
I’ve been considering the SL or the 2stage. Is there a big difference between them? What pressures can you get with reasonable effort for each for a 700x23 or 25 tire. And can you pump without tearing off the valve stem? =)
I’m looking to stop using Co2 as my main source of inflation for training. Inflating the tire is the least time consuming part of getting a flat for me, as it takes a bit more time to carefully examine the tire/tube for what caused the flat.
It is an adequate pump…best i could get to was about 95 psi before pump kept blowing off valve. Key point is it was sufficient to get rolling.
I’ve been doing workshops for people to get the hang of changing tires and tubes and such. Most of the people find that they can’t get more than 50 or so psi in their tires with the pump they had when they came to the class.
So whatever you buy I’d encourage you to try it in the store before you put your money down or try it soon thereafter.
After doing a few of these I have found a few things.
- Women can generally put less air in than a man, seems obvious.
- The mountain pumps move a lot more air per stroke but there is a discernible difference between the mountain and road pump as you get to the high end pressure-wise, so much so that with a mountain pump my experience was that men only got to 60 psi or so, and ladies around 40 or 50. The road pumps did about 20 psi better but took a lot more pumps.
In this case it seems like the pumps where you can switch from one to the other would be good, there was a link to one from Blackburn and i think crank brothers made one as well. - I have broken a few stems off of tubes trying to pump them up, I personally use a pump with a hose on it. The road morph pump is the most common one of these.
- A gauge is handy to have since when tired I can easily convince myself I put “enough” in there only to get a pinch flat shortly thereafter. Specifically I like the road morph g (for gauge) to do this.
I guess the point is try it before you buy it, barring that try it before you need it. It is something no one really wants to do but we should.
It’s not small, but my Zefal frame pump works great for training rides.
Check out Lezyne. Their pressure Drive pump has a small 4" hose that fits inside the handle when not in use, very sleek looking. Very good seal, pumping action, etc. Young company but they make cool stuff.
Topeak Road Morph G. Best frame/mini pump on the market in my opinion.
Yup. Has a hose, and a fold out foot holder. I can easily get beyond 120 psi with mine (and have done so out on the road) Even has an integrated pressure gauge.
For races I use CO2 cartridges, but for training, the pump. My MTB has the same pump as well, and no problems there, either