Forum home› Commuter cycling forum› Commuting chat

Cheap Lidl pumps

redveeredvee Posts: 11,922
edited May 2009 in Commuting chat
Mine doesn't pump up the presta tubes I've got on my bike :( When I put it on the tube and pump like buggery, the air comes out of the schreader hole :cry: How have other owners of this pump got round this problem? At the mo I'm using an old Zefal alloy mini pump and looks like I'm going to change the bracket on the bike to take the Zefal.
I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.

Posts

  • biondinobiondino Posts: 5,990
    I thought it was generally accepted that Lidl pumps exist to demonstrate to naive bargain-hunters that you get what you pay for...
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • A - WA - W Posts: 253
    My £5 one form Aldi works fine.

    *crosses fingers*.
    FCN 10
  • rhextrhext Posts: 1,639
    My £5 one from Aldi worked fine too....for just long enough for me to realise how handy a track pump is. I now have a Joe Blow Sport which works a treat! I have an old Aldi pump for sale if anyone's interested - sold 'as seen', collections only.
  • sarajoysarajoy Posts: 1,675
    With track pumps, does anyone ever get to the point where the pump itself is doing fine, but having enough weight to come down hard enough on the handle gets a bit tough?

    Or is it just me, 'cos I'm a bit of a shortarse with all my weight in my bum rather than my arms/shoulders?

    I only just manage 100PSI. I gather that's about right anyway, but man, it's an effort getting there...
    4537512329_a78cc710e6_o.gif4537512331_ec1ef42fea_o.gif
  • biondinobiondino Posts: 5,990
    sarajoy wrote:
    With track pumps, does anyone ever get to the point where the pump itself is doing fine, but having enough weight to come down hard enough on the handle gets a bit tough?

    Or is it just me, 'cos I'm a bit of a shortarse with all my weight in my bum rather than my arms/shoulders?

    I only just manage 100PSI. I gather that's about right anyway, but man, it's an effort getting there...

    Just sit on it!

    I end up looking like a comedy character out of a silent movie as I pump my track pump by bending my knees, not my arms. In lycra it looks even more ridiculous.
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • _Brun__Brun_ Posts: 1,740
    Haven't the Lidl pumps been known to explode?
  • HeadhuunterHeadhuunter Posts: 6,494
    I have a LIDL pump at work under my desk in case I need a track pump to top up the tyres or for a puncture at work. It works well, the only downside is that the barrel is quite wide so over 100psi in the tyre takes some effort. I think it's a safety feature to prevent people without a clue from exploding their tyres.

    Re the air coming out of the Schraeder valve, I sometimes have that problem with my "expensive" home track pump (Truflo I think, about £25 from Wiggle a few years back). It's usually fine if I bang the pump valve on the side of the shed and try again....
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    I think for the money you can very rarely go wrong with Lidl. I bought their cycling tool kit, looks good enough.

    Pumps:

    I have three top peak pumps and a Bontrager track pump. It gets difficult to pump but very few things can withstand my weight its a law unto itself, like gravity. :shock:

    Never really wanted to try a Lidl pump... don't know why.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • itboffinitboffin Posts: 20,049
    Co2 people co2 duh!
    Rule #5 // Harden The censored Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • biondinobiondino Posts: 5,990
    I have a *ahem* Giant *ahem* Control Tower 3 track pump with gauge and it, well, works.

    All CO2 pump users should have to pay a carbon tax for every use :)

    (but then on that logic so should all drinkers of beer and fizzy pop)
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • CiBCiB Posts: 6,098
    The Lidl pump has a small rubber O ring that needs to be in the right place. Mine is in the grass on a roadside verge near Steeple Claydon if you want it. The O ring is the vital component that stops most (ok some) of the air rushing out when you inflate the tube.

    The adaptor part with O ring screws onto the valve, and needs to be in the pump firmly but not overtight. Once you take a step back and look at it, it makes sense.

    In essence tho, it's a censored pump, best off in a bin where it belongs. Mine is.
  • ceecee Posts: 4,553
    my lidl track pump exploded....well...I say exploded....there was a bang the plunger ejected out of the top....
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • lost_in_thoughtlost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    edited May 2009
    I have a WRENCH FORCE (teeheehee) track pump that works very well. I have recently obtained a little co2 adapter thingy... need to test it really.

    Wouldn't use it if I had the track pump handy though - seems a waste.
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • HeadhuunterHeadhuunter Posts: 6,494
    itboffin wrote:
    Co2 people co2 duh!

    No point using a CO2 canister if you just want to top up the air. CO2 is only useful for inflating from completely flat, otherwise a couple of strokes from a track pump is all you need.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
Sign In or Register to comment.