Foot Pump, for car AND bike?

efunc

Hi all,

I'm new on the forum and looking forward to getting back into a little cycling after a 22yr break! My question is I need a pump for my Mountain Bike, and while everyone seems to mention Track Pumps I've noticed there are a lot of Foot Pumps around at extremely reasonable prices which look as though they could do the job even better.

I have an admission to make, my car front tyres have two slow leaks I haven't been able to fix, so I have to keep topping them up every few weeks at the filling station. If I was to get a half-decent pump that would cater for both my car and bike at the same time that would save me a lot of hassle. Are these Single Barrel Foot Pumps that throw out about 100 PSI any good?

eg: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170741743757

Thanks!

t.m.h.n.e.t

You get what you pay for,and paying £3.85 it will end in tears.

efunc

That is just an example. But in principal, is there any advantage/disadvantage of track pump versus foot pump?

t.m.h.n.e.t

It's much harder to break a track pump,and much easier to get up to pressure. Some have dual heads too

efunc

OK, thanks. Would a track pump be suitable for a car tyre as well then? I don't mind which one I buy, I just don't want to waste money on two pumps.

slowondefy2

Pumps for road bikes are low volume/high pressure, whereas pumps for a car are high volume/low pressure.

A car pump won't give enough pressure to do road bike tyres (and is unlikely to have a presta fitting anyway, for this very reason). A bike pump will take ages to inflate a car tyre, although it'd probably have the fitting to let you try if you want.

edit: whoops, just noticed you've got a mountain bike. A foot pump would be appropriate for both, I think. Might be better off asking in the Mountain Bike section of the forums?

night_porter

As you have a mountain bike the head will probably fit and the dual purpose will be okay. To be honest for £3.85 it has to be worth a try especially when you consider that the seller has very good feedback and has sold over 1,000 of these.

Pickled Pig

I use a track pump to top up my car tyres but I wouldn't like to inflate a car tyre from flat with one.

outcastjack

If you have a mountain bike then the same foot pump will be fine.
If on the other hand you want to inflate your tyres above about 50-60 PSI you havn't a hope in hell with a pump designed for a car, equally trackpump and car tyre together make for an extemely long and tedious inflation session.

my advice would be, get a £10 foot pump for your car, something like this
And get a trackpump for the bike this one is the cheapest decent one i could find.

I put off getting a decent pump for ages, but the difference it makes, and when you compare it to the price of other bike parts it is madness not to.

efunc

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll just aim to get two separate ones then. Actually I got a mini bike pump from the pound store yesterday as a stop gap, and it's shockingly usable for the price. Shame they don't do car ones as well, lol!

Gizmo_

I once pumped up a car tyre with a 6" hand pump after a "friend" had let it down for a jape. That's an afternoon of my life I won't get back...

I used a foot pump to pump my mountain bike tyres for all my teenaged years though.

wishitwasallflat

Pickled Pig wrote:

I use a track pump to top up my car tyres but I wouldn't like to inflate a car tyre from flat with one.

Me too - works fine for keeping them topped up to pressure but wouldn't attempt to inflate from flat.

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

snoopsmydogg

wishitwasallflat wrote:

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

Would never trust the gauge at a garage forecourt, they are good for topping up tyres to get you home but rarely read true thanks to the general hammering they get.

hulla the hulla

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Pickled Pig wrote:

I use a track pump to top up my car tyres but I wouldn't like to inflate a car tyre from flat with one.

Me too - works fine for keeping them topped up to pressure but wouldn't attempt to inflate from flat.

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

me 3 - then use a tyre pressure gauge to make sure they are correct - can do this all at home, saves having to drive to the garage and park up over night…..

efunc

hulla the hulla wrote:

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Pickled Pig wrote:

I use a track pump to top up my car tyres but I wouldn't like to inflate a car tyre from flat with one.

Me too - works fine for keeping them topped up to pressure but wouldn't attempt to inflate from flat.

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

me 3 - then use a tyre pressure gauge to make sure they are correct - can do this all at home, saves having to drive to the garage and park up over night…..

That's all I really need to do, top up the front tyres a little from about 25 psi to 30 psi every month or so. Maybe I'll start off with a track pump then and see how i get on.

Is the pressure gauge on a standard track pump accurate enough to do this properly though? Do you use a separate pressure gauge?

logitech208

Would it not just be easier to get your car tires fixed. :?

efunc

logitech208 wrote:

Would it not just be easier to get your car tires fixed. :?

as i said, I've done that already and it's not achieved much. It costs me £30 for the privilege too! a top-up pump is the way forward, for the car and bike too.

ForumNewbie

Get down to ALDI sale tomorrow and you can get a foot pump and/or a track pump:
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _24403.htm
and/or
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _24404.htm

At £4.99 each, you could get both.

efunc

ForumNewbie wrote:

Get down to ALDI sale tomorrow and you can get a foot pump and/or a track pump:
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _24403.htm
and/or
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _24404.htm

At £4.99 each, you could get both.

YES, superb!

Gizmo_

snoopsmydogg wrote:

wishitwasallflat wrote:

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

Would never trust the gauge at a garage forecourt, they are good for topping up tyres to get you home but rarely read true thanks to the general hammering they get.

If they're paid, officially they have to be "reasonably" accurate (providing a service, has to be of merchantable quality). Free ones, not.

efunc

Well, thanks to ForumNewbie I popped down to Aldi and picked up one track pump and one foot pump!! I fairly impressed for the money. I thought the track pump was plastic, but turns out it's aluminium. I guess it's overkill getting both, but I can keep one as a spare, or more than likely, give one away.

Should I get any of the other stuff there? I was tempted by the helmet, bike computer, lights and luggage holders. All seem good for the money and I don't have any of it so need to get kitted out. Or is it all a false economy?

snoopsmydogg

Seems like decent stuff, picked up a compression top, track pump and small pump.

Top is a decent fit, track pump worked well but not used other pump yet. If you havent got it nad need it then it wouldnt be a bad starting point imo

efunc

Thanks, yeah I think I'll be back tomorrow and pick some more up. Maybe the helmet for a start.

Silly question: what's a compression top and why would I want it?

efunc

Well, I tried the Aldi track pump for the first time yesterday afternoon, and in a few seconds it completely deflated my rear tyre and then seemed completely unable to re-inflate it. Now, I concede that this could be operator error, as usually seems to be the case case with me, but I can't see what I could be doing wrong.

I unscrewed the dust cap from the tyre valve of my mountain bike, pushed the pump connector onto it, air gushed out right away as I did that, I pulled up the lever on the pump connector to secure it and ensure a good seal around the tyre valve, I started to pump up the now completely deflated tyre, but no amount of pumping seemed to do anything. It seemed like the air isn't actually getting into the tyre at all, even though the connection is secure and the lever is up, as in the instructions.

Fortunately I'd also bought the Aldi foot pump, which is excellent as I used it on my car the day before. I used the foot pump on the bike instead and all was well. No faffing around, no problems. Pumped both tyres up perfectly on my bike and my car. The funny thing is that the connector on both pumps is identical. What's going on here? Did I buy a dud Track Pump?

rake

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Pickled Pig wrote:

I use a track pump to top up my car tyres but I wouldn't like to inflate a car tyre from flat with one.

Me too - works fine for keeping them topped up to pressure but wouldn't attempt to inflate from flat.

PS - Always wondered how, when the manual says check the tyre pressures when they are cold, anyone can check accurately with a garage forecourt pump - do they park on the forecourt overnight? :shock:

i infalated from flat after installing some tyre sealant when the ats man didnt patch the tyre propperly. it didnt take all that long with a track pump.