Recommend me a mini pump

secretsam

So - my current mini pump - a Topeak Race Light or something - chomped a valve and snapped it yesterday, leaving me stranded :evil:

Can anyone recommend me a reliable, easy to use mini pump?

Anonymous

Cannot believe you have never seen a thread telling you its either a Race Rocket or Lezyne Pressure Drive Mini (small I guess) Sam.

I prefer the Lezyne as it looks better IMO and the flexible hose is removable with different ends, rather than fixed with a 'smart' valve at only one end.

dowtcha

Lezyne Pressure Drive Mini size small, even bike radar thinks its the best mini pump.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-45358/

northpole

Beg to differ, not by much mind, but I'd recommend the road drive, mounted on same fixings bottle cage uses, leaving pockets clear and body with reduced risk in case of fall.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ezypumr250

Peter

iron-clover

I really like the Race Rocket- it's incredibly light and it's hose is very useful.

My venerable topeak mini dx destroyed two innertube valves yesterday (specialized tubes). But bearing in mind it has seen dozens of different tubes over the years- I have a feeling that it was poor tubes rather than pump with incredibly weak valves.

29black

I have a Topeak Micro Rocket, very reasonable cost and does the job without much effort.

rolf_f

northpole wrote:

Beg to differ, not by much mind, but I'd recommend the road drive, mounted on same fixings bottle cage uses, leaving pockets clear and body with reduced risk in case of fall.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ezypumr250

Peter

What's the difference between that and a Pressure drive aside from that the road drive presumably takes up more space for the same volume of air shifted (because the barrel doesn't overlap the body)?

The pressure drive comes with bottle cage fixings as well so there is no difference there.

trailflow

i have a mini lezyne pressure drive pump but find it quite bulky and it rattles if you attach it to a frame. I now use a Airbone mini pump. Its lightweight and small and fits easily into a jersey pocket. Ive been using it for 1 year and it hasn't let me down.

Its aluminium so it feels abit more well made compared to other small plastic pumps. It takes a little longer to inflate but i think the trade off is worth it. It uses a presta to schrader valve adapter so if you are passing a petrol station/garage you can use the car pump there. i recommend adding another adaptor to your set of keys for backup.

a cheaper copy of the Airbone - looks exactly the same
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Mini-Cy ... 35d69b8d37

another similar pump
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cycling-Bike- ... 5affb11c6c

northpole

Rolf F wrote:

northpole wrote:

Beg to differ, not by much mind, but I'd recommend the road drive, mounted on same fixings bottle cage uses, leaving pockets clear and body with reduced risk in case of fall.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ezypumr250

Peter

What's the difference between that and a Pressure drive aside from that the road drive presumably takes up more space for the same volume of air shifted (because the barrel doesn't overlap the body)?

The pressure drive comes with bottle cage fixings as well so there is no difference there.

To be honest, I don't know! I have only used the road drive which I think looks better - a rather shallow differentiator! I've had one for years and, whilst thankfully I rarely have to use it, it still works flawlessly despite being stuck in a messy area of the bike.

With regards to previous posters comments about rattles, I don't have that problem on the two bikes I have a road drive mounted onto. Not sure what went wrong with his.

Peter

mrushton

Topeak Road Morphe but really just get a frame fit pump like a Park PMP and faff less as you'll be pumping more air for less effort

drlodge

Dowtcha wrote:

Lezyne Pressure Drive Mini size small, even bike radar thinks its the best mini pump.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-45358/

I'll second this pump. Gets my tyres up to around 80 psi, then use CO2 to do the rest. I like the flexible hose bit, although the pump bracket is a bit flimsy and I put some insulation tape around the end of the hose bit to stop it rattling. It WILL fit into a TOPEAK small aero saddle bag though, just.

mroli

northpole wrote:

Beg to differ, not by much mind, but I'd recommend the road drive, mounted on same fixings bottle cage uses, leaving pockets clear and body with reduced risk in case of fall.

I refer you (and other posters to this thread) to Rule 30: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#30

On a more serious note, the lezyne pumps are great. The only "problem" I've had with them is occasionally they might unscrew your valve core... Which I remedy by giving the valve core a tighten before attaching hose.

de_sisti

Forget this mini pump business. You'll only end up by the roadside waiting for someone to come along with one of these.

keef66

I have a Topeak Road Morph which has a flexible hose and an inline pressure gauge. It works like a mini track pump so it's easy to inflate a tyre to 100 psi if required (I run my 25's at 70-80 psi). The only downside is that the frame mount takes the place of a bottle cage. It's a permanent fixture on the winter bike where one bottle is sufficient, but I'd like to be able to take it on the summer bike too...

drlodge

Don't see the point of a bigger pump that will get you to 100psi+ when a smaller pump + Co2 will do the job and do it quicker/easier.

lostboysaint

Bontrager Air Rush - CO2 + pump, reliable and easy up to 100psi.

rolf_f

drlodge wrote:

Don't see the point of a bigger pump that will get you to 100psi+ when a smaller pump + Co2 will do the job and do it quicker/easier.

How many pump strokes between 80 and 100psi? Not many if the pump is the right length; I suspect your time saving is minimal. The effort is more of an issue but you can offset that against guaranteed reliablity which you don't get with CO2.

drlodge

Rolf F wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Don't see the point of a bigger pump that will get you to 100psi+ when a smaller pump + Co2 will do the job and do it quicker/easier.

How many pump strokes between 80 and 100psi? Not many if the pump is the right length; I suspect your time saving is minimal. The effort is more of an issue but you can offset that against guaranteed reliablity which you don't get with CO2.

I don't think you read my post properly: long pump = bigger pump and I don't want a big pump on my bike. Its quite a big difference in both number of strokes and effort required to pump tyres up to 100psi, it would have my arm dropping off. And I have complete reliability since I carry a pump AND Co2.

RobinB2

+1 for Lezyne Pressure Drive. I've broken too many valve stems in the past with the push-fit type adapters.

antonyfromoz

mroli wrote:

northpole wrote:

Beg to differ, not by much mind, but I'd recommend the road drive, mounted on same fixings bottle cage uses, leaving pockets clear and body with reduced risk in case of fall.

I refer you (and other posters to this thread) to Rule 30: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#30

On a more serious note, the lezyne pumps are great. The only "problem" I've had with them is occasionally they might unscrew your valve core... Which I remedy by giving the valve core a tighten before attaching hose.

agree with this but make sure you tighten up the valve cores even on the spare tubes before use - there is nothing more frustating than replacing a tube by the side of the road on a wet/dark evening then listening as all of your efforts to inflate the tube to a decent pressure are undone as you try to remove the flexible attachment...