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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
Everyone,
When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!) Considering how ubiquitous floor-type bicycle pumps are, and the importance they are to the bicycle enthusaist, it surprises me that no recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type bicycle pumps. In fact, I find this lack of information outright strange. Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess: 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure. 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?) 3) Assessment of ergonomics. 4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge. 5) Cost 6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability. Considering how inexpensive these pumps are (in the cosmic scheme of things), a bicycle magazine could certainly do this comparitive study quite easily and inexpensively. In so doing, it will accelerate the improvement of these air pumps by forcing companies to try to outdo one another to build a better air pump. Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps is the Blackburn TP-5: http://www.blackburndesign.com/WEBREADY/03teampump.html It is a clever design in that it has two settings: very high volume for low pressure filling (such as automobile and mountain bike tires), and a low volume, high pressure setting. Thus, when filling up a tire, one can start out at high volume and put a lot of air in to start out with, and then once the pressure builds up where pumping gets difficult, one switches to the high pressure setting -- it fills up much more slowly, but it takes a lot less force to achieve very high pressures. Quite clever, actually. Comments? Criticisms? Jon Noring |
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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
"Jon Noring" wrote:
it surprises me that no recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type bicycle pumps. Have you seen Bicycling Magazine lately? I wouldn't make any purchases based on their reviews. Consumer Reports tries to do a good job, but they tend to put emphasis on the wrong things. Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess: 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure. I think too much emphasis is placed on this. For me, 99% of pump use is topping off pressure on my road bikes. It really doesn't matter if it takes three or five strokes. The work is the same in either case. 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?) 3) Assessment of ergonomics. 4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge. 5) Cost 6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability. The attachment to the valve seems to be an issue for a lot of people. For road tires with presta valves, it's hard to beat Silca's big brass presta chuck. There are plenty of good comments here on rbt from folks who have used various pumps for extended periods of time. I'd put more stock in those comments than a magazine article. There are threads on pumps several times a year. Try a google groups search. Art Harris |
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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
Why not ask a respected and busy local shop what pump they use in their
day-to-day business (assuming it's not compressed air). I bet you'll find out what works real fast. I have had a Zefal Husky (now known as SKS Renkompressor) for some 10 years. It is built like a tank, very little plastic in it, and probably will not need replacement in my lifetime. Joe |
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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
x-no-archive:yes
... Floor pumps are inexpensive, work well for years, and are used once a week to top up tires. Even filling a mtb tire from empty is no big deal unless you're doing a bunch of bikes. I'd look for a pump with a gauge far up the pump and a connector that does both Schrader and Presta without having to fiddle with internal parts. Aside from that I don't see an issue. There is an interesting pump from Topeak that is part floor pump part frame/mini pump and can be had with a gauge. I already have a bunch of mini pumps none of which works well and a floor pump which does a great job so I haven't really looked at it. Doug Toronto In the first case you mentioned, my Serfas floor pump with the gauge up high, metal tubing and lifetime guarantee, is excellent. In the second, you are talking about the Topeak Road Morph--the only frame pump I would carry on my bike. By turning it into something resembling a floor pump, you can actually push downward against the pressure instead of along the direction of the pressure. You just turn the handle into a T handle and set the pump up like a floor pump. It even comes with an in-line gauge. Pat in TX |
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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
(Jon Noring) wrote in message . com...
Everyone, When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!) Hi, in the PerformanceBike.com catalog they show efficency specs for many of their pumps. The rating is based on strokes to inflate both a MTB tire and a road tire. An example would be 43/24. That rating is for the Topeak Joe Blow Sport, which I bought recently. I liked that besides the two sided head for Presta, and Schraeder, it also has ball/mattress adaptors. I have no basis for comparison, other than the crappy pumps of my youth, but this one works fine. I have used it both for topping off tires and for replacing tubes. I got it on sale for around $21, it lists for $34.99 Performance has a number of pumps on sale, at this time: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...18&Sub_ID=4360 Life is Good! Jeff Considering how ubiquitous floor-type bicycle pumps are, and the importance they are to the bicycle enthusaist, it surprises me that no recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type bicycle pumps. In fact, I find this lack of information outright strange. Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess: 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure. 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?) 3) Assessment of ergonomics. 4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge. 5) Cost 6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability. Considering how inexpensive these pumps are (in the cosmic scheme of things), a bicycle magazine could certainly do this comparitive study quite easily and inexpensively. In so doing, it will accelerate the improvement of these air pumps by forcing companies to try to outdo one another to build a better air pump. Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps is the Blackburn TP-5: http://www.blackburndesign.com/WEBREADY/03teampump.html It is a clever design in that it has two settings: very high volume for low pressure filling (such as automobile and mountain bike tires), and a low volume, high pressure setting. Thus, when filling up a tire, one can start out at high volume and put a lot of air in to start out with, and then once the pressure builds up where pumping gets difficult, one switches to the high pressure setting -- it fills up much more slowly, but it takes a lot less force to achieve very high pressures. Quite clever, actually. Comments? Criticisms? Jon Noring |
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Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?)
"Jeff Starr" wrote: in the PerformanceBike.com catalog they show efficency specs for many of their pumps. The rating is based on strokes to inflate both a MTB tire and a road tire. An example would be 43/24. That's really not an efficency spec. Those that pump more volume per stroke require more force. The work required will be about the same. It's like the difference between climbing a hill in a low or high gear. The higher gear requires fewer pedal strokes, but more force. High volume pumps might be better for MTBs. Art Harris |
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