View Single Post
Old 09-28-06, 05:44 PM
  #1  
geo8rge
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,018
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
cyclaire pump review

http://cyclaire.com/

120 psi pump with integral gage and tire patch kit (cap on bottom reveals 2 self stick patches).

After one use:

The thing works and could replace a floor pump for an typical user.

The thing gets hot and could overheat so it is more of an individual pump, not meant for pumping up multiple tires one after the other. This could be a problem for multiple bike families. It is easy to use, I had to use 150 pulls to get my tire from 0 to 80 psi. I found it easier to use than my mini pump as I used both arms and legs and can switch hands easily. If you pump too fast you get a strange vibration effect transmitted to your arms. If you have difficulty with hand pumps this might be a good choice for you. The gage seems 'hi quality'.

The instructions warn against using it for more than 3 min straight without a 15 min rest and more than 10 min (I guess 5-7 full inflations of a 26" tire to 80 psi) a day.

It does not get much tougher as pressure increases so you could blow out the tire.

My cheapy mini pump (no gage, probably lower pressure) weights 140g. The pump weighs 302g, without the cloth case (weight weenies can ditch the tire patch kit to save 2g). A blackburn frame pump wo a gage is 244g (carbon 211g ).

$40 on ebay w case and shipping. The cloth case is nice to have but not really needed, it stows easily in any pack.

There is an 80 psi version that pumps more per cycle, and a version for balls and air mattresses.

Seems solidly built, but like all new product reviews the reviewer has no idea what the lifetime is. I was able to resurrect my mini pump by oiling it after the seals stopped working. I do not know if I could service the cyclaire in the same way. I wonder if dust getting sucked into the piston could damage it, and how durable the pull cord is.

If you are the kind of person that might forget a frame pump on your chained bike this pump might save you some grief if you keep in in your pack.

I once tore a presta valve while pumping in an inexpert manner. The cyclaire's flexible hose might have avoided that. I might have pulled to hard attempting to disconnect the pump's valve, which could happen with the cyclair too.

Last edited by geo8rge; 09-28-06 at 07:15 PM.
geo8rge is offline