Commuting - Pump with or without inline gauge?

Is it better to buy a bike pump with an inline gauge or not? I'm looking at the Topeak Road Morph with gauge.

If you're talking about monitoring how much air you're putting in your tires, yes, a gauge is probably a good idea. There's always the old squeeze test too, but a gauge seems a little more accurate and more useful than detaching the pump to test with some other gauge.

For a home floor pump, the built in gauge is a must. I don't know about frame pumps.

+1

It saves the check, pump, check, pump, check nonsense. For me, being part of the tri-focal set, having the gauge on the pump makes it much easier to see.

It's a good idea to check your inline gauge against a decent handheld gauge.

Sometimes they are off by some amount.

Once you know how much to compensate for it's not a problem.

Sometimes you get lucky and they are dead on.

It's a good idea to check your inline gauge against a decent handheld gauge.

Sometimes they are off by some amount.

Once you know how much to compensate for it's not a problem.

Sometimes you get lucky and they are dead on.

+1

It's a good idea to check your inline gauge against a decent handheld gauge.

Sometimes they are off by some amount.

that morph pump is nice, i got one. gauge seems accurate, although it sticks a little at times. heck of a lot easier to use than the old zefal frame pump i've had for 15 years.

i always use a gauge. they make small handheld presta gauges, but i prefer the built-in if its accurate.

beware those 70% off floor pumps from nashbar/perf. my neighhbor had been inflating his mtb tires to 80psi (spec'd 50). the gauge was way off. i recalibrated it against my other 3 gauges, just used a sharpie marker to correct the gauge chart.

so now my neighbor has solved his tire explosion mystery.

I use the Park Tool PFP-2 at home and the Crank Brothers Power Alloy Mini Pump on the road. Both have a built in gauge.:)

If you need a handheld gauge, REI has a Presta Accu-Gauge for $12 plus shipping.

Heck, you're probably good enough just feeling the tire, but if you care about the PSI, get the gauge. I have the road morph with gauge and it works well for me.

You don't need to be all that accurate to get back on the road. I just like to know when I get to 60 PSI or thereabouts. I'll kick it back up to 100 when I get home.

I was having a pinch flat problem. Stupid me - I was going by my home pump gauge. It's low by about Ten pounds. Not much, but I don't inflate to the limit. It was enough for me to be getting pinch flats here and there on the rear wheel. Funny, but both my mini pumps are very accurate: a Road Morph and a Mini DX Master Blaster both with the inline gauge. They are both dead on. The Road Morph is the one I can get a road tire fully inflated with. The Master Blaster Gets me to about 65 - enough to be able to go find a real pump.

When it comes to guages I subscribe to the advice of ole Ronnie Reagan - 'Trust, but verify'. Even if my good floor pump says I got 80lbs in the tire, I still use my hand to test the firmness. This is especially needed with presta valves - I can't count how many people I have watched 'think' they pumped up to 100lbs or so on just two strokes because valve wasn't actually engaged with the pump.

If it's your only pump, go with the gauge. If it's only a frame pump, I'd go cheaper, but then I periodically lose my frame pumps. Testing by squeezing the tire is good enough to get you home.