Road Cycling - does a good minipump exist?

well, straight after starting the CO2 thread, i'm now wondering about a good minipump. it seems like this would be the more economical direction, since i wouldn't be tossing hundreds of used cartridges.

however, i hear most of them suck; as in, they have trouble going past 80 psi, and that it's a pain in the butt to get it that far. does anyone have any recommendations for a good minipump? i would prefer that it has the lungs to get my tires to 100 psi (this thing would only be used for flats, of course), and it would also be nice if you didn't have to work incredibly hard to pump it that high. 80 psi would be acceptable, also, to limp home or finish a club ride. thanks!!

Narrow barrel is the key, or narrow inner barrel on telescopics.

To compress X amount of air, Y amount of work needs to be done. Fat barrel requires high pressure per stroke, but fewer strokes. Narrow barrel requires less pressure per stroke, but more strokes. Very much like climbing a hill on your bike, in fact... high cadence = lower effort, but more repetitions.

Zefal HPR's should be able to get you to 100psi if you have the patience to do that much pumping. I use their full-sized HPX4, which weighs... (checks on postal scale) ... 9 ounces, or about 260 grams. Wow, I didn't realize these were that light :) It pumps like a champ, I can get something like 1 psi per stroke on a 700 x 23 tire.

HPX series (http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=HP%2DX+Frame+Pump&vendorCode=ZEFAL&major=3&minor=9)
HPR mini (http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Mini%2DDoubleShot+HP+Pump&vendorCode=ZEFAL&major=3&minor=9)

In my opinion good minipump is an oxymoron.

Give me a good full size frame pump every time.

louis-

i forgot to mention in the initial post that i don't have a pump peg on my frame :/ i dont know why frame manufacturers have become such a pain about including these all of a sudden...

thanks mechbgone! i'll check these out. i don't really have a prob w/lots of repetitions just so long as it will get my tires to the needed pressure.

I'm using a Topeak Road Morph. Too short to be a frame pump, too big to be a mini, but man, it's fast and easy to get up to 100psi+ because it works like a floor pump.

Darned good thing too, all the flats I had with the Panaracer Pasela TG that's no longer on my back wheel.

RichC

Yeah, Rich, I have heard good things about the Road Morph.

dgustashaw - You can get by without a pump peg with the Zefal HPX. You need to measure the space between the head tube and the seat tube and buy the size that compresses in that area. The ends of the pump are made to fit snugly and hold fast. Take your bike to the LBS for best fit.

Edit- I forgot to mention, with no peg simply flip the pump around so the head end is against the head tube. The handle end has a indentation made to rest against the seat tube. I've been doing this for years.

Sometimes you can't get the frame pump to fit even if you have the proper size for your frame. I purchased a flat, elasticized strap with velcro at the ends. I put my HPX pump under the top tube and secure one end of the pump with this. It stays nice and snug this way.

I use the blackburn as-1 air stik. It has no problem getting to
120psi and it pumps both on the in and out stroke to maximize your effort. It still takes a while but it is faster than other mini pumps I have used. It also just mounts under your waterbottle cage.

This one was recommended to me by some people in the local bike club and I have been very happy with it.

I have a Zefal Mini Pump. However, this is for emergencies of course. No way I could get 120PSI outta that thing. I get close to 90PSI though which is plenty of air to get me to a phone or something.

djgustashaw,

You timing on this couldn't be better. I went out for a 50 miler yesterday. I had to take my wife's bike (good thing are the same size) since I broke the axle on my rear wheel the day before and don't have a spare wheel. Anyway, I drove out to the meeting point to ride with some friends are realized I forgot to pack my standing floor pump.

Well, I saw that my wife had a little mini pump attached to her bike and thought that I was screwed. We never had a need to use it before, so there was no way I can get anything past 50psi with this little thing. Well, this mini had a guage on it and I was able to get 100psi in it. It took a little work, but I could believe I got 100psi in it. Getting to 80psi was realitive easy, but the last 20 took a little huffing and puffing. 80 would have been fine in an emergency, but since I was starting my 50 miler, I had to get at least 100 in there.

Anyway, I'll check what brand and model it is, tonight, and post it here. I'm gonna get one for my bike too. :)

MI_rider-

does the air stik consistently get to 120 psi w/out problems? i read some reviews at mtbr.com and some had trouble getting it to higher pressures. also, how big is it? thanks!

[edit] just read your post, eagle eye. please do find out what model it is! thanks!

Ive got just a simple Schwinn pump. Itll get to 90 psi easily. After that, you pretty much need to carb load to get higher. :D

Ive got up to 100psi, but nowhere near what they claim it will do. I think it is rated to 120psi, or something.

Originally posted by djgustashaw
MI_rider-

does the air stik consistently get to 120 psi w/out problems? i read some reviews at mtbr.com and some had trouble getting it to higher pressures. also, how big is it? thanks!


Well I don't usually have a guage with me but I have tested it at home and checked it with the guage on the floor pump and it will get to 120. On my tests I usually ended up having around 110 or 112 but easily could have pumped in more. I only used it once on the road and I got plenty of air in it so that I didn't have to just limp home. I could continue my ride.

The pump is 11 inches long and an inch in diameter.

Hope this helps.

Steve

Anybody know of a good high-pressure pump that can be carried in a Camelbak? I don't want a frame pump. I've been carrying my mtb mini pump with me for emergencies but I doubt that will be adequate.

Topeak Road morphs rule! I have broken so many heads off of frame pumps I have given up. The road morph is used like a floor pump so there is no odd twisting action as you pump. I get 120 PSI easily because I can push against the ground instead of my other arm. I don't waste all my strength pumping the tire up either. Anyway, I have broken a lot of pumps recently and find this one seems to be holding it's own.

I'm using a Crank Bros Power Pump. It has a High Volume & a high pressure setting. Works very well and I can inflate a tyre to around 120pis if I want I only go to 100-110psi max for improved rolling resistance.
Comes with a frame mount which uses cable ties and sticky tape pads to secure it too the frame.
Samll enough to be carried in a Camelback.

djgustashaw,

Went home for lunch and looked at the pump on my wife's bike. It's a Topeak Mini Master Blaster w/Guage. This worked great for it's purpose, but wouldn't want to use it for every jobs.

I have a Topeak Morph on me bike and it great for pumping 'cuz you can use the ground to pump. Only thing I don't like about it is it's big and bulky. I sometimes hit it while pedaling. I rarely use my hand pump 'cuz I don't get a lot of flats, so I will be switching over to the Topeak Mini Master Baster. It's small, compact, and exactly what I need on the road. Hmm, wonder if my wife will notice it missing if I just swap mine for hers? :)

BTW, Performance (website) has them on sale for $15.

I bought a zefal HPX and wasn't impressed, I too don't have the pump pegs, but it stays in when you put it along the seat tube due to its own elastic springyness. When I put a second water bottle cage on though I noticed two things. ALong the top tube it likes to jump off if above the tube or fall of if below. It can be secured with velcro straps though which is fine.

The major problem I had was that the edge of the pump handle has a nasty metal edge that touches your frame. Slowly but surely it will try and eat through your frame. The only way to stop this is to put some padding in between which is a pain in the butt cause it then interferes with my cables.

My solution will be to replace it shortly with a blackburn fp-1m. It was recommended by cycling plus and looks like it won't have any hard metal edges eat my frame problems. The zefal gets one of the lower scores in their test. I wasn't impressed by the design of it at all and would suggest others stay away from it.

I have a Topeak Speed mini or something, and it is really good. Light and fast. gets me to 110PSI easy.

Brendon
:beer:

I like my little 6 inch 65 gram Torelli mini pump. It will pump to 100 PSI but it takes some effort past 85. But it has no plastic parts to break on it like most pumps today. It will fit in your jersey pocket or seatbag or you can attach it to your water bottle cage with the included mounts. Colorado cyclist sells it for $13.

With mini pumps it is all about efficientcy. SKS makes some of the highest rated mini pumps out there, and they live up to it.

I really like my Specialized Air Force 2. Gets me 110 psi (rated to 160 psi), pumps on both in and out strokes, 10" x 1", only 135 gm., and mounts under my bottle cage. I hardly notice it's there!

I just went to CO2, and will never go back. I can top off a tire to 120 psi in 1 1/2 seconds. It would have taken 5 minutes a tire with my hand pump. I carry the pump for emergencies, but the CO2 is far superior.

Topeak master blaster dx (I lent it to a roadie as an emergency pump and it got his tyres up to pressure) and it works fine on my mtb. Even the topeak pocket works well up to 100psi.

Richard

Originally posted by MI_rider
Well I don't usually have a guage with me but I have tested it at home and checked it with the guage on the floor pump and it will get to 120. On my tests I usually ended up having around 110 or 112 but easily could have pumped in more. I only used it once on the road and I got plenty of air in it so that I didn't have to just limp home. I could continue my ride.

The pump is 11 inches long and an inch in diameter.

Hope this helps.

Steve

I have the same one, and it has been a godsend. It also mounts neatly beside one of my bottle cages.

I have read on another forum that the "Slim Jim" CO2/Hand pump by Innovations is pretty neat and efficient. Its a combination CO2 and hand pump to top off the last few lbs of pressure. Its small and light and replaces the "Second Wind" model.

This pump looks interesting to me. Runs about $29 in the discount catalogs and is probably worth a try. If it does not work out, well, you still have not lost a much. The person on the other forum (Bicycling.com I think) had been through many pumps and favored this one the most, though he had only been using it a short time.

Hmm,
I am beginning to think Rich and I are twins seperated at birth. We keep getting the same thing. I also have the Topeak Road Morph. It's nice. It has a little foot rest that folds down so you can pump it like a regular pump (But have a care, let a finger get caught and blood will flow). There's a stubby little tube that makes this possible. It even has a pressure gauge. I really dislike minipumps; this is no worse than annoying.......

Genuine Innovations 'Road Air': 28 cm, 98 grams, 160 psi (allegedly). Works quite well in practice.

In the mid-90's I bought a Topeak Combo Master Blaster. It's the precursor to the Road Morph. I use a water bottle mount that puts the pump beside the water bottle. My foot comes close, but doesn't hit. One guy I know from another Forum mounted his under his down tube on a Trek 5200. The mount that comes with the pump fit perfect, and it doesn't affect his cables. You can get up to 160 psi with these pumps, and the gage is fairly accurate.
This pump will fit inside the bigger Camalbaks, and you can strap it to the outside of the shorter ones.

Originally posted by Dchiefransom
One guy I know from another Forum mounted his under his down tube on a Trek 5200. The mount that comes with the pump fit perfect, and it doesn't affect his cables.

you mean this? :)

:) and this one

that's how i have my Road Morph mounted... the mount is really stiff so the pump does not bump and rattle on the down tube even when going over railroad tracks...