Bicycle Mechanics - what floor pump to get?

Howdy - I need to buy a new floor pump for my company (engineering firm). Our old one is completely shot and I can't even find it anymore. Anyways - it'll see a lot of use so I want to make sure I don't choose poorly. I was told to look at Pedro's and Topeak's JoeBlows. I was looking at the Pedro's Prestige but it seems to have a lot of really negative reviews. Same goes for the JoeBlow Pro!. It seems like there isn't a pump out there that people don't have negative things to say about.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

if you need both presta and schrader valves i would recommend a specialized air tool pro. i would have bought this but rather chose a sks renncompressor only because i wanted a pump with only presta valve this time arouond. based on all of my research the air tool pro is many peoples favorite and robust construction.

Got over 6 years of almost everyday use on a Joe Blow, still going strong. Great pricepoint, too.

My Blackburn Track Pump 1 is a raging piece of crap. It's hard to put on to the valve stem, it's even harder to get off (which has ruined more than one tube), when I pump up a tire above 100 psi the pressure doesn't release, and it wiggles in the base under normal use pressure.

I suspect that the reason so many people have bad experiences with pumps is that they figure they should be cheap, so they buy cheap (and, it turns out, asterisky) pumps.

So I'm watching this thread with interest.

Silca's are or at least used to be workhorses. Mine is 20+ years old, but it seems that some think the newer versions are not as well made. About the only thing that you had to do was to occasionally replace the leather washer. They seem to last about 5 years on mine, with pumping ~2/week.

I also have a Joe Blow Pro that I like. About the same usage as the Silca. I like the dual head since my kids bikes are schrader, and the adult bikes are presta. If something goes wrong on the Joe Blow I am not sure what parts availability will be. However, Topeak has excellent customer service.

I assume you mainly need this for schrader valves? In which case the Silca may not be as good of an option as they mainly have Presta only heads. The one dual head that Silca makes is apparently not very good at all. If you need the pump to fit schrader valves could fit a good schrader head on the Silca, I'd vote for the Silca. It's durable and simple.

Got over 6 years of almost everyday use on a Joe Blow, still going strong. Great pricepoint, too.
+1

Cheap and works well.

Got over 6 years of almost everyday use on a Joe Blow, still going strong. Great pricepoint, too.

+lots Topeak has excellent customer service. I have the road morph G and Joe Blow turbo. Nothing but good things to say about both.

if you need both presta and schrader valves i would recommend a specialized air tool pro. i would have bought this but rather chose a sks renncompressor only because i wanted a pump with only presta valve this time arouond. based on all of my research the air tool pro is many peoples favorite and robust construction.

I have the Airtool Comp (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=41268&eid=384), which is the less expensive version of the Airtool Pro (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=41267&eid=384). It works great and I've been completely satisfied with it. Since the OP mentioned it would be for company use, the Pro probably would be better for his purposes, since it's built a little more ruggedly and would stand up better to heavier use. The Comp is fine for my home use, though. Both are completely rebuildable and spare parts (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=EquipSparePartsPumpsFloor&eid=384) are available at very reasonable prices.

i have the specialized airtool pro. since i was going to use it often, i figured it was worth the investment.

however, getting it on and off a presta valve is a PITA. maybe thats how all pumps are...i dont know. ive made my hand/fingers bleed more than once by pulling it off and smashing them into my cassette.

the JoeBlow Sprint has been the house pump for about six months now and with three roommates and about a dozen bikes, I would say it is more than decent for filling up our tires without hassle.

i have the specialized airtool pro. since i was going to use it often, i figured it was worth the investment.

however, getting it on and off a presta valve is a PITA. maybe thats how all pumps are...i dont know. ive made my hand/fingers bleed more than once by pulling it off and smashing them into my cassette.

I've only used mine with Shrader valves, so I don't know if works differently with Prestas, but I haven't had any trouble like that. Anyway, here are a couple of (possibly dumb) questions: Did you know that you can unscrew the pump head cap to make it grip the valve stem more loosely, or screw it in to make it tighter? Also, are you aware that the lever on the pump head works exactly opposite of the lever on many other pumps? You should put the head on the valve with the lever folded down against the head and pull it up so it sticks out before using the pump, then push it back down to remove it.

I won a specialized air tool comp at a race and it's the best pump I've ever used. I run all presta valves so don't know how it works with shraeder.

I've posted details of the disaster that occured elsewhere here before. But I'll give a synopsis - Don't get a Nashbar L'Orange. The head of one blew up in my face. Pieces nearly hit me in the eye. They flew all over. And took the valve-stem clear off a new presta-tube. It was a pretty much new pump at that, only used it maybe 5 times.

i've been using a Park Tools Home Mechanic Floor Pump (PFP-3) for a couple years - got it used on CL for 15.00

the rubber gasket seals wore out from the previous owner jamming down on threaded presta stems. the website shows how to disassemble and reverse the gaskets but this had already been done before i got the pump.

so i called park tools and a guy sent me a new replacement head for free. didn't even charge me for shipping! pretty cool...

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=17&item=PFP%2D3

I won a specialized air tool comp at a race and it's the best pump I've ever used. I run all presta valves so don't know how it works with shraeder.

Same here. The LBS I brought mine at uses one instead of their Park shop. I've gone through two Joe Blow's and the Specialzied is much, much better.

I also use it to add air to my car's. It works on Shraeder's!

+1 for the Joe Blow Sport. I've had mine for 3+ years and it's still going strong.
We use a Joe Blow Sport when the shop holds bike repair clinics at the local colleges.

I recently bought a cheap schrader pump at -Mart mostly to top up the motorcycle. When checking outit asked for my birthday which I said I wasn't going to give them.. Any one know the deal with this? Live in Ma. for what its worth

The easiest way is to shop somewhere else.

I recently purchased the Joe Blow Pro. Nicest floor pump I've ever used. A little more pricey than some of the other models but worth it in my opinion.

Got over 6 years of almost everyday use on a Joe Blow, still going strong. Great pricepoint, too.

+!

Use a joe Blow a couple times each week for a few years now. Mostly use the presta, but schrader for kids' bikes and the occasional soccer ball.