Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Pump recommendations

This year I've started to begin riding longer distances, currently up to around 4 hours, and wondered any recommendations for pumps. Ie...frame mounted or carrying in a seat pack. Also, second question, I have a rear seat pack but are there recommendations for another pack (handlebar, frame, other?). Appreciate the comments.

my standard frame pump for the last six years has been a Zefal HP-X. It's been very good and reliable, but I wouldn't mind if it had a pressure gauge as well. For this reason, I am always mildly envious when friends whip out their Topeak Road Morphs. Those are fine pumps, too, though you'll likely have to store them in a rear or front bag.

As far as seatpacks go, you might want to add a few qualifiers to help with the recommendations.

-- how much are you planning to carry (basic repair gear + credit card? ultralight touring?)
-- do you ride in the rain and do you need something to stow your rain gear?
-- do you have a rack or brazeons for a rack?
-- do you have a front rack or brazeons for a front rack?
-- what's your budget?

personally, for a 4 hour day ride, I've been fine with your average underseat pack (Topeak Aero Wedge Medium) to carry basic repair tools, spare tube, a wallet, phone and small Clif bar. For longer rides or inclement weather, I'd go with a transverse saddlebag, like the Carradice Pendle or Barley if you've got the cash to spare.

I am currently using the Quicker Pro Pump, which I got from Velo Orange. I'm happy with it. It will get the pressure up there for sure which is nice. Pressure gauge is marginally useful.
http://www.velo-orange.com/quickerpropump.html
http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-84224226242177_2054_11411364

I would like to try a larger frame pump, like the Topeak Road Morph or Zefal HP-X. A full aluminum or better yet polished aluminum would be really nice.

Topeak Road Morph. Store it in a mountain pump bracket that attaches under your downtube bottle cage. Maybe you have an old bracket, get one from a friend, or buy. The bracket that comes with the pump zipties to your top tube, but that's unclassy. Zefal is good, too, but the Morph is better. Maybe the best thing is that your enthusiastic friends won't rip the valves out of your tubes anymore when they "help" with the pumping.

Zefal HPx

Topeak road Morph is an awesome pump. I don't have a normal floor pump because I only use this one. You can also screw the bracket using the downtube water braze ons. that is what I did. I think that is classy enough for me. best pump ever.

If you do get a road morph, which I'm reluctant to recommend, call them up and scream at them because they should have given you the holder that attaches to the side of your water bottle. Otherwise they'll try to charge you $5, which is incredibly outrageous.

I'm a big fan of the Road Morph G. Only difference from the regular Road Morph is an inline pressure gauge.

Another Zefal Hpx fan here.


A full aluminum or better yet polished aluminum would be really nice.

Fwiw I hear you can scrub off the black paint on the shaft of the zefal, and that it's shiny alu under the coat of black paint. The handles would still be black though.

Another happy Topeak Road Morph user here.

lezyne road drive:

http://www.lezyne.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/R/O/ROAD-DRIVE-L-V1-R0_2.jpg

and lezyne pressure drive:

http://www.lezyne.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/P/R/PRESSUREDRIVE-S-V1-R2_2.jpg

are two of my current favs.
i do miss my zefal frame pump from back in the day...

lezyne road drive:

...

and lezyne pressure drive:

...

are two of my current favs.
i do miss my zefal frame pump from back in the day...

(We must be the same person!)

I have the shorter Lezyne Road Drive. The hose fits inside of the pump, which makes it a neater package than the very-well-liked Topeak Road Morph. The Lezyne pumps have a good reputation (as far as I can determine). I don't have much experience using mine but it appears to work fine.

I had an ancient Zefal that I used as my only pump.

(We must be the same person!)

I have the shorter Lezyne Road Drive. The hose fits inside of the pump, which makes it a neater package than the very-well-liked Topeak Road Morph. The Lezyne pumps have a good reputation (as far as I can determine). I don't have much experience using mine but it appears to work fine.

I had an ancient Zefal that I used as my only pump.

i like the road drive better for 28s and less.
the pressure drive is on my fixed gear all terrain-a-saurus with wide tires.

Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HP... Similar in design to the famous Road Morph (I have two of those) with a longer hose, better chuck, slicker frame mount, lighter weight, and NO plastic. Awesome pump - and I'll bet most people have never heard of it.

Check it out:
http://www.lezyne.com/index.php/products/hand-pumps.html

Topeak Road Master Blaster. It's a frame fit, plenty of pressure and a better looking copy of a Zefal HP-X. Of course, Topeak is sold in the U.S. by the same folks that used to sell Zefal (Todson), but that's probably just a coincidence!

Rick / OCRR

i like the road drive better for 28s and less.
the pressure drive is on my fixed gear all terrain-a-saurus with wide tires.
The Road Drive is rated for 160lbs. It would seem that it would be a lot of work getting it there! I was going to go with the longer Road Drive but was sent the shorter one instead. The Air Drive is rated for 120lbs and can be used for Presta and Shrader, which might be useful for group/club rides). I was going to go with the Air Drive but the place didn't have it in stock. I don't think I would ride on more than 120psi. It looks like the Road Drive will get to 120 reasonably easy (and fortunately, I don't get flats too often).


Topeak Road Master Blaster. It's a frame fit, plenty of pressure and a better looking copy of a Zefal HP-X.
I was going to go with a frame pump but my weird frame won't take one.

Another vote for the Lezyne stuff. I like them because they're mostly made out of metal with less plastic stuff to break.

With the right tires, the pump is more of an issue of what/where do you want to carry -- top tube, water bottle braze-on, pocket or pack. I use the Specialized Armadillo Elite tires and it's been several thousand miles and months since I've had a flat. With racing tires, I was fixing at least a flat a week, sometimes more than one per ride. Then I had a small carbon pump mounted to the braze-on and a CO2 inflator. Lately the small pump has been buried in my pack with my tools.

I remember now -- the last flat was in January and was a shingle nail stuck just off-center in the tire. That was six thousand miles ago.

The Lexyne looks like a very well made pump but I've never used one nor know anyone who has one. But the hose would help those who don't know how to keep a regular pump attached to the valve stem without a lot of movement risking damage to the stem.

I have the SKS Wese Carbon and it works very well; this pump is more on the level of a mid size mini. It has no hose but this has never been an issue for me, and it's light weight.

Always keep in mind, true small mini pumps will NEVER pump to the manufactures claimed psi ratings. I have found from my own experience and others that I know that they will generally pump at the most 25% LESS then the manufactures claims, and in most cases probably closer to 33% less.

I don't like CO2 because your limiting yourself to how much air you can carry. No big deal you say because maybe your thinking you've never had more then one flat on a ride so you carry two just in case the unusual happens...except one day you have three, now your screwed. Plus you have to take home the empties and make sure you don't forget to put new ones in your bag for the next ride. With a pump it's already attached to your bike ready and waiting to be used thus no preparing.

Also frame pumps are way easier to pump with way less pumps for high pressure road tires with vs mini's. The Zefal HPX Classic and the Blackburn CF are both extremily reliable frame pumps that are claimed to reach 160psi but probably closer to 125 which is more then fine for most road bikes. Even though these have no hoses the problem of damaging a stem is remote because of the ease of pumping. And frame pumps also have the added advantage in that they can be used as dog clubs.

The Lezyne looks like a very well made pump but I've never used one nor know anyone who has one..

used it on the road today for the first time. worked great. tried it in the garage and was pleased. first road flat today in 3.5 years. :(

Another vote for Lezyne. After nicking two valve stems while on the road with a Topeak (not the road morph), I opted for the longer Road Drive. The hidden hose and straightforward design were the deal makers.

I use the Axiom 'THRUST Air'. http://bikemag.com/news/freshproduce/axiom_pump/
I like it. :)

+1 for the lezyne mini floor pump. used it on several valve type/rim combinations and have no problem getting to 110 psi. plus it's easy to strip down and clean on the road if you happen to pick up some grit while riding.

Topeak sent me a bottle cage mount for free. The only thing I didn't like was that it isnt easy to read the gauge. I took apart the gauge and with a Sharpie, drew a red line on the PSI mark I usually use for my tires. With another line on the outside of the gauge, I just line the 2 marks up when I hit the PSI I use

= a better looking copy of a Zefal HP-X.

Blasphemer! If the HPX had thumbs, we would be slaving away in the coal mines right now. :p

Performance used to have a table that indicated the # of strokes a pump needed to get to ~100#
pressure, in a road bike and 40# pressure in an ATB tire. All of the small (under 8-10") WB mount
pumps took 220-400 strokes to get to pressure. HPX was in the 170 strokes range. I suspect the
Topeak is a bit more, as it is shorter so would expect 200-220 strokes. Topeak in theory is easier to use and for people with upper body strength problems, the ability to hold the far end of the pump with the foot and use the body weigh to pump vertically is attractive. I have three HPX and one Topeak and haven't flatted enough to compare yet between the two. Small bikes with big tubing diameters can be a challenge to fit HPX to expecially carbon with big gullets or wide radius curves on the tube
junctions. I have seen Topeaks mounted to the seat stay.

There's more to a pumps ability to pump air then the chart would make one think. A short pump may be capable of pumping to 100psi using less pumps then the chart says IF the pumps shaft is fatter. I had a Torelli Aria that was only about 5 inches long and it got to 90 in about 150 strokes but the body of the pump was fatter then most mini's. The other thing is that a mini pump manufacture will always over state their pumps ability to reach a given max pressure. For example SKS, a solid pump manufacture, claimed their Puro could reach 160psi...it only could get to 65 psi after roughly 600 strokes! I'm not sure where Performance got their info, did they actually test the pumps or was that info from the manufactures which would be totally bogus. In other words don't believe the manufactures max psi ratings for their pumps especially concerning mini's.

I have a Zefal HP-X and a Lezyne Road Drive, both great pumps. I had a SKS Puro too but that went in the trash after walking home from a flat.

I have both the Topeak Micro Rocket AL and the Road Morph G.

I like the Micro Rocket for small size/lightweight and have carried it in a jersey pocket and have had it mounted on my bike with the included water bottle side mount. I used it for my LD rides as a way to get a little air in a tire to seat it and then used a 16g CO2 to quickly fill the tire to 110+ PSI. Also I carried it as a backup in case I ran out of CO2 (have never had more than 1 flat on a ride, tho). One time I used the Micro Rocket to fill a tire after a roadside flat instead of the CO2 just because I felt like it, and it maybe got the tire to 80-90 PSI after quite a few strokes.

I am doing more LD rides and plan to tour, so picked up the Road Morph G with the gauge, as it seems to be a more capable pump. I am no longer using CO2. I had the opportunity to use the Road Morph this past weekend for a cyclist walking his bike out in the country because he already used his one CO2. Pump performed great and aired up the tire rather quickly (never counted the strokes). Once it got to 90 PSI it became a lot more difficult to pump. Since my touring bike will max out at 90-95 psi on 32c tires the road morph G is the perfect pump for me.

On long rides over 60 miles one way I carry my main SKS Wese Carbon mini pump attached to the side of the water bottle cage, then add the Zefal HPX frame pump. I was carrying my old early 80's Silca Impero with the Campy head but put it away because it may be a classic and bought the Zefal.

I carry 2 CO2 carts in my seat pack and a mini Lezyne pump attached to my water bottle cage bolts. So far I've only had to pack in a ride once - due to 3 flats and no spare tubes.

Topeak Road Morph.

I just received a Lezyne Micro Floor Pump HP (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1065577_-1_400032_400007_400166) from Performance. Haven't had to use it yet (knock on wood) but it seems to be well built and the hose is longer than the Topeak pumps.

I bought the Lezyne Pressure Drive and attached it to my water bottle mount. It rattled like crazy and about drove me nuts.

To quiet it down I had to do the following:
1. Wrap a short piece of rubber rim strip around the pump housing where the handle rests over the housing.
2. Make a hole in a short piece of rim strip and put it on the far end of the valve hose.
3. Put a little piece of rim strip between the pump bracket and the frame to keep the bracked from vibrating

Now it is finally quiet. It seems like a very well built pump but the buzzing noises were driving me crazy...

I always carry 5 co2 cartridges on centuries. On almost every century I stop and rescue some poor soul trying to use a mini pump. Those mini floor pumps look great though, and I'll probably get one for self supported rides, but I've never needed more then 3 cartridges (don't ask).

...i had a sks puro too but that went in the trash after walking home from a flat.

+1

Road Morph G, no problem getting my last flat to 110PSI. The only time I've had trouble pumping it was when it wasn't firmly in place on the presta valve. I took it off, firmly put it back on, and pumped away.

It might be overkill for a short ride, but anything over 50 miles, and it's a necessity.

Road Morph G

What's this alternate attachment? Any pics? I am not a fan of the velcro and zip ties. However, my century bike has no braze on bosses. Am wondering if I can make it work, or can devise a mount on the underside of my rear rack.

Road Morph G

What's this alternate attachment? Any pics? I am not a fan of the velcro and zip ties. However, my century bike has no braze on bosses. Am wondering if I can make it work, or can devise a mount on the underside of my rear rack.

They sell an additional off-the-side water bottle type mount, but I think the velcro would be the best in the case of a rack. I have a third set of bottle bosses near the BB, so I get to use the regular attachment method.

But you have no braze-on's at all? :eek:

http://gallery.a-symmetric.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=711&g2_serialNumber=2

Have the Road Morph and Lezyne Road Drive. Tried the SKS Puro; horrible useless thing.

They sell an additional off-the-side water bottle type mount, but I think the velcro would be the best in the case of a rack. I have a third set of bottle bosses near the BB, so I get to use the regular attachment method.

But you have no braze-on's at all? :eek:



Not a one. 1972 Fuji Finest. Have two bottle cages, but they're clamp-ons.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jfJf3GdX2mQ/SsEN6NA3XBI/AAAAAAAABZY/l4P23HKt4i4/September%202009%20Fuji%20comeback.jpg

I always carry 5 co2 cartridges on centuries. On almost every century I stop and rescue some poor soul trying to use a mini pump. Those mini floor pumps look great though, and I'll probably get one for self supported rides, but I've never needed more then 3 cartridges (don't ask).

That's funny, because I'm always rescuing those with CO2 with my mini pump. Usually because they didn't carry enough air like only 1 or 2, but you carry 5 so hopefully you won't need a mini pump to bail you out.

This (http://www.zorinpump.com/zorinpump.htm) works very well and doesn't clutter up your frame or take space in your pack.

Cool idea, but I do grease my seat post. Would rather not have to monkey around with allen wrenches and grease to change a tire.


This (http://www.zorinpump.com/zorinpump.htm) works very well and doesn't clutter up your frame or take space in your pack.

Cool idea, but I do grease my seat post. Would rather not have to monkey around with allen wrenches and grease to change a tire.

I hadn't even thought of that problem, I was more concerned with the offset and single bolt adjuster, both of which would keep me from being able to use it. (and the shortest version is about 150mm too long)

This year I've started to begin riding longer distances, currently up to around 4 hours, and wondered any recommendations for pumps. Ie...frame mounted or carrying in a seat pack. Also, second question, I have a rear seat pack but are there recommendations for another pack (handlebar, frame, other?). Appreciate the comments.

Well it's not the smallest or the lightest pump, but I use a Cyclaire (http://www.cyclaire.co.uk/) (the website was down when I wrote this, hopefully it'll be back soon-ish) which gets the job done for me ...

If you go for the Road Morph, Call Todson and ask for the water bottle mount. I got one for free

Another vote for Topeak Road Morph. I think I have the 'G' model. it's been great, that and Conti Gatorskins are the best purchases i've made in cycling. I spent a ton when I got a "nice" bike because I was trying to buy quality, and so far, it seems like I did.

I think if your riding far from home you need to carry two pumps in case one breaks which can happen. I usually carry the Zefal HPX frame pump unless I'm racing then I carry the Lezyne Pressure Drive medium (8 1/2 inch long) pump (yes, I race at 76!). But on long rides like when I tour, I carry both the frame and the mini, but use the frame only because it's way easier to pump, the mini is just in case the frame should fail. The Lezyne is however the best mini I ever used and I've had quite a few.

Have a Zefal frame pump on the Roubaix and just got a Topeak Road Morph for the converted MTB. Love the dial, hose, and foot brace on the Road Morph; hope I don't have to use it. Always worry about the valve stem with the Zefal, though I've not ruined one yet. Similar to thompsw above, I had 6 rear flats on the Roubaix OEM tires in the first 1800 miles and no flats since then on the next 14,000 miles using Armadillos on the rear (and Gatorskins on the front.)

Bags become important on long rides in the winter, as I need a place to store the layers as it warms through the day. Need a good seat post rack for the Roubaix so I can use a proper rack bag. The one I tried initially swayed to much and wore out the fitting. Am using a Jandd Mount Wedge III expandable seat bag that holds quite a bit at much less cost than the more revered traveling seat bags along with a small handlebar bag that doesn't interfere with the shifter cables. Enough room now for tubes, lotions, tools, a light jacket and tights, along with a snack.