Bicycle Mechanics - What's a good bike pump?

The newest post I could find about this was four years old... What's a good pump?

For home/shop use or carry on?

For on the bike, I like the full size, adjustable Park Tool pump, so I can swap it between bikes and it fits them all.

You're searching wrong. There are hundreds of threads already ... 35 in the last 3 months with "pump" in the title.

All I can say is I tried to go the cheap route, spent $15 on a pump at Academy. It was such a piece of crap that the next week I went and spent $35 on a pump from a real bike store. It is so much nicer. I wish I would have spent my money right the first time.

I need something for home use. I had a compressor at my parents house but now I'm in an apartment.

I think I was searching wrong... I searched "bike pump" in title only. I probably should've just put "pump"

I need something for home use. I had a compressor at my parents house but now I'm in an apartment.

I think I was searching wrong... I searched "bike pump" in title only. I probably should've just put "pump"

Our shop offers pumps for general public use - they get abused the crap out of. Park, blackburn, topeak all get trashed relatively quickly - this one hasn't.

http://marathonsportsagency.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gallerylezynefloordrive-silver_20090422_1076579512.jpg

This one has survived. The pump head threads onto the valve - no crappy trigger/lever type to break off stems or wear out. ^ Lezyne stainless floor pump.

The newest post I could find about this was four years old... What's a good pump?

Topeak Morph pumps work fine for me.

For the Home .... A 25 year old Silca pump(with a Topeak Smarthead) keeps on working for me. I don't know how the new ones are, but at least they'll have parts in the future.

Key in selecting a pump is matching the bore diameter to your tire pressure goal and your arm strength.

Think or pump bore diameter as you would gear selection for single speed. Smaller bores allow pumping to higher pressures with a given strength, but at the expense of tons of strokes. Larger bores pump more volume but getting to high pressure require more strength.

So choosing the right pump depends balancing strength vs. speed, based on how much pressure you need to achieve.

No matter the quality, any pump that doesn't satisfy your personal needs won't be of much use to you. Generally I suggest buying the largest bore pump that will allow you to pump to full riding pressure. For some that might mean a fairly skinny pump, for others a much fatter faster working pump.

Bought a Topeak Road Morph last fall and it has been a real joy to use.

Our shop offers pumps for general public use - they get abused the crap out of. Park, blackburn, topeak all get trashed relatively quickly - this one hasn't.

http://marathonsportsagency.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gallerylezynefloordrive-silver_20090422_1076579512.jpg

This one has survived. The pump head threads onto the valve - no crappy trigger/lever type to break off stems or wear out. ^ Lezyne stainless floor pump.

Lezyne makes great pumps. I have the Classic Steel floor pump and it has been great. The thread-on chuck and the reviews sold me.

Silca pumps are rebuildable and reliable. I have had mine since 1994. Replaced the gaskets, the leather and one guage.

I have two pumps, one that is a bell judgement and doesnt fill presta valve well with air, so last week I bought a new pump from walmart, with a two hundred psi gauge integrated to the pump, for fifteen bucks, but its super cheap, cheap plastic handles where you apply the force and cheap plastic at the bottom, with a alloy pump tube that takes oil for lubrication. Cheapness aside, its very effective only a couple of pumps gets me one hundred plus PSI, very cool. I thought it would take allot more pumps to get such high psi but nope.

+1 road morph on the bike,
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-ASI300-Station-Inflator/dp/B000IE0YIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1267321874&sr=8-1
at home. old silca, just in case.

You can buy one of those battery boosters with a compressor built right in for about $50 (RoadPro) and up and never have to exert yourself! Not that pumping is a major exertion. Sure those things come with schrader only so you'll need to buy a presta to schrader converter for a $1. If you want something a little bit fancier you can get small Wel-Bilt electric compressor with a 2.5 gallon tank for about $80. Either one of these can pump bike and car tires but only one of them will start your car.

I have so many ways to pump up bike tires at home I don't want to bore you with the details.

Lezyne or Silca?

I've come to realize that pumps are a consumable item. They go out of production after a while and and you can't get parts.

I spent $60 on a Silca pump a few years back. I bought it because I thought it would be the last one I'd ever buy and would simply replace parts as they wore out. The first one was defective. Money wasted on postaqe back and forth. The second one lasted about a year and then would only pump small amounts of air at the end of a stroke. I took it apart and for the life of me couldn't get it to work. It went in the trash after I bent it in half and drove the car over it.

Get $20 pumps on sale and plan on getting a few years out of them. It's all crap made in China.

I have the Lezyne High Pressure similar to the one in the above photo. It's great. Only had it 6 months though. It does schrader and presta.

Topeak Turbo Morph G... one pump to rule them all. I have one on each bike, and no other pump. I know there is a road version, but I already had two when I bought my road bike and it has worked just fine on my 27" road tires (100 PSI), and it's got a gauge which is nice to have on the road when adjusting pressure on studded tires. It's also convertible. Sure it takes longer to inflate a tube that is flat, but do you do that often enough to necessitate another pump? I don't, and I ride over 3,000 miles a year. If you are running a shop, sure.

Lezyne or Silca?

I vote for the Lezyne floor pump, they seem sturdier then the Silca and designed to look like a Silca just with modern technology to make it work better.

I would also vote for the Lezyne Road Drive silver or Pressure Drive if you want to color match your bike; these are very good bike mounted pumps.

This is all you'll ever need:

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A0841

Be sure and use the USA15 code for 15% off.

139516
PlanetBike pumps work well(portable and floor models),
they carry lifetime warranties and are rebuildable.
PlanetBike donates 25% of profits to cycling causes:

http://ecom1.planetbike.com/pumps.html

I have a Topeak Master Blaster that i take riding with me. I've had it for about 5 years and it still works great.

For home use i have a Topeak Joe Blow floor pump, can't say anything bad about it.

Topeak and Blackburn make good products, and I believe that both companies have lifetime warranties on their pumps.

I have an ancient Zefal Husky floor pump with wooden handle and cast-iron base; it's been a sweet unit ever since I overhauled it a few years back.

Has a threaded Shrader end on the hose for some reason, but works great with an adapter.

I have a 10 dollar bell from walmart that has never given me any problems other than the hose cracking in the cold

its been replaced with flexable rubber hose (fuel line from a Peterbuilt truck)...I also have an air pig (small narrow and old fire extinguisher converted to an air bomb) that I fill and take with on group rides....it will fill 3 26x2 ish tubes...

well scratch that....the 3rd tube may be a bit squishy but it will be mobile...

at home I have the shop compressor that has burst more of my friends tubes than I care to think about...

it is funny when it happens though

Doug in sunny iowa

Well i've had a park tool home mechanics model since 2004. It still works flawlessly. Its always been outside in a shed. I use it everytime i ride, and after 6 years its still pumpin like new, lol.

Our shop offers pumps for general public use - they get abused the crap out of. Park, blackburn, topeak all get trashed relatively quickly - this one hasn't.

http://marathonsportsagency.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gallerylezynefloordrive-silver_20090422_1076579512.jpg

This one has survived. The pump head threads onto the valve - no crappy trigger/lever type to break off stems or wear out. ^ Lezyne stainless floor pump.

After seeing that one, now I wish I didn't have a pump I'm quite satisfied with :(