Touring - I broke my Topeak Road Morph!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5283276280_c1472dc9b8.jpg

This morning I was putting some air into my tires and the pump snapped in half. I wasn´t doing anything strange. Furthermore this pump is only a month old. I´ve used it maybe 10 times.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5283276390_407f1c781e.jpg

I´m in South America on a long tour. Luckily I actually brought a backup pump. I have a dahon biologic seatpost pump. I don´t love using it because it doesn´t have a gauge, but it works fairly well. I actually intended to remove it from the bike before I left, but I forgot to.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5282675753_9f14732c1c.jpg

I´m obviously disappointed in the pump. I have another one that I used for 4 years with no problems. The only reason I didn´t bring that road morph is that I accidently put it in storage and didn´t realize until two days before I left.

So I guess I´ll just stick with the seatpost pump for now. When I get back to the states I´ll be looking at getting something more robust, maybe one of the Lezyne mini floor pumps.

Contact Topeak, they may replace it free. Worth a shot anyway.

I have a Lezyne mini that failed on my tour last year. It too was new. I contacted Lezyne when I got home and they replaced it free, without even seeing the old one. On top of that they sent me the next better model with an inline gauge.

They probably would, but it´s not worth the hassle. I don´t have an address for the next 6 months, and shipping things can be expensive here. Plus I don´t want another one. If I was in the states I would get them to replace it and then sell it on Ebay.

maybe make an online contact and sort out a Poste Restante Post office on your itinerary,

what is called General Delivery in the states, and the replacement may be shipped to you to pick up en route.

Plus I don´t want another one.

Why dont you want another one? Topeak is a great company and the Morph is my favorite airpump. Sounds like yours was simply defective. From what I read it seems like you already have another RMG that has proved itself for 4 years. If thats the case, you are familiar with the general performance of the product line.

If anything, save it and ship it later for that eBay plan of yours. I saved all my punctured/patched tubes from my tour and sent them to StopFlats to see if they would honor their replacement guarantee. Two weeks later I opened my mailbox and say two new liners and 5 new tubes.

I already tossed it in the trash. I´m not going to carry something I´m not using for 6 more months.

I don´t want another one because I already have a backup road morph in storage. If I´m going to get another pump I´d like to try the Lezyne mini floor pump. It has less plastic parts.

I hope your tour is going well!

I just bought one just like it. I hope my holds up better than yours.

Contact Topeak, they may replace it free. Worth a shot anyway.

I've had very very good customer service from Topeak... Hard to tell from the pictures if the OP's pump is actually broken. Is the plunger broken off the push rod? Or did it just come unscrewed? I've found that the Road Morph is actually pretty easy to open up and repair...

For Bombproof service I have an old steel BMW motorcycle tire pump,
about a foot long..
they fit those under the seat on the R60/69 model bikes ,
Its Schrader valve head is aluminum
rest is steel.. No Its Not featherweight but it still works all the time..

for My 700c wheel touring bike i used a Long frame fit pump..

to top off the tires so as to roll as best it can.

I have a Brompton, it has a rear triangle mounted pump,
I have one of those Topeaks in the front touring bag , usually..

Man, that looks familiar. Last day of a 300-mile tour of New Mexico in November with a friend. He has a slow leak that we decide to just keep airing till we get back to the car. It's only a 50-mile day. He pumps it up to around 85, trying to go for 90. Gets the force on the shaft just a little sideways and the shaft bends. Tries to straighten it and SNAP. No more pump.

We have no other pump. We have no cartridges. There is a hardware store nearby (Hatch, NM) and they have only a cheap Schrader pump. I don't remember that I packed a little brass Schrader/Presta converter. So we just ride on. By mile 35 he is riding on the rim and has to stop. I leave my stuff with him and ride the last 15 to the car, thankful this didn't happen on Day 1.

Lessons? Spare pump, or at least several CO2 carts as backup. Make sure you have the converter, as Schrader air is fairly easy to come by.

I've had very very good customer service from Topeak... Hard to tell from the pictures if the OP's pump is actually broken. Is the plunger broken off the push rod? Or did it just come unscrewed? I've found that the Road Morph is actually pretty easy to open up and repair...It looks like the piston is screwed on to the plunger shaft so maybe they just didn't screw it all the way in and the screw fell out. I'm half inclined to take mine apart to see if I have this problem. I suspect that the OP could tell Topeak about this when he gets back and get a replacement even though this one is in the trash. I would try it anyway.

trolling?
my topeak morph road pump works great! Topeak has supported their products for me before (mounts replaced for handlebar bag and another time they supplied extra mount for road morph for another bike).
There are many pump options. I hope your tires are with-out air leaks and the sun continues to shine!!!
tomg

trolling?
my topeak morph road pump works great!

Trolling? Are you serious? The guy comes on here with a thread titled "I broke my Road Morph" and posts multiple pictures of how it has broken. How is that a "troll?" The fact that you never had a problem with yours means that anyone who did have a problem is trolling?

I own both a Road Morph G and the Lezyne. (Also own a Zefal HPX and several cheaper pumps too.)

On the Road Morph, the metal threaded piece that you have to remove if you change it from presta to schrader came unthreaded and fell off. Toppeak would not ship just that little part, they insisted that I pay for a complete rebuild kit and pay for shipping. I am less than enthusiastic about their customer service than some of the people that commented above. Next time I was in the store where I bought it, I looked at the new pumps on the rack and this fitting was loose on all of them. So, if you buy one make sure that you tighten it.

The Lezyne is lighter than the Road Morph. It looks and feels sturdy, but at that light weight, it can't be too sturdy so I carry it in the pannier where it is protected.

If you have removable cores in your presta tubes, tighten them with a wrench before you use the Lezyne. I did not know I had removable cores until I topped off the tire pressure and unthreaded the pump head. The valve core stayed attached to the pump head, not the inner tube stem and I lost all air. I don't consider this a problem once I tightened the cores, I still like the Lezyne, this is just a warning to others before it happens to them.

I usually carry a cheap pump that I am not very concerned about theft on the frame, the good pump is in the pannier.

The performance of this pump is fairly good, no questions there. I wish I hadn't bought one, it feels somewhat wasteful to replace it. There was another recent thread where a batch of people mentioned their cap falling off. That happened to mine too. Topeak needs to put a notation on the package that it's only partially assembled. "Some assembly required."

It looks like the piston is screwed on to the plunger shaft so maybe they just didn't screw it all the way in and the screw fell out. I'm half inclined to take mine apart to see if I have this problem. I suspect that the OP could tell Topeak about this when he gets back and get a replacement even though this one is in the trash. I would try it anyway.

Hard to tell from the picture, but it does look like that is the case. Too bad the OP didn't take it apart and extract the piston so we could see that.

BTW, I have always had good luck with customer service with Topeak. They have more than once sent parts (different mounts, rebuild kit) gratis when I asked to purchase them. Also once when I, through my own stupidity, broke a topeak product they sent a free replacement.

I´m in South America on a long tour. Luckily I actually brought a backup pump. I have a dahon biologic seatpost pump. I don´t love using it because it doesn´t have a gauge, but it works fairly well. I actually intended to remove it from the bike before I left, but I forgot to.

Are you blogging anywhere about your tour?

If you have removable cores in your presta tubes, tighten them with a wrench before you use the Lezyne. I did not know I had removable cores until I topped off the tire pressure and unthreaded the pump head. The valve core stayed attached to the pump head, not the inner tube stem and I lost all air. I don't consider this a problem once I tightened the cores, I still like the Lezyne, this is just a warning to others before it happens to them.

+1 I had the same problem.

They probably would, but it´s not worth the hassle. I don´t have an address for the next 6 months, and shipping things can be expensive here. Plus I don´t want another one. If I was in the states I would get them to replace it and then sell it on Ebay.

I wasn't implying that you should stop your tour and start shipping broken pump parts all over the place. As I stated, mine was replaced sight-unseen. Maybe Topeak will do the same for you, after you're home again. The biggest hassle you'd have is sending them an e-mail. But hey, it's your gig. Do what you want.

For the record, it isn't Topeak who has great customer but Todson, the US distributor. I tried to get parts in Canada and the canadian distributor just told me that the don't deal with individuals and to get a new pump. Todson wanted to help but couldn't deal outside the USA, which is probably not a good news for the OP. It's worth sending an email though. You never know.

I love my roadmorph, but they do break. Still. there isn't one I've found that's better.

Is yours really broken? They can come unscrewed.

The piece snapped, it didn't just become unscrewed.

Yep I have a blog, it's
http://www.awesomebiketour.com

I wasn't implying that you should stop your tour and start shipping broken pump parts all over the place. As I stated, mine was replaced sight-unseen. Maybe Topeak will do the same for you, after you're home again. The biggest hassle you'd have is sending them an e-mail. But hey, it's your gig. Do what you want.

Roger, thats a good idea, I should give it a try.

NoGaBiker,

I sent just a question, "to troll". This was probably too pretentious. Thanks for the clarity in this matter.

With my use and communication with Topeak, the products with service/support have actually been second to none, for me.

One of my first pump sets were Zephal HP frame-mount, early '80's, with a quick-release mechanism. That was a great pump then! I have never recieved technical support from Zephal when there were issues with the pumps so I rebought. I had 4 or 5 of those pumps before I moved on to better.

I guess my observation of OP was one of "giving up too soon" for a product I have used. In retrospect, "trolling" was too strong for identification of a person who is experiencing mechanical problems and has discarded their morph. I stand by my road morph pump (endorsing its quality/function/support). I hope I never have to use it again, to ride/tour flat free, but as always "Murphy's Law" applies sometimes!

I hope your rides are flat free while you spin safe!

tomg