Antelope 70cm

Hi,
What kind of floor pump do you use that easily inflates road tires to 120psi? My Dad is 77 and has shoulder problems. His current Trek pump is getting too hard for him to push down on to get to 120psi.
Thanks.

stapfam

Plenty of floor pumps out there but the best way is to try them at the shop where you buy. Just take a pump and inflate a tyre on a bike.

I did this at the LBS when I walked in at the wrong time. They were busy assembling bikes and asked me to inflate the tyres for them. Fine untill they said-"This one needs 200PSI" Used the shop pump and bought the same one immediately.

gcottay

I find the Topeak JoeBlow Pro an excellent pump, especially at high pressures, but agree on having your dad try before buying.

On the other hand, if you bought him a JoeBlow Pro and he didn't like it, you would have a great pump to use yourself. <G>

Floyd

Don't know if this is the way you want to look but there are some small portable pumps and some of them use batteries if you really want portable. You do have to loook to get the 120 lbs. ones... Sorry I dont have names or places to look.

bkaapcke

A compressor from Harbor Freight. I got a 2 gal. unit that does bike and car tires nicely. Less than $75.00, including tax. Only way to go. bk

europa

Do those little compressors that plug into the cigarette lighter in your car go up to 120psi?

If he's got a garage and somewhere to leave a real compressor, that'd be the easiest way to go - a bit of mucking about but if he doesn't have to move the compressor and turned it on as soon as he stepped into the shed, it'd be up to pressure by the time he's oiled his chain.

Service station pumps ... though ours all have this daft preset system that doesn't go high enough.

Richard

Rowan

The key to the effectiveness of a pump is the bore -- the diameter of the tube where the piston goes up and down.

The wider the bore, the more volume but less pressure; the narrower the bore the less volume but the higher pressure achieved for a given effort.

It's the reason why on-bike MTB pumps (wide-bore) are virtually useless for high-pressure road tyres, and road pumps (narrow bore) take sooooo long to pump up MTB tyres.

You need the narrow-bore type. Use this as your guide, particularly if you measure the outside diameter of the pump he is using right now. Generally, go for the pumps tagged "track pump" as they are designed for high-pressure application on track bikes.

Silca and Topeak make nice pumps. But generally you will find most brands these days are OK except for the real cheapies.

I don't know how he finds the comfort level of the bike, but 120psi seems high. Reducing the pressure to say 110 or 100 won't do his speed much if any harm, may well improve his comfort, and will make inflation much easier irrespective of the pump.

zonatandem

Hooray for your 77 year old dad!
I am 75 and use a Joe Blow floorpump.
On our tandem we carry a Topeak Mt. Morph pump (converts to mini floor pump) and 100 pump strokes gets in 100 lbs. Will pump up to 120.
But with his shoulder issue it's a good idea to try out several pumps at his LBS,
or . . . you could pump up his tires.

oilman_15106

This is your answer, sans electric compressor: https://www.topeak.com/products/Floor-Pumps/JoeBlowAce

Has 3 settings and when you get close to 120 and it is difficult to pump you switch to the highest setting and it is amazingly easy to get even to 200 psi. Just takes more pumps. Have one + in physical thearpy for my shoulder right now so I can swear that this will work.

Rick@OCRR

I will add yet another vote for Topeak Joe Blow series of floor pumps (i.e. they sit on the floor, they do not inflate floors).

I use mine a lot, no problems ever. I bought one for my wife, my kids and several of my friends.
Very easy to pump, very accurate gauge.

Rick / OCRR

Terrierman

One more Joe Blow vote. Simple, the head fits either presta or schrader and a nice built in easy to read gauge.

BluesDawg

I'd go for a model with the gauge top mounted rather than base mounted. Much easier to read.

Garfield Cat

Perhaps your dad with the shoulder problems might need to change the way he works the pump.

I am about the size of Carlos Sastre, around 135 lbs, same height. I found that the trick in floor pumps is to let your legs do the work, not the arms and therefore not the shoulders.

Feet position: at the base of the floor pump, I place the heel of one foot on the base plate to hold the floor pump steady. The other foot is a little behind me. This gives me stability to do the next thing.

Pumping: at higher pressures like 100 lbs, I begin to feel the resistance. So at the top of the pump stroke, I keep my back straight and arms straight. I push down with my body weight while bending my knees. The foot that's off the pump plate is doing the greater part of the knee bending. The pump action has to be done with force, not like a torque action.

Before your dad tries this, try this yourself. Basically its your body weight that's being called into action. Even at my 135 lbs, I can still go higher than 120 lbs.

By the way, I use the Joe Blow for floor pump and the Topeak Road Morph for riding. The same technique is used for both. Its more critical on the road, I mean to learn good form because you got road shoes and the Topeak is smaller.

rajarajan

Hooray to both of you. I can only wish I'll be able to be physically fit enough at that age to ride.

BlazingPedals

Yes they do. I've got one. Most only come with a schrader head, so you have to either use an adapter or change the head.

RedC

I use a Sears 19.2 cordless with adapter no problems yet.

Timtruro

Blackburn works well for me. The Air Tower 2 specifically.

dendawg

An air compressor.

deraltekluge

I have a battery powered compressor that automatically shuts off at a preset pressure. Seems to work pretty well. https://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausf...775090&sr=1-19

Antelope 70cm

Thanks for all the feedback!! Gives me a start.

PimpinD

an air compressor might be the easier, but it is $$ loud, and heavy.

Try finding a pump that has dual action.

My favorite is the Serfas FMP - 500 at $60 its a great buy!

Artkansas 

I have a Bontrager Charger. I don't recommend it at all. When I get a job, it's gone.

PimpinD

haha i agree, i have a crappy floor pump from kmart and im pretty sure it loses air as i pump with it... so frustrating

CACycling

I use a 12V compressor I picked up at Walmart for $10. No pumping involved and it has a built in guage that is pretty accurate. Takes my road tires up to 120 psi without a problem.