thombiker

I have recently discovered road riding, as well as the need to have the right pressure in my tires. I am using a mountain bike for my road riding, the only pump I have is the one at the service station for car tires, this only goes up to 60 PSI and is inconvenient. So I would like to invest in a good floor pump with an accurate gauge. I have looked at the specialized Air Tool and it seems to be of good quality or maybe that's because i'm partial to the brand.

So, not that I am saying I need it to accurate to .1 PSI, what would to 'pros' use to get their desired pressure in their tires. Aswell what do you use to pump and measure the pressure in your tires?

Thanks

rex615

They have a team mechanic called Sam than takes care of it for them.

But seriously any decent floor pump will work. I am partial to the Lyzene brand and have one similar to this. But you can spend less money and still get a decent floor pump.

RonH

+1 Any decent floor pump will work. Park Tool, Joe Blow, etc. What pumps do they sell at your favorite bike shop?

GravelMN

I've got a Specialized Air Tool and has worked well with zero problems for years, but there are lots of good pumps out there.

PepeM

I use a pump I bought from Walmart years ago. Gets the job done.

thombiker

Seems most pumps will work then. However I think I will get the Air tool
here: Specialized Bicycle Components

Still not sure between this one and the 'HP' it is $10 cheaper but is rated to do a much higher pressure. But less air per pump.

Thank you for the replys

rex615

If you are filling skinny high pressure road tires the "HP" may be a better option. If you are filling tires like my fat bike, then not so much.

canklecat

I just got the Nashbar Earl Grey, based on a review of floor pumps in which it was listed second to the more expensive Lezyne. At the time the review was originally written the Lezyne was only $44 so it was a better value. Since then the price of the Lezyne has gone to $57 so the $29 Nashbar Earl Grey is a better deal.

Works fine, gauge seems accurate, fair price. Only drawback is the usual rubbery grippy clamp rather than the screw-on head. As with most clamp-on heads, you have to anticipate some air pressure loss when detaching the pump. Not a big deal at home, but I'd be annoyed to see 5-10 psi lost every time I attached/detached a small frame pump on the road.

And it still demands more effort than I'd expected to boost my 700x38 Specialized Hemispheres from 40 or so psi to 70-90 psi, so I can imagine how hard it would be to get these up to 90 psi or so with a mini pump.

Based on that experience with a clamp-on head, for a frame pump I'd lean toward something with a screw-on head like my old Zefal pump. After all the effort it takes to use a small frame pump I don't want any air wasted in attaching/detaching the head. I don't know whether the Zefal frame pumps are still made to the same quality as my 30--year-old Zefal, but they're a lot more affordable than the better Lezyne frame pumps with screw-on heads.

andr0id

Get something where the pressure gauge is built into the pump.
Just shoot for the closest tic mark to the pressure you want. Mine has 4lb increments.
You don't need to measure any closer than that.

JamesRL

I've found the cheapo pumps at Walmart not to be good at getting the tires up to 80-100 lbs. When I bought my last bike off CL, the seller threw in an old Silca floor pump that does the job well, but I'm sure even the least expensive pumps at the LBS would do as well.

Homebrew01

60 psi is about right for a mtn bike on the road.
If you think you might want a road bike with high pressure tires, get a pump that can handle 100+ psi.
The narrower the barrel on the pump, the higher pressure it can handle.
I mistakenly bought a Joe Blow "Max", not realizing it wan not intended for high pressure tires, even though the guage went up to 150 psi. It had a large diameter barrel, so even though I put my 175 lb body weight on the pump, with my feet lifting off the floor, I could not get up to 100 psi.
Skinny barrel is better for higher psi, although it takes more strokes to reach desired psi.

bmthom.gis

The pros use their mouth to inflate like a pool floatie

ThermionicScott 

Check the BikeRadar site. I'm sure they have an in-depth "profile" on the pumps used in the big leagues, just like everything else.

MichaelW

Pro team mechanics use chordless electric pumps.

Phil_gretz

Chuck Norris simply looks at his tires and they suck in the needed air from their surroundings.

series1811

I bought a Zefal floor pump at Walmart for $25 several years ago. It works like a champ. It will inflate up to 150 psi reliably.

JamesRL

Zefal is a great brand, I've used their frame pumps. I'm surprised they sell that at Walmart. Here in Canada they only sell Bell, and I had one, and it wouldn't reliably work past about 70 PSI. At one point it was the only one I had, I pumped for 20 mins, road anyway and got a snakebite flat.

Trueblood

Bought an Aergun X-1000, rock solid, adapts automatically to schrader or presta, accurate pressure guage, capable of 160 PSI. Extremely happy with it, 47 bucks.

series1811

Zefal Pump Floor Profil Max Fp50 Alloy/Stl - Walmart.com

You can get them online as well. This one is even nicer than mine.

Spoonrobot 

Inline pressure gauges on bike pumps can be unreliable. This is a really interesting section on tire pressures during testing by Zipp for Paris-Roubaix.

Road to Roubaix Part 2: Tires (and Pressures) Are EVERYTHING | SILCA
I'd recommend a standalone guage, these are very good and can be purchased for around $15: Bicycle Gauges | Accu-Gage by G.H. Meiser

avidone1

I like the serfas floor pump....flawless

ltxi

Ain't hardly a pro, but...air compressor and a Park Tool inflator. Compressor(s) have been a household staple for decades. Park Tool thingy not cheap but I got tired of screwing around with half assed work around solutions for presta valves.

Doctor Morbius

I'm pretty sure the pro riders use high modulus carbon fiber floor pumps.

Falchoon

Pros use whatever the team sponser gives them to use.