Originally Posted by
one4smoke
LOL, not snobby at all. Just want to get these things once, without trying several before I'm pleased with them. I'd give the same courtesy to anyone looking for advice with the things I'm experienced with.
A friend of mine purchased a pump at one of the mass retailers (maybe Walmart) for about $20 bucks, and he can't stand it. Hard to get on and off the valve stem, hose too short, doesn't fit a presta valve, no release, etc...
The pumps at your LBS are far better than anything sold at Wal Mart. I got a $20 Bell one...it works. Getting up to 100 PSI took some doing. I eventually got a good pump and brought the Bell into work as an emergency pump for myself and coworkers to use. Often times, the pumps at the LBS can be rebuilt if the seals go bad, costing only a few dollars instead of the price of a brand new pump. I'm fairly certain my wal mart special cannot be rebuilt.
Some people just can't see past the price tag to see often times there is more value in buying something that costs more but will last a lot longer, or they can't afford to make the initial purchase of something of decent quality.
Surprisingly, I find the Park Tool pumps to be inferior to Topeak and Giant.