PdalPowr

I have an Axiom Expandair HV.
How many pounds pressure should it be able to pump in an ordinary Hybrid tire?
The most I have been able to pump is thirty pounds. I know that is probably
the max but it seems very low to me. My tire max is 80 pounds.
I run seventy. Maybe I can run on thirty until finding a
more powerful pump but it would be nice to have fifty.

davidad

Their site claims 120psi.
You should have a floor pump for preride air-up.

PdalPowr

Thanks for the good info.
I pumped for a darn long time to get thirty.
Pumping two or three times as long would be quite the task.
As you suggest I have a very good floor pump in mind.
The reason I used the Axiom is it was for a flat on the road.

davidad

I have a Toepeak frame pump and you can't beat it. The linear gauge sucks without my modification, but other than that I like it.

woodcraft

While they say 120psi, HV means high volume which equals low pressure,

& it is sold as a mtn bike pump,

so basically the wrong pump for road tires.

Bill Kapaun

I carry a cheap Bell pump and a couple CO2 cartridges for the road.
Use the cheap pump basically to get the bead seated properly and up to "some" pressure and then finish off with the cartridge.
If it get's stolen, it's much smaller loss.

PdalPowr

Now that is good to know.
I guess this gets chalked up to experience.
At least I know what the answer is anyway.
The pump is small so good for emergency road flats.

70sSanO

79pmooney

For on the road, if you can find a way to mount an old-fashioned frame pump, you can get any Zephal HPX or "Classic" pump and have a pump that will last you years, hundreds of pump-ups and will easily get you to any pressure you want. Tires a large as yours will take a few more strokes but getting far more pressure than you actually want to ride with will not be a challenge.

Ben

KraneXL

What makes a hybrid extraordinary is that you can put any tire you like on it. I have Continental Gatorskins (28") on mine, and run them at 80/90 front/rear.

Good luck with that. This.

Mickey2

The only pumps I generally have had trouble with is the ones that take CO2 cartriges. Do they work properly at all? Some of the mini pumps I have had hasn't lasted long in use, but generally they have be fine. Any basic pump should be up to filling max pressure in a tire, if not, just get another, return it if a new one doesn't work properly. A few things that can act up; the rubber seal not properly in place, the locking lever that closes around the valve has to be in correct position to work; it differs from brand to brand. Maybe someone can lend you a pump until you find one that works. Some pumps are easier with presta valves than others. Sometimes the valve mechanism can be a bit stuck, but usually it comes around after a few attempts.

Retro Grouch 

The laws of physics can't be violated no matter who makes the pump.

The maximum pressure you can attain with any pump is determined by the diameter of the barrel and how hard you are able to push. If your pump has a 1 square inch barrel diameter and you want to achieve 100 psi, you have to be able to push down with 100 pounds of force.

Inflating a tire adds volume to the equation. A fat tire, for example, takes a lot of volume so a pump with a long stroke will take many fewer strokes to inflate your tire than a itty bitty short stroke mini pump. (Mini pumps essentially suck.). A skinny tire has less volume but generally needs more air pressure so you're better off with a pump that has a skinny barrel that's will be easier to push. A pump with a 1/2 square inch diameter will only take 50 pounds of push to get to 100 psi. (Mini pumps will still suck because they take so many strokes.)

The good news about mini pumps is that they only suck when you have to use them. If you don't get very many flats and you have a kind of zen demeanor when things go badly, the compact size of a mini pump may very well suit your needs.

zacster

I had a flat yesterday and used my Topeak Road Morph G for the first time in a while. I was surprised at how easy it was to get up to 100psi with it, based on the gauge. If I could only have one pump that would be it as it works easily enough that it could do as a home pump. I had the flat fixed in 2 traffic light cycles, so it was quick, no tools required except the pump.

cyccommute 

You are only partly right. It's the wrong pump, period. This is a little pump with a small volume and poor ergonomics.

I would add that the other problem is how you have to pump. With this pump, the plunger is moving horizontally so the maximum force you can put on it is what you can squeeze between your arms. Add in the need to stabilize the wheel and the natural movement of your arms and you have a recipe for inefficient pumping. I would also suspect that most people don't ram the plunger all the way to the bottom of the shaft and are only compressing the air but not getting much into the tube.

The Topeka Morphs, Lezyne Micro, Axiom EnforceAir or any of a number of minifloor floor pumps improve the minipump pump significantly as well as being vastly better than frame fit pumps. The plunger is pumped horizontally like a floor pump so that the user can put more force on the air being compressed and thus have to work less. You also don't have to stabilize the wheel while pumping so you can concentrate on pumping. I bought my first Topeak Morph (I have around 10 of them now) about 20 years ago and I haven't regretted it for a minute.

fietsbob

A plunger compressing the volume in a long narrow tube would reach the highest pressure at the bottom of the stroke.

PdalPowr

Your Net-Fu is weak.

PdalPowr

Even though I am older I have pushed/pulled well over two million pounds with my arms.
That is just Traditional Archery. The real total is much higher.

I actually enjoy that kind of labor and do pump in an efficient manner but I see your point.
Unfortunately unless I do a lot more long distance riding,
I can't justify replacing that almost new pump. At least now with all the help
I know the pumps limitation.

PdalPowr

We are on the same page.
I do have a Zen demeanor when it comes to my bike.
I am sorely impatient when driving my car but
cruise through life complacently in the granny gear when on my bike.

79pmooney

Yeah, but ... with a good, small diameter and long pump, the arm action is completely reasonable. I raced as a skinny, tall, 145 pounder and owned only Zephal HP pumps, riding sew-ups on all my bikes and needing to inflate my race tires nearly from scratch every time. It just wasn't a big deal. Yeah, I did break down and buy a floor pump eventually but I had ridden those sew-ups for 20 years by then.

The secret for a good horizontally pumped pump is 1) length (get the biggest one you can fit on your bike), small diameter and good ergonomics. There are other good pumps out there, but I stick with Zephal because they nailed those three 45 years ago. The pumps have only improved since.

Edit: I got reminded every time I pumped a tire that, yes, this was one of the few upper body exercises we cyclists do.

Ben

rm -rf

Short, small pumps are slow. But they are tiny and lightweight, so maybe the tradeoff is okay.

I have a Topeak Mini Morph, the shorter version of the Morph pump. These pumps, with a hose and one end of the pump on the ground, allow much higher force on the pump handle as the pressure rises. And it's much less likely to damage the valve stem when pumping.

On road bike tires, I counted about 200 strokes to get to maybe 70 psi, enough to finish the ride. For the last 50 strokes, I had to lean into the pump with a stiff arm and my body weight.

I rarely get flats, so the smaller size works for me. (and I usually carry CO2 now.) Other riders have used longer Morph pumps, and those are much faster than the Mini.
Mini Morph:

fietsbob

like a micro floor pump , you do have the ground to push against,
It just will take a while..

Reynolds 

Something must be wrong with your pump. Even the cheapest pumps should reach at least 50psi.
+1 on the Zefal HPx too!