Vaughan51

I got a flat out riding this past weekend. Nothing unusual about that except I couldn't find it to fix and had a 11km walk home - gravel riding out on back country roads. Ends up it was a snake bite and my spare tire had a leak on the valve which again resulted in the walk.

My little tire pump (delivers pressure but not volume I'm guessing) couldn't put enough air into the tire to enable me to find the leak. Now I'm looking at mini-pumps to carry that deliver more air per stroke.

So was wondering what people are carrying for pumps that deliver a goodly amount of volume or if anyone has some tricks / tips on leak detection in the backcountry. I've looked at some of the "top 10 lists" but I find them to be kind of fence sitting with no clear winners.

Interested in what people are using especially if they are back country riding or bike packing far from the nearest services.

Thanks

fooferdoggie 

this guy works great when I run out of CO2 though its not super small.
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...drive-hvg-pump

Andrew R Stewart 

The first issue I read is "mini" and "more" applied to the same pump. They tend to be opposing results

The second issue I read is that spare tube (not tire, I think) was also flat.

Many riders use a compressed "air" cartridge and if used with a connector that has a valve one can use just enough to inflate the tube for finding the hole and not so much that reinflating the repaired tire won't happen. One can reduce the tube's "volume" by folding it over part way around the tube to seal off one section. For flats that have big holes I do this to track where around the tube the air flows out. Patching a pinch cut is especially hard but desperate times.

My take a way is to check your spare tube periodically. Andy

fooferdoggie 

I put my tubes in a bag or leave them in the box.I keep finding loose valves so I carry space valves and a cap to tighten them.

pdlamb

Topeak Road Morph G. Their Mountain Morph puts out a bit more volume, but the gauge on the Road Morph (small as it is!) makes up for it.

BTW, one of the posters here turned me on to a good idea. After repairing a batch of tubes, I put them on a spare rim with an old tire, pump them up, and make sure they hold pressure at least overnight. Takes a few days to run the patch batch through (at maybe 5 minutes per day effort), but it saves time and trouble when I flat on the road.

cyccommute 

Well that’s unfortunate. The Mountain Morph, which is better for higher volume tires, used to have a gauge. All of my (very old) Mountain Morphs have gauges.

tyrion

Another vote for Topeak Mountain Morph.

Vaughan51

It seems that mini and high volume are opposing terms to be sure from what I've read this past day or two. And YES to tube and spare tube being flat. I'm running the Pirelli Cinturato mixed terrain tire with tubes (I'm really liking these Pirelli tires).

My spare is in my seat pack and I hadn't checked condition for at least a year - seems that I should to it more often (as painful as it is; probably less so than doing the "walk".

Vaughan51

Will have to check out the Topeak mountain morph.

well biked

If you want the Mountain Morph with a gauge, search for the Topeak Turbo Morph.

alcjphil

I use this pump:

https://www.decathlon.ca/en/p/854343...bike-hand-pump
It is bigger than a mini pump and also has 2 stages so that it pumps more air per stroke. It also has a short hose . Mine seems well made, but to be honest, I haven't needed to use it yet

veganbikes

So this is an easy one you didn't need the pump on the road necessarily you just need to pump your tires before you ride and that will eliminate the pinch flat you experienced at first. However it is good to carry a pump with you and the Topeak Mountain Morph is the way to go on that front. The Turbo Morph is a fine pump but a bit heavier, I have it in my tool box as a back up if I need to travel with my tools and pump a tire and don't bring a floor pump or don't have one available.

The spare tube that is unfortunate it does happen and I generally recommend swapping out tubes every so often in your kit so you don't run into an old tube that might cause issues having been sitting crammed in their for so long.

Jeff Neese

I've always had good luck with Lezyne HV (High Volume) pumps for my mountain bikes. They come in several varieties, including one or two with a built-in gauge. They work well and I've never had one fail.

cpach

+1 on the Topeak Morph series. They're really excellent if you're willing to carry something slightly bulkier/heavier to get a roadside pump that actually #(*$&ing works. And I'll bet you check your spare tube better in the future.

esasjl

Topeak Mountain DA-G works well for me with 2" tyres at 25 psi.

Polaris OBark

I use a full-size Silca frame pump. They also make a mini pump, which is ever so slightly less eye-wateringly expensive. I add and subtract air on mixed surface rides, so the mini-pump thing gets old quickly, and CO[sub]2[/sub] cartridges would become untenable.

Troul 

The Turbo Morph is probably ideal, but it's about 12" long & can be hard to stow if the plan is to keep it in a rear seat rail mounted bag or handle bar bag.

the hybrid rocket HP mini is under 6.5" long & might fit in places better. I've yet to find out if it'll stow in the downtube compartment of a Domane, as it's over 50USd & I don't really have the urgent need to spend money on a pump.
you might consider a cube portable electric bicycle pump to supplement your existing pump? It's pretty small & should have the juice to inflate a suspect tube.

Pop N Wood

I bought this Tiakia pump the other day and I'm extremely impressed with it.

Amazon.com : Tiakia Mini Bike Pump,Portable Compact Bicycle Pump,High Pressure Frame Pump 260PSI- Air Hand Pump Fit Presta, Schrader & Woods Valves,Aluminum Alloy Durable Tire Pump for Road/Mountain/BMX Bikes : Sports & Outdoors

Has a dual sliding cylinder so it expands to 3 times it's length. Haven't tested the "260 psi" rating but filled a tire on a scooter in seemingly a dozen strokes. Quite well made.

As an aside, I don't understand why you need a high volume pump to find a leak in a tube? What am I missing?

grumpus

For longer rides I carry two spare tubes, an inflator and three CO2 cartridges. Then the pump is pretty much an afterthought - it's a Mini Morph copy, I can't remember the brand.

maddog34

the leak was bigger than the pump would pump.

glad i can help.

the best tool to find a tiny leak is your lips... lick them and run the offending tube past them... even the smallest leak will cool your wetted lips..
your lips are the most sensitive parts of your body.
this works great.

i repair a lot of leaky inner tubes... i do 20 or so in one session... i air them up then "water tank" them in my Bathroom Sink.
they then get Re-Tanked AFTER REPAIR to assure the patch held and there are no other leaks.

Pop N Wood

LOL

But that didn't make sense either, if the leak is that big it should be visible.

Rick_D

I like this Lezyme: Tech Drive HV. Very tidy package with all important bits hidden from debris and water. They claim 90 psi is possible...maybe? Mount fits beneath a bottle cage.

Vaughan51

Never used CO2 Cartridges or an inflator so I guess I'm going to have to check them out. I have gone to putting a second tube in my seat pack though.

It does look like the Morph pump in some form is pretty popular. So will be checking them out as well.

Appreciate all the input.

abdon 

F* mini pumps. My pumps are as big as the frame will allow them to be. I'm a fan of Zefal pumps.

My repair kit also has a few valve guts and the tool for it. One more thing you should carry, a piece of canvas. If you slash your sidewall you would not be able to repair or replace the tube because it would pop at the gash unless you wrap it in said canvas.

grumpus

That was my reasoning when I put a pump pip on the head tube of one of my bikes but it turned that (a) the top tube was too long for any commonly available pump and (b) I often rest a knee against the top tube which dislodges the pump, even with Velcro straps. So now there's an unused pump pip, and the normal length pump lives in front of the seat tube.
That's called a tyre boot - Park Tool will sell you one, although people have reportedly used banknotes, and as the Park one costs £10 a £5 €5 $5 bill might seem a reasonable alternative. Otherwise pieces of tubular tyre used to be popular for this purpose​​​​, when tubs were more widely used.