Floor Pumps
 

Wanting to buy a higher end floor pump primarily for Presta valves. Thinking about these two:
Lezyne - Engineered Design - Products - Digital Pumps - CNC Digital Drive
Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - 1_Transformer? XX

Thoughts and suggestions?

Both of those pumps have features I wouldn't want. Digital readout? Does the circuitry hold up as long as the rest of the pump? Also, the Lezyne hose is so long you have to loop it over the handle to keep the head off the floor when not in use. One more step every time you use it. (My Specialized has a slightly shorter hose that is stiff enough that just letting hang from the clip at the top works just fine.)

The tripod legs on the Toepeak look like an accident waiting to happen. It also appears that you have to reach to the floor to get the hose. And overall, just too much stuff.

Since buying the Specialized pump, I have been boycotting Specialized for their business/legal/ethics practices and wouldn't buy another of their pumps, but I do have to give them credit, they got it right. It is a joy to use.

Ben

Higher end you say?

Silca SuperPista Floorpump - Glory Cycles

http://glorycycles.com/silca-super-p...te-floor-pump/

Not to get off topic with the thread, but can you elaborate on that comment? Just curious...

Well, "higher end" for ME, at least. :)

Specialized and their law firm have been very trigger happy to go after anybody who uses a name they have rights to, even in applications where there is no overlap in products or services. Some of these names have been around cycling for 70 years longer than Specialized has existed. THey even went ofater a shop in a small towen in Canada for using "Roubaix" with a cease and desist letter. That one blew up in their face when it went viral, leading to the discovery that the Roubaix name was taken by Fuji's parent, not even owned by Specialized.

Earlier, they took similar action against two small shops in Portland. One closed, the other thankfully changed its name and is thriving.

I have also heard from multiple shop owners that Specialized can be very heavy handed about what that shop can or cannot carry if it wants to carry Specialized.

I don't see this as being in the best interests of cycling in general or me as a cyclist, so though it inconveniences me a little, I will see to it the the stockholders of the company with those practices do not benefit from my wallet.

They make good stuff and I will use what I have until it dies which may be quite a while but unless Specialized goes public announcing some core changes, the replacements will from other companies.

Ben

I bought one of these from my LBS: Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - JoeBlow? Pro

Been super happy with it so far, and after a year or so of use, it works and looks as if it was brand new.

But: unless things have changes, Silca pumps do not have releases on their chucks, meaning that you have to force it on every time and threaded valves take their toll on the gasket. A shame. Zephal designed a chuck with release for their frame pumps 45 years ago. The patent expired. Anybody can do it. The pump with a release is simple a better pump.

Ben

There are several "good" pumps on the market. My only advice is to get one with the guage at the the top just below the handle for easy reading.

Topeak Joe Blow
7 years and still going strong

I have used the Lezyne but not that particular Topeak. Both companies make great pumps but the Lezyne will put out more PSI if you decide to go with some of the high pressure racing tires, like a track bike, not that the Topeak will not get there but the Lezyne will get their faster and easier. Plus the long hose makes it easier to pump the tire while on a work stand. I have had a few floor pumps and very few are as smooth and take as few strokes to get to 120 PSI as the Lezyne. Not that the Topeak is a slouch. They can be pricey however.

my 'high-end' floor pump is from Nashbar and cost $19.

bought it in 1992, it still manages to inflate my tires to 100 psi.

Lezyne or Joe Blow.

I have been very happy with the Aergun X-1000 - http://www.amazon.com/AerGun-X-1000-...eywords=aergun

The customer service is great, they check in with you after your purchase to make sure all is well. Read the amazon reviews, 294 of them. Pumps to 160 psi, automatically adapts to presta and schrader, with a well made hose and pressure gauge.

I have two pumps. One to inflate my bicycle tires.... and another as a back-up to inflate my bicycle tires. Both pumps together didn't cost $30. I've never needed the back-up pump.

I bought a Park floor pump a couple of years ago from a local shop. I used it less than a week before a seal blew. I exchanged it for another pump, which had the same problem within a couple weeks.

Funny, but now I don't even have a floor pump anymore. I use a Topeak road morph, which I can carry anywhere. It is almost as easy to use as a floor pump, and gets up to pressure quickly. And it is not expensive.

I disagree. I have a 35 year-old Silca Pista (not the extremely costly Super Pista linked in the first reply). The gasket is replaceable, and I've just installed the 3rd gasket (2 replacements after the original one) over the 35 years I had the pump. 10+ years for a gasket is just fine, IMHO, and the fact that all the key parts of Silca floor pumps are replaceable means that the pumps can last forever. And IMHO, the Silca chuck is actually easier to use than a pump with a thumb lock/release.

I have a Lezyne steel floor pump. Works well and i like the screw on chuck. Don't see a need for a pump that needs a battery for the gauge to work though.

I've been using the Topeak Transformers X pump for about a year now; I like it.
The gauge at the highest position makes it easy to read. Long hose. Living in a small
place; having a pump and work stand taking up the least amount of space is ideal.
But I'm so used to working on my bike(s) upside down; I haven't used the work stand
function yet.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/2/1551/2...62bc7961_z.jpgRandom Parts & Tools by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

+ 1 on top gage

If I'd had the budget at the time I'd have gotten the Lezyne Steel Drive. Has everything I'd want in a floor pump: threaded chuck; gauge; bleed valve.

But my budget last year was squeaky tight and I bought the Nashbar Earl Grey for about half the price. Probably just as good in terms of build and function. But the friction fit lever lock chuck is a bit of a hassle. I didn't realize how much I'd prefer a threaded chuck until later when I bought a tiny Topeak Race Rocket HP with threaded chuck, which is much easier to use. So eventually I'll probably replace the original Earl Grey chuck with something else and use it forever, because it's built like something that will last a lifetime.

That's a good point. My (Specialized) floor pump is roughly the same age. I was thinking that I don't have enough experience to offer any advice because I only have experience with the one.

Pick the one with the longest hose. My biggest complaint with my Silca is the short hose and how it won't reach when my bike is in the workstand. The Lezyne you posted looks good in that regard though I am not so sure on a digital readout.