Paul J

My wife and I are planning to do some touring in our tandem. We've been using CO2 cartridge for flat repair. We would like to get a Mini pump which would fit in our trunk bag and be good for touring use. The bag will fit a pump that's about 12 inches +/-. Love to hear your thoughts.

Pratt

Lezyne

danmyersmn 

Lezyne micro floor drive hp if you can fit it. I think it is a bit too big. I steal mine to the side of my bag. Next would be
Lezyne HP drive.

79pmooney

Curmudgeon here. If you can deal with a frame pump, you won't regret it that day when all goes wrong. I flatted twice today. Old tire, poorly executed patch. First time I pumped the tire too hard with 85 strokes. (Zephal Classic. Basically an HPX.) More than one ride of a number of riders has made it to the finish because somebody carried a frame pump. With a good frame pump there is no limit to how many tires it can pump up and the limit that you can pump up is a big number.

Ben

DeadGrandpa

I have no experience with the Lezyne pumps. I use Topeak Road or Mountain Morph. They work. Mind that you tighten the collar holding the pump head seals.

mev

Topeak road morph has been reliable for me and I like the gauge.

pakeboi

What is the Max PSI you need ?

hilltowner

Topeak Mini Morph. Crossed the continent with one. Did the job whenever it was needed, especially during an encounter with goat head thorns.

alan s 

I carry a Lezyne pump and CO2 inflator and cartridges. The pump mounts on the water bottle bosses.

Paul J

I forgot that our tandem has a pump peg. With that the Zephal full size HPX pump might be the best option, I hadn't thought of that for some reason. Thanks Ben! i'll get that measured and select the appropriate length.

Rob_E

That's my choice as well. Actually I use the High Volume version, since I'm riding on tires that are over 2 inches wide. I replaced my Topeak Mountain Morph with it when the Topeak quit working. But either one of those were preferable to any mini pump or frame pump I ever tried. They work more like a floor pump, which makes them much easier to use, in my opinion, but it can also make them slightly bulkier than some option. Worth it. If memory serves, the Topeak was a little smaller and probably lighter. I definitely feel like the Lezyne is higher quality and easier to use.

I got a nice frame pump once specifically because my bike had the peg for it, so I thought I might as well. Used it once, then went back to the mini-floor-pump style. But I will say that part of my decision to use that style is that I frequently have to pack my bike with the tires partially deflated, so every trip starts with me assembling my bike and inflating the tires. If my pump was a "just in case" device, I might go with "easiest to carry" instead of of "easiest to use," but I know I'll be using it, so I take the pump that is easier to use.

Tourist in MSN

If you usually use CO2, does that mean skinny high pressure tires? If so, the pressure becomes an issue as a lot of small portable pumps are hard to get up to the really high pressures.

Several years ago we often saw pump questions and most answers were to get the Road Morph G or the Lezyne Micro Floor Drive. Since I owned both, I wrote up a comparison, here:
Comparing Topeak Road Morph G and Lezyne Micro Floor Drive Pumps.

I would suggest you get a bracket to attach to the frame to hold the pump, then your size criteria is less important.

bktourer1

Topeak road morph has been reliable for me and I like the gauge.

djb

I'm going to copy you copying mev by saying that the Topeak road morph has been reliable for me and I like the gauge.

compared to frame pumps, these mini floor style pumps really work well, so much easier pumping down towards the ground and not having to fight with the end of pump to make sure you don't move and damage the valve.

daoswald

Another vote for a Topeak "morph" pump. They make a Road Morph, a Mini Morph, and one other Morph that is more MTB oriented. I have a Mini Morph, and have used it for 11 years. Only recently have I moved it to my hybrid / commuter bike, off of my road bike because the Lezyne road pump just looks nicer. But really function ought to win over fashion, and even moreso when touring. The Mini Morph or one of its siblings is great.

Nice features: The pump is designed to be used like a mini floor pump. The hose comes out the side of the pump, and connects to either presta or schraeder valves. There's a little foot-brace that swings out. It takes about 250 pumps to bring a set of 28mm tires up to 100 PSI, which is probably higher than they need to be. But any mini pump is going to take 200 to 300 pumps to get the tire up to normal pressure. What is better about this pump is that you're pushing against the ground. Much easier to operate.

indyfabz

Road Morph G.

Brett A

Likewise. I needed to replace my lost Mountain Morph (no gauge) so bought a Road Morph. It's been great, although a bit heavier than the MT version. Both have hoses and foot tabs so you can pump against the ground like a floor pump which is also excellent. I didn't think having a pump with a gauge was going to be important, but I love the piece of mind of knowing how much pressure I'm running. I also like to tour in the desert, so good to know I'm not overinflated when the pavements nears 200 degrees.

FWIW, the road morph is a high pressure pump. Up to 120 psi I think? Whereas the MT version, and MT pumps in general, top out around a 60 psi max.

alan s 

The Lezyne pump I use has a gauge in the hose. The gauge is fairly accurate. The pump itself is easy to operate, although probably not as easy as the Topeak. Best feature is its compact size and ability to mount next to the water bottle.

Wiggle

My Road Morph G has treated me well. Only criticism is that the gauge tends to jump in discrete steps rather than smoothly.

KC8QVO

For what it is worth, maybe not much if you are looking for a "big" pump -

The bontrager rush road is what I have on my touring bike. It is a combo CO2/hand pump (no gauge). Mine is the older model with the red/maroon valve cap.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...olorCode=black

Of note - unless the design is tweaked some - the pump housing threads to the head assembly. You will want to make sure everything is "tight" before trying to pump a tire up with it. In fact, this goes for every pump out there: Know how your pump works, what can go wrong with it, how to set it up properly, and how to repair it at home before you need it on a ride.

That having been said, I don't have any trouble getting up to 60psi with this pump on 700cx38mm tires. I do not use the CO2. It is there if I need it, but my theory is those are last-ditch options. The same goes for the CO2 though - if the pump isn't set up properly and doesn't seal well if you go to use a CO2 cartridge you'll waste it. So my thought is to hand pump. If I am really worn out or there are other circumstances I may try one, just has not happened yet. In fact, in 7 years I've only had one flat on that bike anyway...

On the other side of the coin, if you can get a pump that has a built-in gauge that may help and would be more efficient as far as pumping time goes. It certainly isn't "needed". I need to replace my stand-alone Presta gauge as it doesn't work. I tried to use it when I had my flat but it wouldn't seal on the valve stem. So I'll be on the hunt for a new one, not sure what quality gauges are out there. However, it isn't even 100% necessary for me - I can go off ride feel and get close enough to ride fine. I don't max out the pressure on my tires and I am not overly concerned with rolling resistance. Though, I do air up when I load up vs more normal riding.

UKFan4Sure

^^^^^This....^^^^^ I have one and the gauge is nice to insure you are carrying the right pressure. That's no so important on a day ride, but on a touring bike, it's nice.

robow

I've always felt the Topeak Road Morph is an excellent pump unless you're like this moron who forgot to throw it into one of his panniers during less than ideal trail conditions. Unfortunately I "heard" that this one was almost toast after this little episode.

djb

Robow, boy that shot really makes the case for mudguards as the Poms call them.

Tourist in MSN

I ALWAYS put a bit of tape over the hole in the chuck to keep dirt and dust out of it, that helps to prevent getting any dirt in my valve stem valve. Even on a nice day, you can get a lot of dust in there.

I have bought a few Road Morph pumps at swap meets for a cheap price that needed a complete disassembly and cleaning. But that one looks like it is too far gone.

Even with fenders on the bike, a lot of road grime can land on anything attached to the downtube. I usually put the pump bracket on the seattube bottle mounts instead of downtube, my left leg sometimes just barely rubs on the pump, but it is not bothersome enough to change.

BritishV8

I started with CO2, and then purchased a used Lezyne at my local bike coop. I don't know its model name. Maybe it was already worn out by the previous owner. It was disappointing too..

I upgraded to a Zefal Profil FC03. Here's what I like about it:
- it has a much more effective mud cap.
- it has a short hose rather than clamping directly at the valve stem (therefore less likely to bend stem).
- the hose end literally screws onto the valve stem rather than having a lever type clamp. (That's a bigger advantage than I realized until I tried it!)
- it gets my tires to 90+ psi easily, and would certainly go higher if I wanted
- it's only 7" long, and it only weighs 3.5 ounces. Crazy!

Since I mounted the Zefal on my frame, you might think its short length wouldn't matter much. The one thing that worries me about the Zefal is that it's so cute and expensive looking that it might get swiped, but since it's small, it's easier for me to tuck it into my pannier once I arrive somewhere. (I do the same with LED lights, etc.)

I mounted my old Lezyne on my commuter bike, because it will at least get me to "limp home" pressure.