Disappointing (was Recommended high-volume floor-type bicycle pumps?) - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

08-08-2003, 08:09 PM

Everyone,

When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I
was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's
out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual
comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from
the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!)

Considering how ubiquitous floor-type bicycle pumps are, and the
importance they are to the bicycle enthusaist, it surprises me that no
recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter
of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type
bicycle pumps. In fact, I find this lack of information outright
strange.

Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess:

1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure
tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and
overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure.

2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use
cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?)

3) Assessment of ergonomics.

4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge.

5) Cost

6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability.

Considering how inexpensive these pumps are (in the cosmic scheme of
things), a bicycle magazine could certainly do this comparitive study
quite easily and inexpensively. In so doing, it will accelerate the
improvement of these air pumps by forcing companies to try to outdo
one another to build a better air pump.

Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that
seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps
is the Blackburn TP-5:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

It is a clever design in that it has two settings: very high volume
for low pressure filling (such as automobile and mountain bike tires),
and a low volume, high pressure setting. Thus, when filling up a tire,
one can start out at high volume and put a lot of air in to start out
with, and then once the pressure builds up where pumping gets
difficult, one switches to the high pressure setting -- it fills up
much more slowly, but it takes a lot less force to achieve very high
pressures. Quite clever, actually.

Comments? Criticisms?

Jon Noring

08-09-2003, 02:41 AM

"Jon Noring" wrote:
> it surprises me that no
> recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter
> of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type
> bicycle pumps.

Have you seen Bicycling Magazine lately? I wouldn't make any purchases based
on their reviews. Consumer Reports tries to do a good job, but they tend to
put emphasis on the wrong things.

> Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess:
>
> 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure
> tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and
> overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure.

I think too much emphasis is placed on this. For me, 99% of pump use is
topping off pressure on my road bikes. It really doesn't matter if it takes
three or five strokes. The work is the same in either case.

> 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use
> cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?)
>
> 3) Assessment of ergonomics.
>
> 4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge.
>
> 5) Cost
>
> 6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability.

The attachment to the valve seems to be an issue for a lot of people. For
road tires with presta valves, it's hard to beat Silca's big brass presta
chuck.

There are plenty of good comments here on rbt from folks who have used
various pumps for extended periods of time. I'd put more stock in those
comments than a magazine article. There are threads on pumps several times a
year. Try a google groups search.

Art Harris

08-09-2003, 04:28 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Jon Noring) wrote in message news:<821890f1.0308082009.6f69067d@posting.google. com>...
> Everyone,
>
> When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I
> was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's
> out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual
> comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from
> the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!)

If you came to usenet looking for scientific product-testing
methodology, then you were very, very mistaken. Deja used to plug
usenet as 'real reviews from real consumers' and while I've found real
consumers, reviews--as you'd find in the press--are a miniscule
component of usenet traffic.

You're going to get user reports; what comparisons you do get will be
from users who used both.

Asking a question and expecting *exactly* the information you're
looking for on usenet is a hopeless task. you *will* however get a
lot of interesting information, often tangential to your original
query, that may or may not come in handy later. That's what happens
when you ask strangers for their opinions, based on experience.

-Luigi
ask a silly question
get amusing answers

08-09-2003, 05:30 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Jon Noring) wrote in
news:821890f1.0308082009.6f69067d@posting.google.c om:

> 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure
> tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and
> overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure.

The Performance catalog tries to rate this (at least for the mini-pumps)

> 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use
> cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?)

Availability of replacement parts when they wear out. That would seem
to limit you to Zefal, Silca, Blackburn, and Topeak

I've dealt only with Topeak. I email them with a "concern", and they
reply that I should be watching my mailbox for a new part.

> Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that
> seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps
> is the Blackburn TP-5:

There are lots of good pumps out there. I like my Topeak Joe Blow (the
original incarnation). I'm impressed with the Wrench Force (a Trek-
SnapOn collaboration) as well. Nobody can argue with the Blackburn. I
think you're sweating the details too much, though.

08-09-2003, 06:15 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] schreef ...

> Comments? Criticisms?

Yep! Go to your LBS and try some pumps on the bikes in the shop. That's
the quickest & easiest way to find out which one you like. I'm very
happy with my Topeak Joe Blow Pro. But similar ones from Silca, SKS,
Blackburn, Park Tool (and there are others) are not too different from
this in performance.

--
Regards,
Marten

08-09-2003, 06:25 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] >, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
says...

>When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I
>was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's
>out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual
>comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from
>the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!)
>
>Considering how ubiquitous floor-type bicycle pumps are, and the
>importance they are to the bicycle enthusaist, it surprises me that no
>recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter
>of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type
>bicycle pumps. In fact, I find this lack of information outright
>strange.
>
>Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess:
>
>1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure
> tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and
> overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure.
>
>2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use
> cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?)
>
>3) Assessment of ergonomics.
>
>4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge.
>
>5) Cost
>
>6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability.
>
>Considering how inexpensive these pumps are (in the cosmic scheme of
>things), a bicycle magazine could certainly do this comparitive study
>quite easily and inexpensively. In so doing, it will accelerate the
>improvement of these air pumps by forcing companies to try to outdo
>one another to build a better air pump.
>
>Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that
>seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps
>is the Blackburn TP-5:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
>It is a clever design in that it has two settings: very high volume
>for low pressure filling (such as automobile and mountain bike tires),
>and a low volume, high pressure setting. Thus, when filling up a tire,
>one can start out at high volume and put a lot of air in to start out
>with, and then once the pressure builds up where pumping gets
>difficult, one switches to the high pressure setting -- it fills up
>much more slowly, but it takes a lot less force to achieve very high
>pressures. Quite clever, actually.

In the modern internet world we have all forgotten that there are public
libraries that have quite a bit of information that is not available online.
I recall one of the bicycle magazines did a test of pumps as you describe
above. You should be able to find out which magazine at your local library.
I think it was Bicycle Guide or Bicycling. I was a bit surprised because
the magazine usually printed a lot of useless cliche ridden reviews.
--------------
Alex

08-10-2003, 05:15 AM

x-no-archive:yes

...
> Floor pumps are inexpensive, work well for years, and are used once a week
> to top up tires. Even filling a mtb tire from empty is no big deal unless
> you're doing a bunch of bikes. I'd look for a pump with a gauge far up the
> pump and a connector that does both Schrader and Presta without having to
> fiddle with internal parts. Aside from that I don't see an issue.
>
> There is an interesting pump from Topeak that is part floor pump part
> frame/mini pump and can be had with a gauge. I already have a bunch of
mini
> pumps none of which works well and a floor pump which does a great job so
I
> haven't really looked at it.
>
> Doug
> Toronto

In the first case you mentioned, my Serfas floor pump with the gauge up
high, metal tubing and lifetime guarantee, is excellent. In the second, you
are talking about the Topeak Road Morph--the only frame pump I would carry
on my bike. By turning it into something resembling a floor pump, you can
actually push downward against the pressure instead of along the direction
of the pressure. You just turn the handle into a T handle and set the pump
up like a floor pump. It even comes with an in-line gauge.

Pat in TX
>
>

08-10-2003, 05:42 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Jon Noring) wrote in message news:<821890f1.0308082009.6f69067d@posting.google. com>...
> Everyone,
>
> When I started this thread asking about floor-type bicycle pumps, I
> was hoping to get good consumer-related information so I know what's
> out there, and which floor-type air pumps are rated the best by actual
> comparison with one another (the only way to know the better ones from
> the worse ones is by actual comparison between them!)

Hi, in the PerformanceBike.com catalog they show efficency specs for
many of their pumps. The rating is based on strokes to inflate both a
MTB tire and a road tire. An example would be 43/24.
That rating is for the Topeak Joe Blow Sport, which I bought recently.
I liked that besides the two sided head for Presta, and Schraeder, it
also has
ball/mattress adaptors. I have no basis for comparison, other than the
crappy pumps of my youth, but this one works fine. I have used it both
for topping off tires and for replacing tubes. I got it on sale for
around $21, it lists for $34.99
Performance has a number of pumps on sale, at this time:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Life is Good!
Jeff

>
> Considering how ubiquitous floor-type bicycle pumps are, and the
> importance they are to the bicycle enthusaist, it surprises me that no
> recent article in a bicycle magazine (or Consumer Reports as a matter
> of fact) has appeared doing an *exhaustive* comparison of floor-type
> bicycle pumps. In fact, I find this lack of information outright
> strange.
>
> Here's are some of the things the comparison would assess:
>
> 1) Number of pumps and the force needed to fill up a lower pressure
> tire (e.g., mountain bike, automobile), and number of pumps and
> overall effort to fill a tire up to very high pressure.
>
> 2) Overall assessment of durability and reliability (e.g., does it use
> cheap, flimsy plastic parts, or high quality parts?)
>
> 3) Assessment of ergonomics.
>
> 4) Quality, accuracy and precision of built-in pressure gauge.
>
> 5) Cost
>
> 6) Warranty, parts availability, and repairability.
>
> Considering how inexpensive these pumps are (in the cosmic scheme of
> things), a bicycle magazine could certainly do this comparitive study
> quite easily and inexpensively. In so doing, it will accelerate the
> improvement of these air pumps by forcing companies to try to outdo
> one another to build a better air pump.
>
> Now, with what little information I could find, the bicycle pump that
> seems to be the "current reference standard" for floor-type air pumps
> is the Blackburn TP-5:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> It is a clever design in that it has two settings: very high volume
> for low pressure filling (such as automobile and mountain bike tires),
> and a low volume, high pressure setting. Thus, when filling up a tire,
> one can start out at high volume and put a lot of air in to start out
> with, and then once the pressure builds up where pumping gets
> difficult, one switches to the high pressure setting -- it fills up
> much more slowly, but it takes a lot less force to achieve very high
> pressures. Quite clever, actually.
>
> Comments? Criticisms?
>
> Jon Noring

08-10-2003, 06:31 AM

"Jeff Starr" wrote:
> in the PerformanceBike.com catalog they show efficency specs for
> many of their pumps. The rating is based on strokes to inflate both a
> MTB tire and a road tire. An example would be 43/24.

That's really not an efficency spec. Those that pump more volume per stroke
require more force. The work required will be about the same. It's like the
difference between climbing a hill in a low or high gear. The higher gear
requires fewer pedal strokes, but more force.

High volume pumps might be better for MTBs.

Art Harris

08-10-2003, 07:22 AM

"Harris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message news:<jd4Za.9174$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].hcvlny.cv.n et>...
> The attachment to the valve seems to be an issue for a lot of people. For
> road tires with presta valves, it's hard to beat Silca's big brass presta
> chuck.

I know I will get flamed for this, but I have to disagree with you on
that one. They work fine when new but you have to keep replacing
them. I get so tired of having to wait for friends who still use that
Silca brass head. They can't get it to stay on and have to have
someone hold it on for them or have to use a Velcro strap to hold it
on.

Most of my friends use a Joe Blow pump clone with a thumb lock. It's
cheap, works every time, and you don't have to have a separate pump
for your shraeder valves.

I know that the Joe Blow is the Volkswagon of bike pumps but I would
rather have a Volkswagon that runs than a Mercedes that doesn't.

Dick Durbin