Ridiculous I know, but which pump?

Hey i know it sounds ridiculous, but ive just bought my first racing bike, a Lemond Alp D'huez. It is utterly amazing, but i have run into a problem. the tyre pressure has dropped and i have no idea wot sort of adapter i need to pump them up. It still got the standard Bontrager wheel set i bought it with...any advice would be much appreciated, as at the moment i cant ride it due to fear of damaging the rims. Many thanks
Kobie

Get a floor pump with a guage. It will come with a presta valve attachment which should work with the tubes you have.There are several brands and all work well. A lot of these pumps also come with a schrader valve attachment which is the standard type valve stem found on some bike and all cars. The presta-valve is the small configuration valve stem and most likely what you have.
Other than that you can decide on whether to carry an emergency hand pump or CO2 cartriges on the bike in case of flats,along with some tire levers and patch kit or extra tube.

btw: Always keep tires infalted to prevent gravel pinch flats and help reduce rolling resistance.

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Dope,when training and talent just aren't enough.

Well for my buck if you need a frame pump or mini pump for use while out on the road it would be the Topeak Road Morph. You can easily pump your tires up to 110-120psi. The one with the gauge rocks.

Cheers,

Brian

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"Don't think, feeeeeeeeeeeeel....
It is like a finger, pointing away
to the moon......
Don't concentrate on the finger,
or you'll miss all that Heavenly glory."

Bruce Lee
"Enter The Dragon"

Frame pumps and mini-pumps are OK, but I have found that it is much easier to use a CO2 Inflator to fix flats on the road. I haven't found a CO2 Inflator that comes with a gauge though, so you have to know how your tire feels when it is inflated to the correct pressure. For everyday shop use, I recommend another Topeak product. They manufacture a pump called the Joe Blow that has a dual head so that you can use it on both presta and schrader valves. It is inexpensive at about $25 - $30, and you can get repair kits for it if you are clumsy like me and break it.

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One life, one chance. Don't waste it!

I got that Joe Blow pump with the dual head when my other more expensive pump wore out.

Total piece of crap. I'll be buying a new better quality pump at the spring bike show.

It works well for me very reliably. Only problem was that I stepped on the head one day and cracked it. I went to my LBS where I bought the pump and they surprised me by having a replacement head in stock. This may not be a good thing though as an LBS normally only stocks items that are going to sell rather quickly and they had two of them.

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One life, one chance. Don't waste it!

My problems with that Joe Blow pump are that I can barely depress the pump arm once the pressure gets up to around 100 psi (didn't have this problem with my old pump), and when the pressure gets that high, the meter stops working properly. The meter will jump 20 psi on one compression, and not recover to the real pressure. So I have to tap the guage, but even then the readings don't make sense to me.

I cannot recommend this pump.

Hey just a quick word to say thanks to everyone for all the help, iv got a track pump with a gauge, althought stil havent decided on CO2 cartridges or a mini pump for on the road repairs, but thanks very much.

Over three decades in cycling has taught me the value of Silca floor pumps. I've used one Silca track pump for over twenty years and have only had to replace the pump head rubber seal washer.

Medai also manufactures a good floor pump. I've got one I purchased in 1973 that's still going strong.

Silca full size frame pumps are lightweight and somewhat fragile. I've never been let down by one while on the road, but they are not the best 'dog beaters' on the market.

I'm currently carring a Topeak carbon mini-pump in my jersey pocket. It's very leightweight and will get you to 100 psi if you have the time and endurance to give it a few hundred strokes.

With a CO2 Inflator, you have to have the time and endurance to hold down the thumb button for 20 - 30 seconds. Unfortunately, if you have one more flat than you have cartridges, someone's walking .

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One life, one chance. Don't waste it!

If it's a multiple-rider ride, we'll share CO2 as needed. For training out in the sticks solo, I like the security of having a pump along.

Yes, it's an arm-buster, but at least the thing only weighs in at something like 54 grams.

I really should stick one of my old Silca Impero frame pumps on the bike. 30 strokes in 30-60 seconds and you were rolling again without the 'death grip' and 'pulled tricep' syndrome of these new micro-pumps!