Pumps

A Joe Blow Pump works well. I also have a Park Tools Pump. I am not sure about fitting these into a Backpack. Most just pump their tires and go. You hould be good for a couple of days and then you can check the tire pressure again.

If you want a portable solution there are 'pocket pumps' that can be attached to your frame or thrown into your backack with ease. Check out your LBS to see what's available. Test them out first before you buy. Good Luck!

jack06 said:

Hi guys
have had a look around for just a regular pump but have been hit with so many different types and brands of pumps. I've never actually owned a bike with road tyres so wanted to double check with you guys what sort of pump would be best to get. I would need it to fit in my back pack, be reliable, inexpensive and relatively quick (although not so important).
Also is it much like inflating a MTB tyre, i.e keep pressing the tyre until it is firm but not too firm?
The tyres in questions are Maxxis Detonator 700 x 28c as on the CRX 4

carbonguru said:

A Joe Blow Pump works well. I also have a Park Tools Pump. I am not sure about fitting these into a Backpack. Most just pump their tires and go. You hould be good for a couple of days and then you can check the tire pressure again.

If you want a portable solution there are 'pocket pumps' that can be attached to your frame or thrown into your backack with ease. Check out your LBS to see what's available. Test them out first before you buy. Good Luck!

thanks carbon,
the reason I said fit in a backpack is because I will be commuting a lot and wanted one for puncture repairs as well, thanks for the reply.
cheers jack
p.s just wanted to get an idea on price as trying to budget and don't have a lot to play with

Hiya Jack
The topeak road morph pump is the only one I know that will pump to 100-120 psi relatively easily.

However, you should invest in a track pump and an emergency pump that you carry along with you. A track pump like the Joe Blow Pump pumps to 120 or more easily, something that you use at home before riding out. Emergency pumps are meant to get you home.

I have the road morph pump, but its too large to fit into my jersey pockets, so I only carry it for my commute/shopping rides, when I have a pannier bag. I carry a mini pump in my jersey pocket for all other rides. I can get to 100 psi with the mini pump, but with considerably more effort. Most mini pumps can realistically give you abt 80psi.

Get one of these from the UK: http://www.dotbike.com/Products/ProductsS17C42P1689.aspx

You will need a floor pump with a gauge for home.
Inflate the front to 95psi and the rear to 105psi. Tyre pressures are critical.

Grab a track pump for home to get the pressure right, and a pocket pump in case you puncture while commuting. Although the pocket pumps are unlikely to pump to ~100psi...they'll get you out of trouble.

Just check the pressure every few days or if they feel like they've 'softened'.

I'd recommend that you up-grade your tires...😉
Find something that is "puncture resistant"
and invest in a good floor pump and a Co2 bomb for the road.

Unbelievably said:

I'd recommend that you up-grade your tires...😉
Find something that is "puncture resistant"
and invest in a good floor pump and a Co2 bomb for the road.

============================================================
😠 Don't get a CO2 bomb - have some concern for the environment and stick to your good idea of getting a pump to carry with you.
Puncture resistant tyres and a track pump at home are excellent ideas🙂

Bigbananabike said:

============================================================
😠 Don't get a CO2 bomb - have some concern for the environment and stick to your good idea of getting a pump to carry with you.
Puncture resistant tyres and a track pump at home are excellent ideas🙂

😕 As long as you recycle the empty canister instead of leaving it lay on the roadside, where is the danger to the environment? You exhale more CO2 during the time it takes to pump up a tire with a mini pump than the 16 grams in the canister. And it is not like CO2 was created just to fill the canister. Most commercial gasses, including the CO2 in the canister, is obtained by compressing the ambient air until it liquifies, then separating (or fractionating) the individual gasses. Thus, the CO2 that was in the canister was once in the atmosphere. When it leaks out of the tire, it goes back into the atmosphere again. There is no net change in atmospheric CO2.

thanks guys
oh man, so i need two pumps now? If I had a small pump for punture repairs, Could I use say a petrol station air pump for the tyres? Obviously I would check the gauge and do it in small increments as opposed to keeping it depressed.

gclark8 said:

Get one of these from the UK: dotbike.comProductsS17C42P1689.aspxOpen ↗

You will need a floor pump with a gauge for home.
Inflate the front to 95psi and the rear to 105psi. Tyre pressures are critical.

hi george,
yer saw that somewhere else. It does look very good, however not sure how practical it is for punture repair, like I said I have tight budget guys! Can't afford two pumps :eek:

what does everyone think of the Topeak master blaster awcycles.co.ukproducts.phpOpen ↗
it says it 'effortlessly' gets up to 120psi, I mean i'm a strong lad and don't mind if it does get me sweating, but don't want to be getting two pumps, i'm just not that serious about cycling yet. The bike is for commuting not competing so want to keep costs down
cheers jack

jack06 said:

thanks guys
oh man, so i need two pumps now? If I had a small pump for punture repairs, Could I use say a petrol station air pump for the tyres? Obviously I would check the gauge and do it in small increments as opposed to keeping it depressed.

The pumps at the petrol stations around me do not go to 80psi, most max out at 45psi for safety. These are just one off purchases which will last you years and withstand your bike upgrade.

As for puncture resistant tyres, they are not puncture proof. Nothing is going to stop a nail. I went 1 whole year riding without a puncture, and then had 3 punctures in 2 weeks.
Pumps are reusable, CO2 is not. But that is whole other thread.
If you dont mind the time it takes to get your tyres up to an acceptable pressure, or carrying the weieght of the pump, then the pump is the way to go.

You can start off with purchasing the Topeak morph w gauge series of pumps, and add the track pump later on. The topeak will get you to 120psi easy every time.

thomas_cho said:

The pumps at the petrol stations around me do not go to 80psi, most max out at 45psi for safety. These are just one off purchases which will last you years and withstand your bike upgrade.

As for puncture resistant tyres, they are not puncture proof. Nothing is going to stop a nail. I went 1 whole year riding without a puncture, and then had 3 punctures in 2 weeks.
Pumps are reusable, CO2 is not. But that is whole other thread.
If you dont mind the time it takes to get your tyres up to an acceptable pressure, or carrying the weieght of the pump, then the pump is the way to go.

You can start off with purchasing the Topeak morph w gauge series of pumps, and add the track pump later on. The topeak will get you to 120psi easy every time.

thanks thomas
yer it is in my price range, and would much rather get the one small pump which i can carry everywhere then a big 'super fast' pump and a small 'ok but requires more effort' pump
cheers jack

jack06 said:

thanks thomas
yer it is in my price range, and would much rather get the one small pump which i can carry everywhere then a big 'super fast' pump and a small 'ok but requires more effort' pump
cheers jack

thomas
how big is the road morph it does seem very expensive for what it is, i.e a bicycle pump!
awcycles.co.ukproducts.phpOpen ↗
the mini blaster is within my budget but the road morph series are not :eek:

jack06 said:

thomas
how big is the road morph it does seem very expensive for what it is, i.e a bicycle pump!
awcycles.co.ukproducts.phpOpen ↗
the mini blaster is within my budget but the road morph series are not :eek:

What might work out best is that you go into a bike shop, and ask if you can test out a mini-pump against the road morph.

In my experience, the mini pumps are a challenge to get the tyre up to pressure, from 60psi onwards its really hard. You struggle so much that you might end up breaking the inner tube valve. In the case of a puncture emergency on the road, the mini pump can get you up to 70-80psi which will get you home. But they are not good for everyday use if you need to get your tyres up to 100psi.

The road morph is about 35cm in length.

Like I said, the mini-pumps are designed for emergency use only. You will not want this as an everyday use pump. You could get by with the road morph as an everyday pump, but a track pump works best and is much faster getting up to pressure.

In all honesty, I have not tried many other high pressure road pumps. You should visit a bike shop, and try out the pumps that they have. Cyclaire looks pretty good if you can get it, its not too big either.

But think about it this way, would you rather get 2 cheap pumps, or 1 good one which is sturdy and is reliable? When you get a flat on a commute, you would be glad to have a good pump. The road morph has allowed me to get my tyres up to 100psi, and continue on my romantic picnic ride around the lake with my wife. Well worth the cost of it!!

Here is another vote for the Road Morph.

I remember researching this pump before buying and it had one of the lower numbers for number of pumps to inflate to 100psi. Also has one of the higher pressure capabilities, so getting to 100 psi is not when it is pushing its limit. Unfortunately, I don't remember which sites gave that information for comparison. 🙁

I've used it in emergency situations too, and been able to resume my ride because I reached full pressure. Otherwise, I would have had to limp home and cut my ride short. Used it to aid a friend with a flat and he was surprised to see that it could reach high pressure better than his pump would have been able to.

If you need to convince yourself, I agree, try a few at the LBS and you'll know what is best for you.

As price goes, you may appreciate all the features that come with the pump and deem it worth the few extra bucks. A cheap, underperforming pump is not much better than not having a pump.