What pump?

cormie

So before I went for a cycle yesterday, I gave my tyres a pump up, pumped them as much as I could (I think) with the pump I had but once I got on the road, it just wasn't enough. I have these tubes http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20484, with the 36mm shaft.

Can anyone recommend a pump that will work well with this and what's the story with the carbon ones, are they to be banned soon or something?

Would like it to be small enough to fit in a little pump pouch I have on a bag thing I have on my frame here:



Also, is knowing the pressure important? Would it be best to get one with a pressure indicator?

Any feedback appreciated

Chips Lovell

What pump are you using at the moment? The only way to get tyres up to recommended pressure is to use a track pump, which usually has a pressure gauge on it. The small hand pumps are only really for taking out on the road in case of a puncture. They'll get a tyre inflated enough to get you home as long as you're careful.

cormie

The pump I'm using at the mo is just a cheapo one I picked up years ago.

What's a track pump? Where would you get one, or are they too expensive to buy and you suggest just popping into a bike shop every now and then?

Morgan

A track pump:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=1608

Chips Lovell

cormie wrote: »

What's a track pump? Where would you get one, or are they too expensive to buy and you suggest just popping into a bike shop every now and then?

It's something like this. They're pretty cheap as you can see. Wouldn't rely on popping into the shop. Tyres on road bikes lose pressure quickly, so you should be topping them up at least once a week.

cormie

Cool, thanks for both links folks. Now is the dearer one worth the extra money I wonder? What pressure should it be pumped up to, or is it tyre and tube dependant? Don't suppose you can get attachments for footballs for either pump, have a few ones that need pumping at home

Chips Lovell

cormie wrote: »

Now is the dearer one worth the extra money I wonder?

I don't know. Mine's a brand I never heard of before and was picked up in a hardware shop. Never given me a problem.

cormie wrote: »

What pressure should it be pumped up to, or is it tyre and tube dependant?

Max pressure should be printed on the side of the tyre. With road tyres it's usually 120psi.

cormie

Hey, I see Aldi had a track pump on sale from 1st of may only €8. Wonder is it any use? Don't think it has a pressure gauge though. Is the right pressure important? My wheels are worth about 400 euro so don't want to skimp on a pump if it's going to put them at risk. But the aldi one says it comes with an attachment for balls:D

cormie

I see a little ball pump on the one you linked to el tonto doesn't mention it being included but it probably wouldn't on a cycling website!

Chips Lovell

cormie wrote: »

Is the right pressure important? My wheels are worth about 400 euro so don't want to skimp on a pump if it's going to put them at risk.

Yes. Too high and you'll blow out the rim. Too low and you'll get pinch flats.

BostonB

I bought one of these track pumps with a guage, recently, after years of using foot pumps and hand pumps. Its a night and day difference, its so easy to keep the types pumped to pressure now.

cormie

Cool, think I'll buy the one for £18 anyway, seems to come with attachment for footballs too so that's cool.

Thanks for the help everyone

niceonetom

cormie wrote: »

Cool, think I'll buy the one for £18 anyway, seems to come with attachment for footballs too so that's cool.

Thanks for the help everyone

get one with a gauge. takes all the guesswork out of it and allows you to change pressure accurately for conditions - i run my tyres (gatorskinz) at about 90psi in the rain and 115 in the dry. makes a difference.

cormie

Cool thanks for the tip.

I had another look on chainreaction, the yellow one linked to above has reviews of it cracking after 3 years for no reason so I might avoid that.

These two seem to have great reviews:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=4949
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=13950

the 2nd one used to sell for £19.99 so I sent off an email with a haggle and the first one is by the same manufacturer as the one that broke for a few people after 3 years so not sure about that..

Davittdr

I picked the tack pump in Aldi last week it has a gauge and it works well, at €8 you cant go wrong, with a hand pump I was never happy with the tyre pressure so I tended to use a garage pump but always concerned with over doing it. I still carry the little adapter in my saddle bag just in case.

Morgan

I've been using the yellow Topeak pump for about 5 years now without any problems.

I notice that all the pumps above are out of stock though. You might be as well dropping into a local shop.

cormie

Davittdr wrote: »

I picked the tack pump in Aldi last week it has a gauge and it works well, at €8 you cant go wrong, with a hand pump I was never happy with the tyre pressure so I tended to use a garage pump but always concerned with over doing it. I still carry the little adapter in my saddle bag just in case.

It definitely has a gauge on it to read the pressure yeah? It doesn't show it in the picture on the leaflet

Davittdr

yep, definitely has a gauge, I haven't used it on my own bike yet just the kids bikes and I didn't bother checking the pressure.

cormie

Cool thanks, head office says there's loads left in Tallaght so I'm going to head out there and pick one up Didn't even realise all the ones on chainreaction were sold out!

bunnygreen

i carry one of those Genuine Innovations Hybrid pumps on the bike,you can use a co2 cartridge with it as well,all in one,very handy and light,never leave home without it.

cormie

I got the aldi pump today anyway and once the pressure got high, the thing blew off I'm gonna have a look at it and see if I can figure out what's up but I'm pretty sure it's not meant to happen?

cormie

Ok, screw that. Even though the top kept blowing off, due to a bad glue job or what I don't know, but it would still pump a little bit, so I tried pump up some balls I had, did the first 2 ok and then on the third, the shaft got caught because the top blew off again so I had to unscrew the bottom part and then this broke whatever seal must have been on it and now no air is coming through it at all. What a piece of ****, and after me driving all the way to Tallaght for it too, to bring it back would cost more in diesel than the refund I'd get :mad:

It's also so tight on my tyre that when I took it off I whacked my hand off a spoke and it's still sore.

It does have a gauge alright but it's a bit useless from the little I saw it working.

Has anyone been able to use it without problems?

Explosive_Cornflake

I'm using the Specialized Road Tool pump. I'm pretty happy with it, it's thin, but full length. I got it in Cycleways [longer story].

Vélo

bunnygreen wrote: »

i carry one of those Genuine Innovations Hybrid pumps on the bike,you can use a co2 cartridge with it as well,all in one,very handy and light,never leave home without it.

What's the story with the C02 cartirdges. I bought a couple for going out cycling but have never used one. Does it put the correct amount of air in the tyre or do you need to use more than one?

bunnygreen

i've found that one cannister will inflate your tyre on a standard road bike,700x23,it will get you home no problem but i find its good to deflate it when you do and re inflate with a track pump or something similar.

BostonB

This looks interesting. But its bigger than a regular pump, which is kinda self defeating IMO. http://www.cyclaire.com/bikepump.html

cormie

Took delivery of this pump today: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/productdetail.aspx?prodid=5360011991

It's soooo much better than the POS I got in Aldi (which broke and is now in the bin:mad:)

This one gives a proper reading and is much easier to attach and detach from the valve.

Hungrycol

I have an order in on this one:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=4950

I chose it because it has a pressure release value for more accurate pressure adjustment, the dial is at the top of the pump so it's easier to read, it has a alu barrell and finally because it got a very good review in Cycling Plus mag a few months ago... €38.

blorg

bunnygreen wrote: »

i've found that one cannister will inflate your tyre on a standard road bike,700x23,it will get you home no problem but i find its good to deflate it when you do and re inflate with a track pump or something similar.

This is very true; CO2 is heavy stuff with an atomic weight of 44. Air is mostly made of Nitrogen (N2) which has an atomic weight of only 14. Don't lug that heavy CO2 further than you have to!

Lumen

bunnygreen wrote: »

i carry one of those Genuine Innovations Hybrid pumps on the bike,you can use a co2 cartridge with it as well,all in one,very handy and light,never leave home without it.

Quick thread resurrection to say that The Bike Shop in Wexford are now stocking these, just ordered one to replace my pig-ugly Pocket Rocket.

They can't be bought from Wiggle for shipping to Ireland, presumably due to issues with air freight of the compressed gas.

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

Quick thread resurrection to say that The Bike Shop in Wexford are now stocking these, just ordered one to replace my pig-ugly Pocket Rocket.

I got the pump today (postie delivered to neighbour who didn't tell me).

CO2 inflation is amazing. It really does only take a couple of seconds. I got 100PSI in the front (23mm) and 40PSI in the back (25mm) with one 16g cartridge.

Then fully deflated the front and got it to 80PSI in 300 strokes using the pump itself, which is plenty to get me home. Not particularly keen on doing that again.

I'll probably just take one cylinder, and use the remaining gas to finish off the second puncture fix - the CO2 flow is very controllable. Maybe the gas would slowly leak out in the meantime, not sure.

The pic below shows the pump with a replacement SKS cylinder (much smarter) with the cage mount from my old pump (Pocket Rocket).

I have no concerns about the cylinder being used as a handle extension. If it's full, there's no issue since the bit which punctures the cylinder is at the opposite end of the barrel next to the valve head thing. If it's empty, obviously no issue either.

10/10 from me.

DirkVoodoo

Your eurolike attention to matching your frame is very impressive with your bottle and pump selection.

Also, bravo to actually counting all 300 strokes. I would imagine it was slightly mind numbing.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Your eurolike attention to matching your frame is very impressive with your bottle and pump selection.

Thanks. Obviously a frame mounted pump is a big Euro FAIL, but since I'm running a triple there's not much hope anyway.

I have downsized my bottles. I also looked at Elite Carbon cages in CSS today, but feared it would bring about some sort of financial prolapse and ran away quickly.

blorg

cormie wrote: »

Ok, screw that. Even though the top kept blowing off, due to a bad glue job or what I don't know, but it would still pump a little bit, so I tried pump up some balls I had, did the first 2 ok and then on the third, the shaft got caught because the top blew off again so I had to unscrew the bottom part and then this broke whatever seal must have been on it and now no air is coming through it at all. What a piece of ****, and after me driving all the way to Tallaght for it too, to bring it back would cost more in diesel than the refund I'd get :mad:

It's also so tight on my tyre that when I took it off I whacked my hand off a spoke and it's still sore.

It does have a gauge alright but it's a bit useless from the little I saw it working.

Has anyone been able to use it without problems?

That sounds pretty much like the last Aldi pump I bought... in fact yours sounds like it worked better