Pump Choice

[Trekhawk]

Hi - Question about Pumps.

The bike shop says most riders only carry CO2 inflators these days and go without a pump. I have a CO2 inflator but really feel I still need to carry a pump. Do you guys carry pumps as well? And if so what type?

I would like a pump that could inflate to a decent PSI but notice some of these require a long top tube to carry them. My bike is a 50" frame and its top tube is too short for some of these.

Recommendations would be great.

Thanks :)

[SadieKate]

I am a BIG advocate of carrying a "real" pump. Just a couple weeks ago I came across a guy stranded because he had couldn't figure out what was causing the flat and had gone through all of his and his ride group's CO2 through the slow leak. Passing riders heading out to the country were, justifiably, unwilling to give him their CO2. My pump has an unending supply of air even though elbow grease can be a limiting factor.

I have a Torelli mini-pump on one bike and a Barbieri Carbon One mini-pump on the other. I don't expect to get the pressure up to optimum riding pressure, but I can easily get it up high enough to get my tush home, to a bike shop with a floor pump or to a rest stop. Several people love the Topeak Morphe and can, I think, get pressure pretty high. Additionally, many frame pumps come in different lengths, so don't necessarily rule out a frame pump. I think Blackburn makes a cool looking carbon frame pump.

[Nanci]

http://tinyurl.com/29884 I have this one mounted on my top tube. It's really short, like 14"? but my frame is so small that, with the water bottle in place, I couldn't get it on either of the other two tubes. Also small enough to carry in a Camelback. I read a bunch of reviews on road bike review and MTB review before choosing. It has a little thing that flips out for your foot to stand on, and a handle that also flips out. It has a built-in gauge. I am embarrassed to say, though, I haven't used it yet...It has a single connection around the tube that it clicks into.

I bought BF that tiny Crank Brothers pump that is supposed to inflate to high pressure, but we just can't get it to work right. It's been given up on.

Nanci

[bikerz]

I'm a fan of the Topeak RoadMorph - I've inflated tubes to 120 with no problem. I also carry the CO2 but have never used it.

[Trekhawk]

Thanks girls for your feedback I will give them a look.
And see I always knew girls were more sensible than men - no need for pump indeed. :D

[bcipam]

I'm a fan of the Topeak RoadMorph - I've inflated tubes to 120 with no problem. I also carry the CO2 but have never used it.

No sense at looking at anything else. This is the best portable pump out there. Only one that works without much effort. Not a fan of CO2. If God forbid you mess up and run out of cartridges, you are stranded. Note: I always wear a Camelback so I carry my pump on my pack.

[roughingit]

I have a frame pump, don't recall the brand but it just sits under my top tube ready when need it. Why waste money on cartridges when I can get all the air I want for 30 bucks?

[CorsairMac]

Thanks girls for your feedback I will give them a look.
And see I always knew girls were more sensible than men - no need for pump indeed. :D

well I guess then I would qualify as insensible?? ROFL....I don't carry a pump. All I carry is CO2. In a year and some change of riding I've only run outta CO2 cartridges 1 time and that was coz I was too lazy to go my LBS and get some more when I 1/2 used my last cartridge. BUT: I also run Slime or Air-Loc in all my tubes plus tuffy strips on the road bike I ride the most.

[Trekhawk]

well I guess then I would qualify as insensible?? ROFL....I don't carry a pump. All I carry is CO2. In a year and some change of riding I've only run outta CO2 cartridges 1 time and that was coz I was too lazy to go my LBS and get some more when I 1/2 used my last cartridge. BUT: I also run Slime or Air-Loc in all my tubes plus tuffy strips on the road bike I ride the most.


Naah not you Corsair - I just seem to be one of those people that if its gonna happen it will happen to me. Dont want to get stuck on some back road and become Cougar bait. :eek: Mobile phone reception around here is crap (and that is putting it politely). I intend on increasing my distances but oh yes that means heading into the great Nevada County unknown. Best be prepared knowing my s*&% luck. :D

[Dogmama]

Those of you who carry a Topeak - how do you have it mounted on your bike? Which tube? It says the pump is 12.7" long.

[Trekhawk]

Those of you who carry a Topeak - how do you have it mounted on your bike? Which tube? It says the pump is 12.7" long.


I looked at one of these at the bike shop but the guys nearly had heart failure when I talked about maybe one for my bike (they felt it was sacrilege to put this on a carbon bike). It did look rather large next to my bike. This is the price you pay I guess for getting a pump that will easily inflate your tyre. Vanity got the better of me Im afraid and I went with a Blackburn Mammoth. Its not too big and the silver and black colour fits in really well with my bike (what can I say I like the way my bike looks). Ive tried it out and it seems pretty good - probably not as good as the Topeak but good enough to get me out of a bind.

[Grog]

I have the RoadMorph, which is amazing, and a very small frame... and it doesn't fit on it. And I hate carrying a backpack. :(

So for now I am sticking to CO2 but I still think I should get a small pump that would fit my bike just in case... even if it doesn't inflate to 100 psi, I can at least ride to somewhere... In the meantime, I usually ride quite close to civilization so it's not too much of a problem... But it will nonetheless be fixed at my next visit to the bike shop.

[bikerz]

Those of you who carry a Topeak - how do you have it mounted on your bike? Which tube? It says the pump is 12.7" long.
Mine is on the side of seat tube nestled next to the bottle cage. It is snug against the tube, and only *very* rarely does the foot flap of the pump rotate out so that there is a little "click" as I pedal (like an audible cadence meter!). I usually just reach down and rotate it out of the way again. When I use my Topeak clip-on back rack, I attach the pump to the side of the rack instead.

[wabisabi]

Another big vote for the Road Morph. This weekend on a charity ride I flatted and so did a fellow rider. He was very impressed with my little pump, complete with its gauge and 'foot'; the only problem was that he has big hands and hit his knuckles on the holder for the tube. The separate tube really allays my fear of bending and breaking the valve also. I also have it on my seat tube--my bike is 52 cm., so it just tucks in on the other side of the bottle cage.

[Pedal Wench]

I"ve got the tiny little Crank Bros. Power Pump, and I like it. Used it once out on the road, and twice at home (put new HOT PINK tires on my bike!) and it works fine. I've read a lot of reviews from people who couldn't get it to work, and it sounds like they're not pushing the nozzle all the way in. I like that it's small enough to fit into my small seat post bag.

[Nanci]

I'd be one of those people (along with BF and Bf's friend) who couldn't get the Crank Brothers tiny pump to work...Tried multiple times, different bikes.

Grog- what bike do you have? Sometimes you can get it on the _back_ of the seat tube, or whatever you call it...Ot could you move your bottle cage?

Nanci

[maryellen]

go w road morph. For my first year I used it as my only pump! (I did eventually realize my first floor pump was defective and traded it in for a floor pump that actually worked.) Wow, that changed my life.

[Grog]

Grog- what bike do you have? Sometimes you can get it on the _back_ of the seat tube, or whatever you call it...Ot could you move your bottle cage?

I have a Miele road bike with a sloped top tube, so the space available on the vertical tube is extremely short. And I can't move my bottle cages. And there's no space in the back big enough for the road morph, it's really a big pump. I guess I'll just get some mini that would do the work in a worst case scenario... Thanks for the idea !!

[Nanci]

What about the bottom side of the down tube, between the cranks? That's where I had to mount my old pump on my Titus Locomoto MTB, because I wanted to keep my two water bottles. It never interferred with the cranks, and was bigger than the Road Morph...

Nanci

[DeniseGoldberg]

Those of you who carry a Topeak - how do you have it mounted on your bike? Which tube? It says the pump is 12.7" long.

I have the pump on the top tube on my "big wheel" bike and along the "bottom" of the tube that connects to the titanium beam on my Bike Friday Air Glide. I believe the Morph pumps can easily be placed in quite a few different spots because they don't fit between anything. There is a band that you mount around one of the tubes (any one...) and the pump clips into that.

I wouldn't ride with anything else - with this pump I can easily get my tires up to the proper pressure.

--- Denise

[Dogmama]

I wouldn't ride with anything else - with this pump I can easily get my tires up to the proper pressure.
--- Denise

Denise, thanks for the recommendation. I know you ride long distances out in the middle of nowhere!

[DeniseGoldberg]

I have a Miele road bike with a sloped top tube, so the space available on the vertical tube is extremely short. And I can't move my bottle cages. And there's no space in the back big enough for the road morph, it's really a big pump. I guess I'll just get some mini that would do the work in a worst case scenario... Thanks for the idea !!

You might want to take a look at the attachment for the Road Morph. It has a band that you put around one of the tubes, then the pump clips into that band. So it could possibly fit on the side (or to the bottom) of the sloped top tube. I have the band on one of my bikes sort of under water bottle cage.

--- Denise

[Crankin]

I have my Road Morph on the side of the sloped tube, on my 47 cm bike. I guess it's a crime to put this on a carbon bike, but it's there, along with my larger rear seat pack.

[Geonz]

Me too, Me too (Road Morph).

One time we went by a guy with a flat, asked if he had every thing he needed, he said "yea," somebody said, "maybe we have a better pump" and he said, "no, I have a road morph."

I'm afraid mine lives in my CamelBak but that's 'cause I'm not exactly a monovelous rider and that way it's almost always with me whatever steed I"m straddling.

[JesTutripup]

Dont' scream, but I do not carry a pump. I just purchased a spare tube this weekend. My handpumps too bulky and I don't want a frame pump unless it has a gauge on it (very important-you don't want to blowout your tire).

It depends on what your confident in using. Cartridges are convenient, but caution with storage so you don't break the seal. Air's good, cause it's not as heavy in your tire and you get a work-out. If you have presta valves (very skinny) tubes PLEASE carry a converter. These valves are fragile and break easily. The brass valves only cost a $1.

I went looking for pump straps today to that I'm not living so dangerously.

[bikerz]

Dont' scream, but I do not carry a pump. I just purchased a spare tube this weekend. My handpumps too bulky and I don't want a frame pump unless it has a gauge on it (very important-you don't want to blowout your tire).
The road morph has a gauge - very handy!

[Grog]

Dont' scream, but I do not carry a pump. I just purchased a spare tube this weekend. My handpumps too bulky and I don't want a frame pump unless it has a gauge on it (very important-you don't want to blowout your tire).

Seriously, there is no way ever I could blowout my tire pumping it with a frame pump. With my foot pump, the Sports JoeBlow, MAYBE (like if I'm standing with all my weight on the pump piston!!!). But when I get any close to 90 psi it get real hard to pump air into those tires.

As I see it the gauge mostly is used to make sure you have *enough* air.