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| Mmm, plasticky. |
Pump Away
I used to have a cheap telescopic pump (made by Genuine Innovations) that I took out with me on MTB and road bike for emergency get-you-home puncture situations. Actually, it was just about fine for the MTB, as I only ever needed to get to 30 psi on knobbly off road tyres - but for a road bike it was naff as it had no chance of getting a road tyre up to 100+psi. Sadly (or not) it got lost during a MTB ride a couple of months back and a replacement was needed. A somewhat old (but perfectly functional) Blackburn MTN Air now goes with the MTB, but what about the road bike?
Large
I quite fancied a nice old school style frame pump for the old school style road bike. Big is better, right? On the basis that it was worth a punt (£6, what could possibly go wrong) I bought one of these:
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| Mmm, plasticky. Again. |
It’s a Zefal Reversible Frame Fit. Cheap-and-cheerful. Or one of those. On balance I simply
can’t recommend this for a road bike, even for the few quid they cost. It’s not
the all-plastic construction but the fact that I simply could not get any more
than 60psi out of it before air started squeaking out of places it shouldn’t
do. It’s probably fine for a commuter bike where you have bigger volume
slicks at 50 or 60psi. But just not up to the job of getting 120psi into a
skinny slick - waste of £6. Never mind.
Rocket, Pocket, etc.
 |
| Little |
In the past, I’ve used a Topeak mini pump (Pocket Rocket, a name which saves me attempting to make an amusing section title)
which I liked; alloy barrel, locking lever on the valve head, solid feeling action.
It was able to deal with a decent amount of pressure, but with it being a mini,
it takes a long time to get there. But basically, good experiences. My own Pocket Rocket has long since been gifted away, and stealing it back isn't an option.
Make It Longer
With that in mind, I wondered, do Topeak do a nice frame fit pump? Why yes… they do indeed also do a full size frame-fit version of the very pump mentioned above - Road Master Blaster (Topeak's naming department on fire again) – essentially the same pump, just the stretch-limo version.
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| Quite long indeed. |
Much better. Smart looking, alloy construction, a locking
lever on the valve head, and the handle locks in place to make high
pressure pumping easier (on the ‘normal’ setting the handle is sprung, which
also keeps it in place on the bike). It’s quite heavy compared to a mini pump –
but far easier to use. 100 strokes got just over 100psi in a 25mm road tyre. I
had no problems getting the tyre up to 120psi – so this isn’t just a “get you
home” solution, it’ll get you right back up to normal riding pressures with relative
ease at the roadside. Of course a track pump will still beat it hands down, but for some reason
I can’t seem to fit one of those anywhere on my frame.
Bike mounting is easy. There are notches on both ends for
pump pegs (if your steed is so endowed) - or, the ends are shaped to fit between
two tubes, so if you have no pegs then the pump can wedge neatly between
bottom bracket and top tube. The valve head is rubber, which is not only nicer
to grip when pumping, but also means it won’t squirm around when it’s on the
bike. Topeak also throw in a velcro strap to keep the pump in place. If you
want to mount on the top tube the strap allows you to do that without needing
pegs on your frame.
All Over
So, this time, £20 well spent. Although in a weird way, I
hope I never have to use it…
