Author Topic: Cheaper track pump? (Read 5102 times)

Sergeant Pluck · « **on:** 19 August, 2011, 08:21:19 pm »

Can anyone recommend a basic track pump - ideally £20 or so, if a reliable pump can be had for that. This is for a colleague - very, very occasional use only. I'm happy with my Pedro's, and I'd steer him in that direction, but I see that the cheaper Pedro's is only rated to 120 psi (140 psi or more would be better) as well as being closer to £30.

Aidan · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 August, 2011, 08:25:30 pm »

Chainreaction have the 160psi Topeak Joe Blow for 24.99, Ive got a Joe Blow and its very good

Thyey also have a 160psi rate Airwave which has good reviews for 16.99

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=298

Tewdric · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 August, 2011, 08:30:16 pm »

The Joe Blow Sport is a good pump - I have a V1 as well as a Rennkompressor and it's great - I use it to take to events and stuff, leaving the SKS in the workshop. It's in the car now ready to go to Paris.

Bledlow · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 August, 2011, 08:51:09 pm »

There's a Lidl Pompe à pied for €6.99 here - http://www.lidl.fr/cps/rde/xchg//SID-72428450-9A6CDFC6/lidl_fr/hs.xsl/offerdate.htm?offerdate=22312&ar2=&ERR=noservice

Dunno the top pressure, though.

Frere · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 August, 2011, 08:58:02 pm »

isn't it wise to ensure that whatever track pump is considered, a must is metal tubing, to better cope with heat generated during pumping?

Frere

fuaran · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 August, 2011, 09:02:56 pm »

The Edinburgh Bikes Revolution Air Track Pump Pro is good. Nice and solid, with metal tubing etc, easy to use, and a decent gauge. Currently £20 (with free postage).
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=9026&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SupersetQRY=C252&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003154c003146c003272

I see they also have a cheaper track pump, though I don't know what that's like. Currently £10 (plus £3.50 postage).
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=9027&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SupersetQRY=C252&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003154c003146c003272

Andrew Br · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 August, 2011, 09:43:09 pm »

Dunno if it helps, but Halfords were doing a 3 for the price of 2 offer recently.
Helen and I got a Joe-Blow each and she also got a pump to carry on the bike.
Might be worth investigating if you also need some gear (it didn't have to be all pumps IIRC).

BTW, we really rate the Joeys.

Rhys W · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 August, 2011, 09:46:11 pm »

+1 for the yellow Joe Blow. I reluctantly bought one from Halfords a few years ago as a stop-gap and I hate to admit it, but it beats my Silca Pista in almost every way.

Frere · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 August, 2011, 10:11:52 pm »

Yellow Joe Blow is pretty good, but recently had to replace the hose with a Topeak Smarthead, bit disappointing as the pump was only 3 years old, bearing in mind that there was a 18 month break from cycling.

Tbh, track pumps wouldn't be something to economize on, but thats going off topic....

Frere

Steve Kish · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 August, 2011, 11:02:07 pm »

At Evans:-

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bontrager/charger-pump-ec008558?currency=USD&country=UNITED+STATES

I blagged a 10% off for CTC member discount and got mine for just under £20.. Great pump with very easy to read gauge!

CAMRAMan · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 August, 2011, 09:01:40 am »

Be wary of the cheapo LIDL/ALDI ones. Mine pumps up really well, but the guage goes up to 220psi, so the scale is really small up to 80psi where I normally use it.

Kim · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 August, 2011, 09:08:10 am »

Calibration of the gauge can be a bit dubious on them, too. IIRC Meegat had an exploding rim incident as it was massively under-reading.

Andrew Br · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 August, 2011, 11:07:48 am »

I've got a cheapy Aldi pump which is very hard to actually pump; it's a struggle to get over 80psi with it.
The Joey is much easier and doesn't seem to require more pumping.

andygates · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 August, 2011, 11:11:30 am »

Quote from: Kim on 20 August, 2011, 09:08:10 am

Calibration of the gauge can be a bit dubious on them, too. IIRC Meegat had an exploding rim incident as it was massively under-reading.

Cheap crap is unreliable? Who'd a thunk?

Sarge, the diff between a twenty quid bit of kit that's okay-ish and a thirty quid bit of kit that's perfect and lasts ages is not worth the saving. That's what, three pints? Stop being a cheapskate and buy good tools. You never regret buying good tools, only buying bad tools.

Biggsy · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 August, 2011, 11:18:27 am »

Keep an eye on Joe Blows on eBay.

Also look out for used Silca Super Pistas, though none on eBay at the moment.

Or could the pump be kept at work, with another colleague contributing to the cost? In that case a £30 - £40 one would be ok. A cheap hand pump at home or on the bike would do for emergencies.

Bledlow · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 August, 2011, 01:21:29 pm »

Quote from: andygates on 20 August, 2011, 11:11:30 am

... the diff between a twenty quid bit of kit that's okay-ish and a thirty quid bit of kit that's perfect and lasts ages is not worth the saving. That's what, three pints? Stop being a cheapskate and buy good tools. You never regret buying good tools, only buying bad tools.

True. I must admit that I wasn't entirely serious about the Lidl cheap pump.

Canardly · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 August, 2011, 01:39:48 pm »

Passport track pump is metal bodied good quality and about £20 ish. Struggles over 100 psi tho.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/tools/cycling-tools/floor-track-pump/product/review-passport-enthusiatom-track-pump-28794/

hubner · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 August, 2011, 06:31:55 pm »

Quote from: andygates on 20 August, 2011, 11:11:30 am

Quote from: Kim on 20 August, 2011, 09:08:10 am
Calibration of the gauge can be a bit dubious on them, too. IIRC Meegat had an exploding rim incident as it was massively under-reading.

Cheap crap is unreliable? Who'd a thunk?

Sarge, the diff between a twenty quid bit of kit that's okay-ish and a thirty quid bit of kit that's perfect and lasts ages is not worth the saving. That's what, three pints? Stop being a cheapskate and buy good tools. You never regret buying good tools, only buying bad tools.

The Lidl pump is around £5 not £20. The one I've got has a metal barrel and seems to work OK and good enough for occasional use. The gauge is not the most important part of the pump anyway and if the calibration's off, just "recalibrate" it with a marker lol.

I've got a SKS Recompressor and it's sturdy enough but the washer in the hose connector is worn out, so I don't even bother with it now and instead just use my HPX and it's quicker as well.

If you want a pump to last a long time, which one of the reasons you might want to spend £££, the problem is the rubber bits get worn out, are spare parts going to be sold at rip-off prices or even available in ten or twenty years time?

Biggsy · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 August, 2011, 07:18:23 pm »

I think there's a fair chance that Silca and Topeak spares will be available in ten years time at reasonable prices. Silca spares have already been around for several decades, and the Topeak company seems healthy.

Personally I think a £40 track pump is worthwhile even if it only lasts 5 years (though it's likely to last longer than that even with the original seals) - especially if you have skinny high-pressure tyres with lightweight tubes that need frequent top-ups.

I can understand though that a non-very-keen cyclist won't want to pay that - hence the suggestion of second-hand or going halves with someone else.

Doosh · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 August, 2011, 08:03:37 pm »

I use one of these Bontragers, no complaints so far after about 12 months of use. I've no idea how accurate the gauge is though as I don't have a separate gauge, I should borrow one and find out really

tiermat · « **Reply #20 on:** 23 August, 2011, 07:18:28 am »

A cheap, reliable supply of track pumps can be had at your local Tesco Extra. They usually have them for ~£12 and they do the job nicely.

One thing I have discovered recently about my Joe Blow Sport is that the non-release valve cap can come loose if transported about. This leads you to think that the hose has a split in it as it won't reliably show you the pressure and you have to be quick to get any air into tyres. Easily solved though, the valve cap is at the bottom of the cylinder, just below the gauge (on the older models where the gauge is at the bottom). Do this cap back up hand tight and all is good again.

nmcgann · « **Reply #21 on:** 23 August, 2011, 08:14:09 am »

Just another FYI about Joe Blow Sport - they have cunningly changed the internal diameter of the barrel at some point in the model life. (mine has the gauge at the bottom)

I recently bought a re-build kit as the presta rubber in the valve head was getting loose. There was a main pump o-ring seal included, but when I tried to replace it the new one was fractionally too small so it didn't seal. My old seal is still fine though, so not a problem in this case.

Somnolent · « **Reply #22 on:** 23 August, 2011, 03:42:09 pm »

I've a cheapo - but still metal barreled.
Calibration on the gauge is anybody's guess but I don't think it's far out.
Hard work over an indicated 90 psi.
Now have a 160 psi Joe Blow, but old 'un still cluttering the place up.
Been meaning to Ebay, but CBA, so yours for the cost of postage (prob £5 ish )