I recently bought a Joe Blow Sport tire pump from our LBS that worked very well until it stepped into the ring with some of the kids in our club. During our meetings, I’m so busy out on the floor that I don’t have time to monitor everything that is going on. Evidently, one of the kids (new kid that we’re having a bit of problem with at that) got ahold of my tire pump and went a few rounds with it last week. I’m sure he’s not the only one that had taken on the tire pump so it may have been a combination of several poundings. Good $40 tire pump down the drain.
I like the type with the pressure gauge on board. What’s good out there in consumer land?
Any floor pump with a guage that you find in a Bike store sould be fine. Blackburn was a good compnay (my pump) but they went under.
One thing, you have to lube the shaft of the ‘pumper’ to keep it sealed properly. YOu should have all your rubber O-rings (there’s some more where the valve goes into) lubed…maybe that’ll fix your problem
If you’ve got problems with destructive kids, then maybe just try a standard footpump. Something like this possibly? They’re cheap and cheerful, but generally do a good job, plus they’re not as easily shaped to pick up and use for sword fights or general smacking about.
I’ve been extremely pleased with performance, durability and overall quality of my Blackburn Frame Pump (FP-1L). It will pump my road tires to 110 psi fairly effortlessly; no pressure guage on this model, though – it’s just a normal stick pump. I’ve also been very pleased with my dealings with Blackburn themselves. I had an earlier model die on me (a rubber seal decided to stop doing its job) and was promptly given a newer model, all covered under the pump’s lifetime guarentee.
A friend of mine has a track pump (so, yes, pressure guage) and I believe it’s a Blackburn as well – this thing is a magical device. Tires become half full in under 10 strokes. Simply gorgeous. On the Blackburn website (http://www.blackburndesign.com/) their two top end track (or floor, as they refer to them) pumps are $60 and $100 (USD, I assume), respectively.
I’ll email my friend and check and verify what kind of pump he does have.
In this particular situation, the pump has a plug crimped onto the bottom end of the handle rod that carries the O-ring. The plug was broken from the end of the rod.
My LBS carries or can get a quality Italian pump, I forget the brand name but it begins with an “S”. He’s supposed to call me back.
In the meantime, I’m trying to weigh out whether it’s better to go cheap pump for the club meetings and replace them often or go sturdy and probably replace it just as often…I think I just answered my own question.
I had a Joe Blow from a few years ago, and it worked fine except it was a pain getting it down enough onto the valves for pumping. My new pump from Specialized is much easier to work with (select country at warning page): http://tinyurl.com/36wd
But as you and someone else suggested, if it’s to be left out for unknown kids to do unknown things to, you might want to supplement your “own” pump with a cheapie from the local discount store for “public” use.
I also really like the mini-pump I carry in my Camelbak for trail riding, but I can’t remember what brand it is. Things to look for: dual or convertible head for Schrader and Presta, flip-out foot thingie to hold it down while you pump, folding “T” handle to make pumping easier. Works great!
I went down to the LBS this morning only to find that they are closed on Tuesdays. So, it’s off to club meeting tonight with no tire pump. Hope no one needs to get pumped up.
Joe Blow Pro is the way to go. The feature I need (besides the good pressure
guage) is that it can easily work with presta or schraeder. My first Joe
Blow something else only lasted 6 months, but the “Pro” has lasted 18 months
and is going strong. It gets used a lot by lots of people too. If you are
taking it to a club meeting, you should buy the best you can find and not be
too bummed out if it dies after a year. They mostly aren’t designed for that
much use.
Silca and Specialized are good too, but don’t get the low-end models.
—Nathan
“yoopers” <yoopers.f34sa@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:yoopers.f34sa@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> I recently bought a Joe Blow Sport tire pump from our LBS that worked
> very well until it stepped into the ring with some of the kids in our
> club. During our meetings, I’m so busy out on the floor that I don’t
> have time to monitor everything that is going on. Evidently, one of the
> kids (new kid that we’re having a bit of problem with at that) got ahold
> of my tire pump and went a few rounds with it last week. I’m sure he’s
> not the only one that had taken on the tire pump so it may have been a
> combination of several poundings. Good $40 tire pump down the drain.
>
> I like the type with the pressure gauge on board. What’s good out there
> in consumer land?
I like pumps with pressure gauges, a choice of schrader and presta things, long rubber tubes, permanent and big ‘foot thingies’, and with a long pumping distance. I work part-time at the bike shop and we’ve got three different pumps all of which are sometimes faulty. One really common thing that annoys me is when you attach the pump to the valve and the pressure goes up really rapidly without much air entering the tube. The handle broke off the other one. I think the best thing to do is to ask a bike shop about a pump that they use themselves and also sell.
I used to be a big fan of the Silica pumps and the various new designs with double action, etc. However, I recently got a Serfas pump for about $30 that works great. This pump has a double head (presta AND “American” schreader) plus it has a gauge that is very accurate. With the double head I no longer have to take two pumps to club practices or group rides. I recently saw in a Bicycle Nashbar catalogue a pump that looked very similar to the Serfas and it was on sale for $19. Nashbar will have a company make a special run of a product, put the Nashbar name on it and sell it at a discounted price. Those interested might check out both the Serfas and the Bike Nashbar pumps. Again, I like my Serfas – a lot.
If you have a lot of tyres to do why not invest in a little 12 volt compressor and get a car battery from a scrap - yard.
The little compressors are sold to be kept in the glove-box and usually work fine. you can even get presta and woods valve convertors
> i bet thats Silca,they are great pumps.most of them are Presta only
> though.
> the best one has a oak handle.
We’ve had a Silca for 6 years now (it was a wedding present!) and it
is still going strong. This is the oak handle version - it copes
fine with both Presta and Schrader - not so good with Woods. Good
pressure gauge (in psi and bar) and makes easy work of even Coker
tyres (which are a real pain with a mini pump when you get a
puncture out on a ride…).
That’s a great thought, Joe. My concern though is the trailer full of stuff I have to carry back and forth at the beginning and ending respectively of our meetings. Maybe an electrically operated pump that can be plugged into the wall. Then again, any equipment that steps into the ring with some of these kids is in for a whumpin’.
I purchased a cheap foot pump at Wal-Mart for $10 or so, includes gauge on pump. I don’t know how well it would hold up to the abuse of children, but it’s done an excellent job for me. Not sure on the exact psi it can hit, but I’ve had it to 90… probably goes to 110.
