What track pump

[PH]

What the title says, I'm looking for a track pump, something built to last - I've wasted money on two cheapies in the last few years. Doesn't need to be particularly high pressure (I don't have anything over 110psi) or high volume (Widest tyres are 700 x 35)
Consistent and easy to read gauge are a must, as is easy on/off head, then the deciding factor longevity and reliability, I want this to be the last track pump I buy. I don't mind something that requires occasional maintenance, as long as the parts are likely to be available long term. Cost isn't the primary consideration, though I don't think I need something designed to be used every day in a workshop.
Current front runners are
SKS Rennkompressor
Topeak Jo Blow Sport II

What do you recommend?

[Mick F]

I had a Silca for years, but the bottom foot rusted out, so chucked it out.

I bought a Lezyne Floor Drive in steel a few years ago, and it beats the Silca hands down. Excellent pump. Highly recommended.
http://www.lezyne.com/product-fpumps-hp ... bT29sbMxE4

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne-steel-fl ... rack-pump/

[gaz]

Topeak Joe Blow Sport .

[Brucey]

I think that you could get a used Silca and rebuild it with a new seal and (if necessary) a chuck and hose. You can fit pretty much any chuck onto any pump. [BTW I don't understand how the foot of a silca would be able to rust out since the foot is(was) made of aluminium.]

The SKS rennkompressor is a good choice regarding spare parts availability but the chuck won't suit everyone; for years it was a lever action Schrader and you have to use an adaptor (that screwed onto the valve) to inflate presta. This is a bit slow and fiddly. IIRC lezyne pumps work in a similar way. It isn't unknown for valve cores to unscrew with a threaded adaptor.

I recently had a look at a Raleigh 'exhale' track pump and it had a neat chuck, which had a lever action which would fit either presta or Schrader. The large centre part of the chuck unscrewed (in one piece) and once inverted and replaced, would allow inflation of the other valve type. It looked well made but whether you could get spares remains to be seen.

cheers

[Mick F]

Mine had a black pained steel foot from what I remember. The pump itself was blue with a plastic handle.
If I'm wrong, so be it, but it rusted out anyway. Maybe the steel of the pump outer skin corroded at the foot. It was beyond repair whatever it was.

The Lezyne is so much better than my 1980 Silca ever was.

[Mick F]

PS
Another good thing about the Lezyne, is that you screw on the adaptor.
My Silca had a screw-on too, but it was rubbish in comparison the the Lezyne.

The Lezyne has an Air Bleed System, that as you unscrew you press a button that releases the pressure in the hose only, so that the tyre valve shuts off. Very positive and brilliant.

[Brucey]

Mine had a black pained steel foot from what I remember. The pump itself was blue with a plastic handle.
If I'm wrong, so be it, but it rusted out anyway. Maybe the steel of the pump outer skin corroded at the foot. It was beyond repair whatever it was.

The Lezyne is so much better than my 1980 Silca ever was.

The foot is usually aluminum painted black. There is a housing bolted onto the base of the pump that contains the connections for the gauge and the hose. This was originally brass but later models were a zinc die casting. I've don't think I have ever seen a Silca pump that couldn't be repaired. By contrast I have seen lezyne pumps cause problems and break in such a way as they couldn't be fixed.

Price may not be a 100% reliable indicator of quality but you can still buy Silca pumps and the cost is, er, remarkable.

cheers

[rotavator]

I recently bought a Topeak Joe Blow Sport mainly because it has separate connectors, on opposite sides of the head, for both Schrader and Presta valves so it can llow up both my car's and bikes' tyres. Previously I had found the dual use connector on a Specialized pump was getting damaged from using it on the car's valves.

However, TPJB has two limitations that may or may not bother you:
1. The hose is quite short at 80 cm so, for example, it will not reach the valves of my bikes when they are hanging on the wall, and
2. The head is quite large and so is difficult to attach to the valve on one of the car's wheels. The same problem may occur if you have tightly spaced spokes on a small bike wheel.

[cyclop]

I have a Raleigh exhale,bought earlier this year as a birthday treat and it is a treat to use it.Large,polished alloy feet,large gauge,polished barrel,beautiful polished alloy head with a decent size clamp handle and,to top it all off,a huge varnished wood handle.This seems like a piece of kit that will last and is a joy to look at and use.

[Bonefishblues]

Price may not be a 100% reliable indicator of quality but you can still buy Silca pumps and the cost is, er, remarkable.

cheers

I just looked up Silca SuperPista Ultimate Floor Pump.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...but it is an heirloom product, assembled in the USA, after all

I use one of these:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.SKS-Rennkompre ... NEALw_wcB#

I think their chucks are a bit rubbish though, so might try one of the Leyzene Air Bleed ones decribed above.

[thirdcrank]

... The SKS rennkompressor is a good choice regarding spare parts availability but the chuck won't suit everyone; for years it was a lever action Schrader and you have to use an adaptor (that screwed onto the valve) to inflate presta. This is a bit slow and fiddly. ...

I've had one for perhaps 25 years, old enough to have the lever action. One of the first bits of proper workshop kit I bought when I began to have the £££ to treat myself. It was a disappointment for that very reason. the presta adaptor was on a little chain and when it broke, I didn't bother reattaching it. It does work a treat with schrader valves such as grandchildren's BMX's, pushchairs, etc, where it's probably overkill. I then treated myself to a Topeak Twister which is supposed to have an intelligent head which can automatically adapt to presta or schrader. That type of head has been criticised as not being as good as it claims, but as I have the excellent schrader pump, I've never used the Topeak on anything but presta and I find it excellent. (I bought the Twister as the result of a CJ recommendation in the CTC mag. When I mentioned that in an earlier thread he posted that he had had second thoughts about the unreliable adaptor.)

A lot of my usual waffle but my main point would be to consider what valves you will be using it on and if that's both types, look for a pump that will reliably cope with both.

[Brucey]

IIRC the Raleigh chuck and others have an air bleed as well.

A lever action Schrader chuck (with screw-on adaptor if necessary) releases without letting a lot of air out anyway.

Otherwise you only need to lower the pressure in a tyre is you are daft enough to pump it up too much to start with...?

cheers

[Mick F]

Talking Topeak ................ I had a Twin Head unit fitted to a previous but cheap track pump. The original one was an "automatic" one.
I still have that head somewhere, and I have the Twin Head as well.

The main issue I found with the push-on heads, is that they released a bit of pressure on connection and on disconnection. I had a thread on here about it some time back.

I was finding that I had to put air into my tyres each day whereas some folk would only do it once a week. I put it down to the fact that I was putting 120psi in the rear and 100psi in the front and other folk had wider lower pressure tyres.

However, I eventually found out that if I had (say) 110psi in the rear tyre - which would have been fine - by the time I'd connected, the gauge was showing (say) 100psi, so I'd inflate it to 120psi then disconnect. If I re-connected straight away, the pressure was down to 110psi. Do it again, and it would be 100psi etc etc.

This meant that my tyres weren't going down, I was letting them down connecting the Topeak Twin Head.
I bought new seals ........... but it was the same.

Since having the Lezyne, this issue has completely gone.

[Bonefishblues]

IIRC the Raleigh chuck and others have an air bleed as well.

A lever action Schrader chuck (with screw-on adaptor if necessary) releases without letting a lot of air out anyway.

Otherwise you only need to lower the pressure in a tyre is you are daft enough to pump it up too much to start with...?

cheers

Some use track pumps for car tyres and are really anal about getting the pressures bob-on across the axles, of course

[thirdcrank]

My Topeak has a pressure release button, but as it also has an inline gauge, I've never needed to release any pressure. Of course, there are doubts about the accuracy of gauges, but with no other way of checking, that would be the only guide to letting any out.

I sometimes use the SKS pump on car tyres, for no other reason than it's less faff than connecting up my electric car tyre pump. I'm not obsessed with car tyre pressure but they might as well be as recommended. The SKS has a much better hose than any car footpump I've ever seen, if only because it's made to withstand considerably higher pressure.