The Best Tyre Pumps... in the World?

[rovermorris999]

'Topeak Joe Blow Sport II'. All that needs is 'Turbo Thrust' added to the name and it would be perfect

[ExPat2B]

Rhyolith said:

Interesting a lot of people think track (or stirrup) pumps are better. When talking solely of the modern pumps with their cheap construction stirrup pumps probably are better due to their simplicity. However a properly made foot pump will be faster and capable of achieving higher pressures than a stirrup pump, so is in no way inferior.

I am actaully in the process of doing up a vintage Hattersley and Davidson Stirrup pump, it needs a lot of work but will post pictures when I am done. I think it has a duplex double stroke piston, in which case it will probably out perform modern track pumps in terms of max PSI.

A track pump is better as it has a much longer stroke, that is driven by every single primary muscle group in your body, compared to a foot pump driven by one leg.

Why would I care about max PSI ? utterly bemused by this, what on earth do I need that is improved by having a higher max PSI ?

[Aaron_W]

Rhyolith said:

Come back to me in 2 years, tell me if its still working perfectly... that frame looks so thin.

Personally I don't think its really fair to compare to 300psi Kismet master... maybe compare it to the Kismet Baby, which cost me £3:50

btw, Thanks for poestive reaction to the post everyone

Had one since 2004 and it still works.

[hondansx]

Great thread! My old man is always buying Halfords one (incl. the Michelin ones they sell) and i agree, they are all rubbish.

I never knew there was an alternative! Thanks for the enlightenment.

[TooMany2cvs]

ExPat2B said:

Why would I care about max PSI ? utterly bemused by this, what on earth do I need that is improved by having a higher max PSI ?

All other things being equal, if you're trying to take a tyre to <say> 40psi, and your pump is only putting out <say> 60psi, you'll have a much harder time than with one putting out <say> 200psi.

But, of course, all other things are rarely equal. And your point about the muscles used is definitely a large part of what makes track pumps FAR easier, as is the volume of air per stroke.

[lufbramatt]

I find when pumping up road bike tyres with a (admittedly low end) Topeak track pump it struggles to get over about 90psi. The last 10-15psi is a bit of a struggle. Less than 100psi in my back wheel and I suffer from pinch flats. Not so much of an issue on car tyres I guess.

[LanceRS]

I love the fact that we now have a four page thread on ways to pump up tyres. It's like being in the pub. Brilliant!

I agree with everyone about how useless the Michelin pumps are. I've had three. The first, exploded where the gauge mounts, the second broke where the hose attaches to the body (on the third time of using, it got exchanged) and the third just buckled and broke (again after not a lot of use). They didn't seem that efficient either.

I used to have an old Halfords one that lasted for years, but they don't seem to do them anymore.

I too will champion the track pump, the only rear downside being that it doesn't fit nicely in the spare wheel well.
Anyway, bring back the good old days, when things were built to last, and serviceable when they did go wrong.

[Rhyolith]

Jamesf288 said:

Plastic nozzles really get my goat . They are largely rendered useless after a few encounters with the valve. I currently favour a screw-cap closure, which so far negates the aforementioned plastic nonsense.

Kismet did those better too (un-surprisingly), look at this:
&quot;Renrut&quot; Universal Connector by Rhyolith, on Flickr

ExPat2B said:

A track pump is better as it has a much longer stroke, that is driven by every single primary muscle group in your body, compared to a foot pump driven by one leg.

Why would I care about max PSI ? utterly bemused by this, what on earth do I need that is improved by having a higher max PSI ?

Stirrup pumps often have a longer piston, but its also much narrower so does not necessary have a higher capacity within the cylinder. To know for sure someone would actually have to measure the volume of both.

I have used a lot of stirrup pumps in my time, including many expensive premium ones (not mine, someone i know has a lot of them). All of them pale when directly compared to my Kismet master in terms of ease of use in my opinion (not to mention build quality), with the only advantage being the weigh less. As I send before, and 86 year old woman with bad knees used the Kismet master and commented on how easy it was... can you say the same for these track pumps?

Using every muscle group in the body... that sounds excessive, if you needing to put in that much effort the pump is not efficient. One leg gently going up and down should be plenty enough power.

Don't get me wrong, I think stirrup pumps have their place, especially in the world of cycling where light weight pumps is are highly desriably. However I reject that they are better for everything and I supect those who think so have not actaully expierenced how good and proper foot pump is.

Why does fas pressure matter? Why have a car that will do 100mph when the fastest you ever need to go in 70mph, cause it will do 70mph with greater ease. Its basically the same reason, a 300psi Kismet with not struggle at 60-70psi for tyres where a stirrup pump designed to max at those pressures will. High maximum pressure is also a pretty good indication of the quality of the pump, only decent pumps can achieve really high pressures. I will agree 300psi is excessive for tyres, but this was a pump designed to pressurise pneumatics on airplanes

For day to day use (the pump that sits in my van) this is actually my pump of choice (mainly because its compact and has a inbuilt pressure gauge):
British Goodrich Wood Milne Patent Foot Pump by Rhyolith, on Flickr
dated: 1924-34

The Kismet master is the probably the "best" pump in terms of engineering, but its overkill for most things tyres i would love to get my hands on a Kismet junior, to my knowledge its just a smaller Kismet master (which would be amazing ).

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 28th February 13:22

[Rhyolith]

On another note, air hoses are perishable items (rubber) so rarely last on any pump (though they should longer than 6 months!). The vintage pump site recommends using SAE J30 Fuel Hose as a replacement. You can get this from Halfords, eBay, anywhere really. The code is just the size of hose thats the most likely to fit most pumps; basically any fuel hose of appropriate size can be used to replace perished pump hoses

I got some with with braid (looks nicer) on from halfords an thats the hose on the Wood Milne pump above. The bigger challenge is finding decent connectors, I get the old ones where I can (the one on the Wood Milne is a "Sutty") but they are rare. If anyone knows a source of good quality modern connectors let me know please

Edited by Rhyolith on Thursday 27th October 11:56

Edited by Rhyolith on Thursday 27th October 12:01

[Evilex]

Double action bike track pump.
Blows on the downstroke and the upstroke.
Built in gauge.

As for fitting in the car, one with folding foot pegs takes up as much space as a golf brolly.

[LanceRS]

Is it wrong to covet another mans pump?

[rxe]

TooMany2cvs said:

All other things being equal, if you're trying to take a tyre to <say> 40psi, and your pump is only putting out <say> 60psi, you'll have a much harder time than with one putting out <say> 200psi.

But, of course, all other things are rarely equal. And your point about the muscles used is definitely a large part of what makes track pumps FAR easier, as is the volume of air per stroke.

I would disagree - you want a pump suited to the volume and pressure that you need. A pump designed to deliver very high pressure will have poor volume and vice versa.

Simple example - I have a track pump that goes to 3500 psi. Utterly useless for bike tyres (I've tried it), but very good at pressurizing a PCP air rifle.

Track pumps are generally designed for anything between 28 psi (fat MTB tyres) and 120 PSI (skinny road tyres) - so they do a good job of car tyres, and as you say, the ergonomics allow them to have big volumes. If you have a pump that is designed to push large volumes at 60 psi, then it will perform better than one with the same designed to deliver 200 psi, simply because whatever the ergonomics, a human will struggle to use it.

[alock]

rxe said:

I would disagree - you want a pump suited to the volume and pressure that you need. A pump designed to deliver very high pressure will have poor volume and vice versa.

+1

I use 220v workshop vac (in blow mode) to inflate mattresses. High volume, low pressure.
I use a 12v compressor for tyres. Medium volume, medium pressure.
I use a hand pump for MTB shocks. Small volume, high pressure.

All pumps great for what they do. All rubbish outside their intended use.

[swisstoni]

alock said:

rxe said:

I would disagree - you want a pump suited to the volume and pressure that you need. A pump designed to deliver very high pressure will have poor volume and vice versa.

+1

I use 220v workshop vac (in blow mode) to inflate mattresses. High volume, low pressure.
I use a 12v compressor for tyres. Medium volume, medium pressure.
I use a hand pump for MTB shocks. Small volume, high pressure.

All pumps great for what they do. All rubbish outside their intended use.

Or quite often these days, just rubbish.

[motoroller]

I've been a cheapskate on pumps in the past, have a double and single barrel pump each of which has slightly bent hinges. Also two cheap 12v compressors which are on the fritz.

Resorted to my high quality bike pump for the smaller tyres.

Been using service station fillup machines instead for a while, but am saving up for a full Screwfix air compressor with pump attachment. This thread has got me searching for a nice footpump as well though.

[Gixer_fan]

Timely thread. I learned my lesson over the weekend. Old Halfords foot pump died so went to get a replacement. Halfords is normally a bit more expensive than other options so went to Toolstation (also more convenient location). Bought a twin cylinder 'Streetwise' pump for £6. Oh dear, not good. There's cheap and cheerful, and then cheap and nasty. This is the latter - such a flimsy assembly of poor quality diecast metal and plastic. Only just about functions. Low cost outsourcing has a lot to answer for..

[NJ72]

As a controversial opinion - I have a genuine Mazda 'IMS' (Instant Mobility System) which consists of a bottle of sludge and a 12v compressor. I've been using it for years and it actually works quite well

It's not the fastest thing in the world, but for a 12v compressor it's not bad as I just fire it off and walk away. Analogue display, too.

[Rick1.8t]

Isnt anybody comparing the vintage pumps to modern electric pumps or track pumps kind of missing the point?

I thought the whole point was to have something nice and old in a 'just to have' kind of way that is also something you can actually use?

I love old mechanical stuff, quite fancy getting a vintage pump now so thanks for sharing.

[margerison]

I've got one of these:
http://heyner.co.uk/products/air-compressors/heyne...

While not as beautiful looking as those vintage bad boys, it seems very well made. The case even has bits of velcro on it so you can stick it to your car carpet, no more losing the pump when you 'grab a dab of opppo' :-)

[Balmoral]

Having gone through a succession of really crappy foot pumps, I resolved to find and buy "The best tyre pump in the world". After a bit of research on the subject I bought a refurbed Kismet from an ebay seller. If Brunel and Royce had made foot pumps, they would have made this.