Recommendations for tyre pump - foot pump or electric

[stevenewonder]

Need to get a new tyre pump - for cars and bicycle use
Old Michelin double pump has given up the ghost - any suggestions as to what type and make to buy?
Thanks in advance for help
Cheers Steve

[Cupramax]

Mine died recently and I ended up with this, for £7.50 you can’t go wrong,

https://www.screwfix.com/p/maypole-double-barrel-f...

[alpha channel]

Go old school - a Kismet baby I bought one after a thread on here was started about them and I was in need. Decades old, extremely well built, serviceable and blimey it doesn't half work... and you get fit at the same time.

[littleredrooster]

I got one of these as a birthday pressie last year - delighted with it. It has twin cylinders, so does the job twice as quickly (but draws double the current - not suitable for all ciggie-lighter sockets).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zerone-Portable-Compresso...

[Leveret]

Having had both single and double barrelled foot pumps, and a 12v electric pump (from cig lighter - lasted a year or two only before it failed), I would have none of these. Best thing is a good cycle track pump. The long thin barrel is best for higher pressures, especially those cars and and vans needing over 40psi when fully loaded.

[Simon_GH]

+1 for bike track pump

[finishing touch]

I wasn't exactly pleased with the two stage pump I bought.

Firstly I had to dismantle and tighten the 4 long stud bolts that hold it together.

Secondly the gauge reads 7psi under, i.e. gauge reads 30, tyre is at 37psi. Didn't like the coiled hose.

And thirdly, two stage does not equate to twice the pressure or twice the speed. Quite the opposite.


I've made a mod or two to at least make it usable ( at AutoSolo's ) but I wish I'd just bought a foot pump.

Paul G

[budgie smuggler]

Track pumps are usually meant for small tyres at high pressure (usually over 120PSI). It will take you an age to pump up a car tyre with one.

[NDA]

I bought this a while back:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NAGLNDY/ref...

Very neat - small and very well made. Goes into a handy carrying bag and lives in the boot of the car.

[Leveret]

budgie smuggler said:

Track pumps are usually meant for small tyres at high pressure (usually over 120PSI). It will take you an age to pump up a car tyre with one.

True, but how often do you need to pump up a car tyre from zero? A foot pump is pretty useless for cycles and a track pump is ideal for quickly and easily adding a few psi to a car tyre when necessary, which is what most people want. And only racing cyclists need pressures over 100psi. 60-80 is good enough (and more comfortable!) for lesser mortals. Just the one pump serves all modes of transport in our house.

[E-bmw]

NDA said:

I bought this a while back:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NAGLNDY/ref...

Very neat - small and very well made. Goes into a handy carrying bag and lives in the boot of the car.

And it looks like a row of tyres, what's not to like?

[budgie smuggler]

Leveret said:

True, but how often do you need to pump up a car tyre from zero? A foot pump is pretty useless for cycles and a track pump is ideal for quickly and easily adding a few psi to a car tyre when necessary, which is what most people want. And only racing cyclists need pressures over 100psi. 60-80 is good enough (and more comfortable!) for lesser mortals. Just the one pump serves all modes of transport in our house.

Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that OP would necessarily be put 120 PSI in anything, just that is what the working range for a track pump is. From memory a normal kids or adult bike you be more in the 15-40 range.

[stevenewonder]

Thanks for all suggestions. Weirdly at about the same time I posted the query I saw a track pump on offer in Lidl (or Aldi - I forget which), bought it but had to return as the connections to the tyres seemed a bit dodgy. Had the thing worked well, I might have stuck with it.

In the end, after some other research I bought a AstroAI A220B digital tyre inflator from Amazon - it cost less than £30
Really easy to use (had tried old digital pumps before that had to plug into car lighter socket that were not v good - but this works really well and, for me the important bit, seems to be pretty darn accurate

For example the using it on my wife's Mercedes SLK , the pump readings correspond pretty accurately with a hand held guage and also the figures given are very similar to those on the Meredes Me app, which takes the readings from on car sensors.

Its been in use for a few weeks - so far, so good ... as Steve McQueen said in relating an anecdote in the Magnificent Seven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7GP3l5znc8