Few Mini Pump Questions...which one? Do you attach to frame or store elsewhere?
 

So I have had bad luck with a few of the cheaper mini pump options. Either hard to attach to the valve or don't pump well at all. Which are people finding work well? Given this will be used more for "emergencies" I would prefer lighter and smaller even if it means a bit of extra pumping (as long as it can still adequately get the job done!). My online research has narrowed to Topeak Race Rocket HP and Lezyne Road Drive pumps. The Road Drive comes in Small, Medium and Large. Has anyone had experience with the full size line? Curious how much of a trade off in pumping the small or medium would be given they obviously would store away easier.

Right now my preference is to store a pump in my Aero Wedge attached to the seat post if it fits. I have no interest in storing in a jersey pocket. Do most people attach to frames or store pumps elsewhere? Looking for the most efficient setup I can get together.

Thanks!

Lezyne because the hose eliminates stress at valve. Larger size means fewer strokes to inflate, that’s a trade off. Put it wherever you prefer, that’s your choice.

edit: I see the newer Topeak also has a hose. Kudos to them for doing this, previous versions did not. So in this case,, either should be good.

Each bike has a Lezyne on the downtube.

Like the other two posters, Lezyne. I believe I have the Carbon Road Drive on the road bike and a Mirco Floor drive for the long distance bike.
For the Carbon Road Drive I have the ‘small’, because it’s a backup to a single CO2 cartridge.

The Microfloor drive has only one size, but it’s awesome to set it on the ground or hotel room to pump up tires, has a built in pressure gauge, and it weighs not much more than a full frame pump.

I have yet to find a truly easy to use hand pump. I keep one on the bike frame which is a Pro Bike Tool brand. Has a dual valve type and a built in gauge. Would it get a 23 tire to a full 110 lbs. if you ride at that pressure.......NO. But around 90 is doable. I also use CO2 which is the easiest way to quickly dump air into a tire when on the road and you get a flat.

Topeak Hybrid Rocket HP. It's essentially a Topeak Race Rocket HP with CO2 inflator, kills 2 birds with 1 stone. It lives on the downtube of my bike and, on the rare occasions that I need to use it, has always worked reliably.

I just looked at the Lezyne folks are mentioning and my Pro Bike Tool is identical as the Lezyne Road Drive pump in every respect. I assume one makes the other.

Lezyne, also. They come with a mounting bracket that installs on your water bottle bosses (while still allowing you to install a water bottle cage).

Since I run 28mm tires and top out under 70psi, I went with an HV model so that inflation doesn't require as many strokes. Previously used an HP model; it worked when I needed it, but mini pumps in general are such a pain to use on the roadside that it (along with my flat frequency) spurred me to make the move to tubeless.

I have a Pro Bike Tool mini pump -- found it a few weeks ago on a ride. Tried to return it via Facebook cycling groups but nobody claimed it.

I noticed the similarity to the Lezyne design as well. And it includes a pressure gauge.

But I found it very difficult to use. It requires a lot more effort than my Topeak and Blackburn mini pumps. And the Presta setting would either close the valve again or remove the core.

Well made pump but too many bugs to make it useful. Presumably the Lezyne doesn't have these problems or the reviews wouldn't be good.

I might save it for my least used hybrid with Schrader tubes.

I always recommend the Topeak Race Rocket because they work so well and are excellent values. I've had the short HP for a few years and used it a lot on my hybrids with Schrader tubes and road bikes with Presta. No problems. I got the slightly longer HPX for another road bike -- the longer stroke makes it just a little easier to get higher pressure.

The shorter HP will fit my jersey pocket, jeans rear pocket, or a medium sized Serfas Speed Bag saddle bag. It's the smallest practical mini pump I'd bother with.

I also have a Blackburn Core Slim, about the same length as the HPX. Excellent pump, although the ergonomics aren't quite as good. Sharp metal end caps. On the plus side it includes a useful metal valve core wrench. The Topeak Race Rockets supposedly include valve core tools but they're useless -- soft plastic that won't grip anything.

I usually clip them onto the water bottle cage mount. Occasionally I've carried the Race Rocket HP in a pocket. Same with the Race Rocket HPX and Blackburn Core Slim. The Blackburn has the best bottle cage mount -- it secures the pump well enough I didn't bother replacing the rubber band retainer doodad after it broke. The Topeak bottle cage mounts aren't quite secure enough to depend on without the rubber band, or a twist tie, on rough roads. After the original rubber band retainers broke I used a regular rubber band, twist tie, whatever was handy.

Pros:
Good ergonomics. The rounded end caps and rubber grip make 'em easy and comfortable to use, compared with similar mini pumps with hard metal end caps or sharp edges rather than rounded.
The hose, as other folks noted. Makes it a lot easier to use. Unlike the Lezyne and Pro Bike Tools, the hose is integrated into the Topeak and Blackburn.
Convertible for Presta or Schrader, just by twisting the threaded chuck, following the clear diagram.
Smooth operation.

Cons:
The plastic rounded end caps on the Race Rockets supposedly house a valve core stem wrench, but they're soft plastic, useless.
The Race Rocket HP takes a lot of strokes to reach full pressure. I usually quit after 200-250 strokes. That's riding pressure, around 65-75 psi. The longer HPX and Blackburn Core Slim require fewer strokes.

I had 2 bad ride experiences using a leyzne multiple times. it was tiring af. it's now been replaced by a silca tattico. pumping ease is a night and day difference.. plus it looks badass 😂

I have a Lezyne that goes in the jersey pocket, but so far I haven't needed it. On my classic frames, I used a frame pump. I wish I could carry one on the compact frames!

I have a Lezyne mini that I stick in a back pocket of my jersey.

I have a Crankbrothers Klic HP mini pump. The HP is the high-pressure model for road tires, and they offer an HV model which is optimized for for high-volume tires (mountain, some gravel, 42mm and up I think).
this is a good tool. I can't compare it to any Lezyne models, as this is the only mini pump I've ever used.

It has a hose which lives inside the pump shaft and extends with a flick of the wrist. The hose is a huge plus when working a mini pump, it allows flexibility in your work position and it relieves stress on the tube stem as you pump.
The hose contains an integrated pressure gauge, and the pump housing also holds a flip/flop adaptor you place onto the stem for either presta or Schrader valves.
It also has a CO2 adaptor of good design -- the adaptor screws onto the tube stem, then you screw your CO2 cartridge to the other end of the adaptor, and you control the flow of C02 by quarter-turns of the cartridge.

It comes with a bracket that mounts to the bottle cage bolts -- you remove the cage, place the bracket on the bolt holes, reposition the cage then reinsert the bolts.
the bracket places the pump right along the seat tube or down tube, and the pump has not interfered with the movement of my bottle in and out of the cage.

As others have already said, pumping a tire to riding pressure using a mini pump can be exhausting or at very least a buzzkill.
So I now use the pump just for partial inflation, to get the tube in good position on the rim -- like 10 or 15 pump strokes -- then I reseat the tire and complete the inflation with CO2.
I then have to pull the CO2 tool off the stem so I can apply the gauge, but the CO2 doesn't leak because of the design of the adaptor, it seals the cartridge even if my canister is partially full and partially spent.

I use lezyne mounted on the downtube next to bottle cages and a CO2 pump. I also a larger Topeak laying around somewhere.

I use Silca Tatico attached to frame.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b51cd55fe.jpeg
Lezyne with gauge hose bought separately. I should just stuff a good gauge in seat bag if there was room.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was looking for a new mini pump since my old Crank Bros. is ancient and kind of beat up. I want one that is super light and small since I like to carry it in my jersey pocket. I think it's kind of funny how many people spend big bucks for aero bike frames and then attach a pump to the side. (btw, my frame is not aero at all)

Any recommendations?

Topeak RaceRocket HP. I can't imagine pumping a road bike tire to rideable pressure with anything smaller.

I also have the longer RaceRocket HPX and Blackburn Core Slim, but still tote the RaceRocket HP most rides on my bikes without frame mounts. It's short enough and has a grippy rubber handle so it stays put in a jersey pocket. It takes about 50 more strokes than the longer pumps to reach riding pressure: about 250-300 strokes on my 700x23 and x25 tires.

I like the Topeak RaceRocket HP. It's very small and lightweight (I weighed mine at ~87g). It's got a pretty narrow cylinder that allows decently high pressures, and although this means that it takes a lot of pump strokes to fill a tire, the hose design makes it easy to pump at a high rate without worrying about damaging the valve stem.
Even when it is mounted on the frame using the included bracket, it looks slicker than most pumps that mount at the bottle cage bosses. The bracket is both easy to access and very secure.