Originally Posted by
reapa
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Generally what I've read is hand pumps should only be used to keep mobile and a floor pump is pretty mandatory. Until I did my research, I was just looking for a reliable hand pump but apparently that won't suffice.
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There is one hand pump that will serve you well for years as an only pump The Zefal frame pumps. Now many modern bikes do not make it easy to carry them but they are completely up to the task of use as everyday pumps. I went 17 years with the forerunner to the Zefal HPX on my three bikes and no other pump., riding sewups on all my bikes so pumping up often was a fact of life. Those pumps only got replaced when they fell off and a following car ran over them. (No one used that rather newfangled Velcro stuff yet.)
So, in answer to your question "micro vs Steel/Classic" my answer would be "Classic" as in the Zefal HPX Classic (on several of my bikes).
Ben