aural exciter

In need of a good pump for home and road use. I figured a mechanic would know from experience or at least steer me in the right direction. Something compact and light. Is anyone familiar with the Airbone Supernova 4" pocket pump? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thx

bradtx

ae, Really you need two pumps. The home's pump should be a floor pump, many brands out there, get one with a shrader/presta compatible head. Mini pumps are more suited to emergency road use because they usually require around 100+ strokes to fill even a low volumn road tire.

Brad

curbtender

It's a little bulky, but it works great. Topeak road morph
https://shop.vendio.com/benscycle/ite.../?s=1293440162

Retro Grouch 

If you were to limit yourself to one pump, that would be my pick.

OP didn't mention what kind of bike and it matters. For a mountain bike with fat 2" tires you want a pump that moves a lot of volume. For a road bike with skinny 1" tires you can give up some volume for higher pressure.

I'm not a fan of any mini pump.

Bianchigirll 

I agree with the two pump well actually 3 pump theroy. back in the steel frame days when you could have good full size pump like a Zefal HPX you could get away with only one pump. but the new mini pumps just take too much effort. a good floor pump at home is good insurance against pinch flats, and they a fraction of the time a mini does to do it.

the 3 pump theroy is a good frame pump, a good floor pump at home and good floor pump in the car.

HillRider

The Topeak Road or MTB Morphs are the best if you insist on one pump but they don't do any one job well. They are heavy and bulky for use as a road/emergency pump and slow and awkward to use as a floor pump.

I have a Morph for travel with an S&S coupled bike where I have to deflate the tires to pack the wheels and need to inflate them to full pressure at my destination but can't pack a full size pump. It works but I would never want to use it for daily home inflation service.
My floor pumps are the Park PMP-4 and an old Silca Pista. My mini-pumps are Blackburn's "Air Stick" or Performance's "Air Scepter", bot of which work adequately.

Looigi

Yes, like many have said, you really should have a floor pump with gauge so that it's easy to check and correct your tire pressure every day that you ride, or at least every two days. A little hand pump is pretty impractical for this and mainly serves as a backup to get you home or finish a ride should you flat on the road.

Glynis27

I've used a Topeak Turbo Morph G as my only pump for around 4 years now. I use it to pump my tires before every ride and carry it in my camelbak or pannier for most rides. I've thought about getting a floor pump, but could never justify it since the Morph is so good. Sure, a floor pump would be better and take 1/3 as many pumps to get to pressure, but It's not a big deal to me.

fietsbob

have 2 floor pumps , both 20 years old, still work, a Medai with a thumb lock Schrader head
And a Silca Track Pump with their bell shaped Presta head,
each bike has it's own pump on the frame or in the Bag it always carrys .
Silca Impero, Blackburn frame fit , Topeak road Morph,

and One that was the roadside service pump standard on BMW Motorcycles ..

FuzzyDunlop

I have a Serfas floor pump that works fine. I don't think there's too much variation in floor pumps. Look for something that feels sturdy and can fit both presta and schrader valves. Don't spend more than $40 (at the most).

Travel pumps, on the other hand, are much more about personal preference. You have to decide how much you care about size and weight vs. usefulness. And then there's always CO2 cartridges to consider. I have the Topeak Road Morph, but I haven't had to use it yet. Of course now that I've said that, I'll get a flat tonight.

Two things regarding travel pumps. Make sure if you go the travel pump route that it has a hose. If you use a stick pump without a hose there's a very real risk of breaking the tire's valve stem if you're not careful. Also, beware of frame mounts. I've given up trying to mount my pump to my bike and now just carry it in my bag.

aural exciter

Thx guys and gals,

All of you have given me a lot to think about. I have a mountain bike and the tires are 60 psi. I probably will go with 2 pumps. I'll try to find a good old fashioned steel pump for home use and a mini for emergencies.

Has anyone seen the Airbone Supernova 4" pocket pump? It looks pretty darn sturdy, but who know till you try one.

FuzzyDunlop

I haven't used that particular pump, but I'd be skeptical of its utility. It seems too small to get decent air pressure without having to pump it hundreds of times. However that's just based on looking at pictures online.
Also, I really do recommend getting a travel pump with a hose. I broke several valve stems with my previous pump.

Looigi

Exactly. The number of strokes starts to go up exponentially with the smallness of the pump due to the compression ratio between the volume in the pump and the volume in the connection up to the valve seat in the tube stem. And with the volume in a mtn bike tire, you won't live long enough to fill a tire with a pump that small.

If you use a pump that attaches directly to the stem, you need to very carefully support the stem and the end of the pump so as not to damage the stem. The two small pumps I recently bought for new road bikes have hoses to connect the pump to the stem. One is a Lezyne "Road Drive" and the other is a Topeak "Race Rocket". For my mountain bikes, I have pumps designed designed for higher volume at lower pressure.

BCRider

Pay attention to HillRider's post. He hits the nail right on the head. I moved recently and because I wasn't smart as I thought I was I let the movers pack my floor pump away in the boxes that won't be looked at until the basement workshop renos are completed sometime next March. So I've had to make do with a long frame pump. It is SO annoying to use a frame pump as my normal pump that I'm giving up and buying a new floor pump. I'll chalk it up to part of the cost of the move and justify it because it's always good to have a spare...

Bottom line is that anyone that rides regularly needs more than one pump. A compact in your pack or on the frame for emergencies and a proper full size floor pump at home for the pre-ride top ups and tube and tire swaps.

As for that airbone? Volume counts for everything even with your emergency pump. I'm crazy enough that all my bikes wear their own emergency pump. The short ones always are annoying and take longer than the longer frame pumps. I only use the shorter ones for dirt bikes where I don't need to go to higher pressures. All my 700c wheel bikes have proper longer frame pumps due to their greater ease of pumping up to the higher pressures. The shorter ones are still annoying because they only push so much volume so it takes FOREVER to pump up to a decent pressure. That airbone with half or less the volume of even the short ones that I use would be just stupid to try to use. I think it must be some sort of decoration more than it's a pump. I would not waste money on such a thing. Get a pump that is as long and fat as you can decently justify that will fit on the bike or in your pack. The longer and fatter it is the quicker it'll pump up your tires after a flat. I would not go with anything less than a pump that less than 10 inches long overall. I've used a few brands of pump that long and I prefer the ones that are longer. The Blackburn EVO or similar with the swiveling head is one I have and use and it's decent but it still seems to take a good 150 strokes to fill a tire for riding. Anything shorter would take double or more given that ratio of length to pressure mentioned earlier. And a 4 inch stroke pump would be just stupid to use.

Camilo

For heaven's sake, buy a floor pump for at home. You can get a perfectly servicable floor pump for $20 or less.

If you really need to go with one, buy a high volume MTB type pump that fits on your bike. But it's a waste, imho

FuzzyDunlop

I called it. Had to use it this morning. It worked really well.

aural exciter

Well, thxs for all of the great suggestions. I did take all of your advice. I bought a heavy duty steel pump. A WindStorm. Tall, fat, with guage, long hose and can fill both presta and schrader valves. You were all right about pumping up a tire to the right psi with a mimi. I got them up to 50 psi and it was getting mighty tuff to pump, seeing as I need to get to 65psi.

Fuzzy, sorry about the flat!

Camilo

Buy as many pumps as you need. I not only have one on every bike in the house (mine, kids' wife's), but I have three floor pumps - one in my garage, one in my car (I drive to rides a lot and use this one frequently to top off my or someone else's tires), one at my office (I bike commute a lot, sometimes one way, sometimes my commuter sits at my office for a few days).

I probably have $80 total in these three pumps, spent over a few years as I decided it was worth having a pump where you need it when you need it. Sure I could use the mini and frame pumps I keep on the bikes themselves, but they are a total PITA for anything except on the road repairs.

cyccommute 

Even in the bad old days, a Zefal HPX was a poor substitute for a good floor pump. It was even a poor substitute for a frame pump.

frankenmike 

One person mentioned it already, but if you can learn how to properly use a CO2 inflator, roadside flats only take as long to fix as changing out the tube. Been doing this exclusively for over two years now on the road bike. On the mtb I use a mini pump(10+ years old zefal mini double shot) to get it to about 20-30psi, and top it off with a CO2. 8 bucks for a box of 15 cartridges at Xmart if you choose an inflator that takes non-threaded cartridges. Still need a good floor pump, though.

BCRider

WHAT! ? ! I LOVE my two Zefal HPX's. Mind you I'm using the larger sizes that fit my more "classic" style frames so perhaps the length helps. Of course if by frame pump you mean the ones that fit under the whole top tube then yeah, those being even longer would be that much better.

HillRider

The HPX was made in a range of sizes and could be used under the top tube or along the seat tube of conventional frames. It It won't fit on many current frame designs, particularly "compact" types

It is faster than a mini-pump but weighs a LOT more. My Size 3 (medium length) weighs over 230 grams or well over twice what my Performance mini-pump does and is certainly no substitute for a floor pump.

StanSeven

Lenyzne makes an excellent mini pump that inflates to 110 lbs or so. That said, I still use CO2 because it's quick. The mini pump helps in checking the source of the flat.

cyccommute 

I should have said "a poor substitute...when compared to the Topeak Morphs." Once I got one of those (2001), I never looked back.

HillRider

Several mini pumps will exceed 100 psi IF you have the time and patients and don't snap off the valve stem in the attempt. Yes, I know the Lenyzne has a separate hose which does protect the valve stem but it's still SLOW.

I do just what you wrote; I use the mini pump to be sure I've found the leak and/or to check that a replacement tube is good and seated properly. Then CO2 to get to full pressure quickly and easily.