PoorInRichfield

The latest Trek Domane, as well as a few of their mountain bikes, have a storage compartment in the down tube. Trek recommends storing a CO2 cartridge in the hole, but I've learned my lesson over the years and prefer an actual pump. (If you have more than one flat on a trip, one CO2 will leave you stranded but a pump won't!)

As such, I'm wondering if any of you have tried stuffing a mini pump in the storage hole and if so, which pump do you recommend? Among my contenders are the Topeak RaceRocket HP Carbon ($$) and the Lezyne Carbon Drive Lite HP ($$$)... but I'm open to others, especially for less $$$. I'm looking for something that is relatively light but still functional... and most important, it better fit in the hole!



***** UPDATE *****
I purchased the Lezyne Pocket Drive ($30) mini pump which fits easily into the hole in the Domane downtube and is a quality pump for a pretty small price.

GlennR

Carry (2) CO2.


Your jersey pocket is what mini pumps are for.

You don't want anything in the storage space to rattle.

bung

I use the Topeak Micro Rocket CB which measures 160mm long, with a diameter of 21mm. It is about 29mm at the pump head.

GlennR

This is an option.

August West

You might be able to squeeze something like that Topeak Micro Rocket CB in there if you don't have a CO2 cartridge and inflator but the 29mm at the head is going to be tight. By the time you roll it up in the sleeve it might be too wide. Length should be OK though.

I carry a couple of extra CO2 cartridges and a few small odds and ends in a Lezyne Caddy Sack - Small in my jersey. I don't like having just one cartridge either and this has worked out well for me so far.

Lezyne Caddy Sack - Small

PoorInRichfield

As it turns-out, I do own a pump like the Topeak you posted... and it fits! I've got a spare tube, patch kit, two plastic tire irons (tire plastics?), the pump, and the Bontrager tool kit all stuffed in the down tube. Now if I could only fit my phone in there

CO2 is convenient... until it doesn't work. Having been a roadie for over 30 years (yikes) I've had my fair share of issues were CO2 roadside repairs didn't go as planned and I still ended up "phoning a friend". I also found out the hard way that one's tires will go flat using CO2 if the weather is warm and you still have a long way to go.

PoorInRichfield

Totally agree. I used to do that but found myself forgetting the pump way too many times. If it's in the bike, I don't have to rely on my feeble memory.

GlennR

I've been riding for 10 years and have had a dozen or so flats and never had a problem with CO2. I agree that CO2 does leak down quicker and will stop at a LBS and use a floor pump to top up. I just find a hand pump a lot of work.

PoorInRichfield

That's 'cause we're cyclists and have no upper body

GlennR

I doubt many here are an 140# European cyclist

canklecat

Topeak Race Rocket HP. I've had one for about four years, used it many times, works great. The chuck can be used for Presta or Schrader. I've used it for my hybrids with 700x40 tires to reach 40-50 psi, and skinny road tires up to riding pressure. Yeah, it'll reach 100 psi but I get tired of pumping before then and usually settle for around 75 psi (I weigh 150 lbs so that's good enough for the 700x23 and x25 tires I ride). Great ergonomics for a tiny pump -- rubber grip, soft rounded plastic end caps, smooth stroke. The hose really helps too. Takes 250-300 strokes to reach riding pressure.

Easiest way I found to use it is to brace the butt end of the pump in my right hand against my chest, and use my left arm to pull the pump toward me. Uses my bicep and lats, so it's more efficient than pushing the pump using the triceps. I picked up that trick a couple of years ago after my right shoulder was broken and dislocated. For months I had limited range of motion with my right arm, so I just adapted to using it to brace the pump. Without the hose the entire wheel would be flopping into my chest or face, but the hose makes this technique easier.

I also have the Race Rocket HPX and Blackburn Core Slim, but both are quite a bit longer and may not fit securely in some jersey pockets. I use the plastic clips on the water bottle cage mounts to hold 'em. They are a bit more efficient, with fewer strokes needed to fill a road bike tire.

PoorInRichfield

Thanks for the input, canklecat. One thing I noticed about the latest version of the TopPeak RaceRocket HP pump (and others like it) is that they added this feature:
My current pump doesn't have that cap, so I'm thinking of buying a new version of the pump that does. The reason being is that I still remember being up north in Wisconsin and having to fix a flat. I almost through my pump into the woods because every time I unscrewed the pump from the valve stem, the valve core would unscrew and come out as well! I didn't have any tool handy that would allow me to tighten the valve stem enough to keep it from unscrewing, so after filling my tire about 3 times (which is like 4.2 million strokes of the pump), I was finally able to get the pump off w/o taking the valve stem with it. I've read that this is a common problem with pumps that have screw-on heads.

woodcraft

If they keep making down tubes bigger like that,

soon you'll be able to put the whole water bottle in there!

PoorInRichfield

Specialized has apparently been doing just such a thing in their Shiv triathlete bike. I think it's a sweet idea!

canklecat

I wouldn't base my choice of mini pump on a valve core tool. They're handy but some otherwise good pumps don't have a core wrench.

Unless Topeak has replaced that valve core tool with metal instead of plastic, it's of limited use. The valve core tool on my older RaceRocket HP is soft plastic, rounded and won't grip a valve core. It's just a soft ergonomically friendly end cap that minimizes pressure on the hands.

The newer, longer RaceRocket HPX is better but still soft plastic and needs to be used carefully. The Blackburn Core Slim has a metal valve core tool that's really useful. It's threaded and doubles as the end cap. The down side is it's not ergonomically friendly as an end cap and digs into the hand during pumping. I could dip it in rubbery plastic, glue on a soft end cap, etc., but haven't bothered. But these are both a bit long for some jersey pockets.

They're all good pumps though. The plastic springy clamps that attach to the water bottle cages work fine. The rubber bands usually included with those clamps tend to break after a few months but aren't really needed if the clamp is secure. Sometimes I'll use a twist tie or something else but mostly I don't bother.

79pmooney

How 'bout a real frame pump? Like one that pumps to old-school pressures in 100 easy strokes. When I was 145 lp (granted, American) bi9ke racer, all my bikes had Zephal HPs. I owned no other inflation devices for 15 years All I rode were sew-ups.

I had a day not so many years ago where both tubes failed (a mile apart; supposed to be the best; I'll never buy that brand again) and a couple of "it happens" tire issues on a solo century plus. Pumped up from dead flat 5 times. Full pumps are a real blessing.

OP - your stash should have 2 tubes and a patch kit. That ride would have been a shame call and a long drive for someone without.

Ben

PoorInRichfield

Good point. If the valve stem actually needs to be tight enough to keep the pump head from unscrewing it, the tool should likely be made of metal and not soft plastic. I'm a little disappointed that the Bontrager BITS mutli-tool that is designed to fit in the storage box on my Domane does not have a spoke wrench or a valve stem wrench. Adding those would seem to be rather simple since both are just notches in a piece of metal. Perhaps I can fashion or find some simple metal piece that has notches for both that I can throw in the storage bag and not concern myself with such a feature on the pump. That aside, I do think it's smart of Topeak to at least be thinking about the need for that tool on their mini pumps. My Topeak pump is older and doesn't have the valve stem tool which would've come in handy at a time I needed it and didn't know I would!
I have two issues with using a real frame pump:

1. I'm a weight weenie. It's a mental defect I think I was born with?
2. I'm a minimalist. One of the reasons I bought the 2020 Domane is that it has decent amount of integration built in to make the bike look nice-n-clean.
   1. The brake and shifter cables are only exposed for a few inches along the stem, keeping the front of the bike clear of wire and cable clutter.
   2. The stem has BLENDR integration for which I have my Garmin 830 and Bontrager Flare R lights mounted. Once again, creates a super clean front of the bike.
   3. The storage box on the downtube has so far eliminated the need for a seat pack on my bike and allows me to mount my Bontrager Flare R tail light below the seat. This is another Trek integration feature that makes the bike look super clean / uncluttered.

If I was doing a long distance ride and had to be completely self-supported, then I would certainly consider a full sized frame pump. However, most of my rides are local to my house and don't require fixing a flat at all, so I'm willing to sacrifice the convenience of a full pump for the aero and weight savings of a mini pump.
Since starting this thread, I'm seriously thinking about setting up my bike to be tubeless like it was designed to be. I bought the bike used and it already has the tubeless rim strips in the wheels, but I put tubes in the wheels because of my uncertainty of the reliability of going tubeless.

What has started to get me thinking about going tubeless is that I've started riding my rarely ridden mountain bike almost daily in my back yard while in COVID lock-down. My mountain bike is setup as tubeless. Over the past two weeks, I've run over all sorts of evil things and haven't worried about flats once... giving the some confidence in going tubeless on my road bike.

All that to say that even though I'm still going to keep a 1 tube in my bike's storage area, I'm going to start prepping my bike to be tubeless as an experiment this summer and see how that goes. Heck, if it works as promised, I may not need any of the tools I'm obsessing about at all!

JustinOldPhart

C02 - meh, no. Carrying two cartridges and a head is approaching the weight of a small pump and is often not enough.

Tuesday I had fun-miserable ride. I got into a thorn crop and replaced two tubes and installed three patches.

My pump is a carbon Micro Rocket that I have had for quite a few years; it's never let me down. Even with my T-Rex physique I had no trouble inflating the tires to thumb-hard. Five ******g times.

PoorInRichfield

ROFL!

woodcraft

I'm not sure you can say this riding an 18 lb bike.

I barely qualify, & my (Tarmac) weighs 3 lbs less than that.

JustinOldPhart

PoorInRichfield We are kindred spirits.

PoorInRichfield

You see my problem then! I can't afford to be adding heavy bike pumps or a baker's dozen of CO2 cartridges on to an already obese bike I am a tad annoyed that the new Domane is so pudgy, but the comfort, semi-aero, and integration features won over buying a Trek Emonda (they're light weight climbing bike) or having to spend thousands more to get the slightly lighter Domane SLR.

I just spent the morning setting up my tires as tubeless... so in theory, I just scrubbed the weight of 2 tubes (kind of...)

woodcraft

Disk brakes, wider tires, and electronic shifting have torn the heart out of weight weenie-ism.

I think it's partly that stuff is more interesting and easier to sell than the absence of stuff.

grrrmountainman

@ Poor - could you post up a few pictures of how you've got the kit put together for the domane downtube storage? I'm thinking of taking my co2 and replacing for mini pump as well on mine.

Thanks for giving a good reason for a first post!

PoorInRichfield

If you watch Trek's video for preparing the BITS bag, I setup mine the same way only I put some tire patches in the pocket where the CO2 cartridge would've gone and obviously don't need the CO2 adaptor head either. W/o the bulky CO2 and adaptor head in the BITS bag, that gives enough room to slide the mini pump into the frame next to the BITS bag. It's a tight fit, but that's hopefully a good thing so the pump doesn't rattle around.