Mini pump - am I a weakling?

[scotsbikester]

I hardly ever get punctures. In fact the last one I had was a slow one that allowed me to get home to fix. I have anti-puncture tyres.

But I like to be prepared. So I carry tyre levers, spare inner tube, and a patch kit. Today I thought I should try pumping the tyre up with the mini-pump I carry. I just got it to 48psi (measured with my Topeak digital gauge, which may well be reading low). I really couldn't get any higher than that. Is this usual for mini-pumps, or am I a pathetic weakling?

I was considering a frame pump, but does that still get as hard to pump as the pressure goes up, or is it just faster?

Thanks.

 

[johnnyb47]

Some mini have two modes.A setting to get air into the tyre quickly but they become hard work as the pressure increases.You then switch it to low volume but it gets the higher pressure in easier.My mini pump is a Topeak and it's not to bad . It's obviously not as good as a frame or track pump but in an emergency, it's come in handy a few times
I only realised mine had these two settings a few months back after several years of ownership 🤨

 

[cyberknight]

mini pumps are hard work , even the best ones .
For commuting i carry a topeak road morph as i can bung it in the pannier bag, they are a bit bigger and have a foot peg so you can get some weight on it , i got the tyre up to 80 psi easily enough .
On all the bikes i have at least a mini pump/ c02 inflator and would use the c02 as it a dang sight quicker for road side inflations .
At home i have the obligatory track pump.

 

[Paulus]

Seconded for the Road Morph. They are good mini pumps, I have two.

 

[geocycle]

I have a similar problem with mini pumps, partly because of a dodgy shoulder. For me the Lezyne floor drive is the best portable pump since you can use your body weight like with a track pump. I’ve also got the smaller road morph which is ok but less easy for me. Fortunately it’s rare you need one. I’m currently trying an electric Fumpa nano pump. It’s about the size of a matchbox and makes a loud farting noise, but does inflate from flat to 80 psi in less than a minute. This is the smallest version so I’m not sure if i will get more than one tyre out of a charge and I’m thinking of using it to top up after an initial go with a mini pump.

 

[scotsbikester]

Thanks for the replies.

By the way, by "frame pump", I mean one of those long ones that goes under the top tube, such as - https://www.topeak.com/global/en/product/235-ROAD-MASTERBLASTER. Sometimes in online reviews people seem to take "frame pump" to mean any pump that attaches to the frame. My "mini-pump" attaches to the frame, but is very short.

I"ll have a think. As I hardly ever get punctures, and I just about managed to get up to the tyre pressure I need, I might stick with what I've got for now. Though if I was touring or anything like that, I'd need something better. But boy the last few strokes before I gave up were hard work. Probably good for the chest muscles, or something.

 

[Sharky]

I consider mini pumps to be just "get you home" pumps. In my case though, I am rarely more than an hour away from home.

 

[T4tomo]

Thanks for the replies.

By the way, by "frame pump", I mean one of those long ones that goes under the top tube, such as - https://www.topeak.com/global/en/product/235-ROAD-MASTERBLASTER. Sometimes in online reviews people seem to take "frame pump" to mean any pump that attaches to the frame. My "mini-pump" attaches to the frame, but is very short.

I"ll have a think. As I hardly ever get punctures, and I just about managed to get up to the tyre pressure I need, I might stick with what I've got for now. Though if I was touring or anything like that, I'd need something better. But boy the last few strokes before I gave up were hard work. Probably good for the chest muscles, or something.

mini pump for the bike - 48psi will get you home (or a Co2 inflator). Track pump for home for topping up checking pre ride etc etc.
Frame pump (period appropriate) strictly for looking cool on your vintage 531 tourer....

Even the hardest specimens of human life form @I like Skol & @Drago find getting up to "full" pressure with a mini pump hard work.

Don't ask me how i know this, but its even harder if you put an already punctured tube, that you forgot to remove / exchange / repair from your saddle bag, into the tyre "as a repair" and try to pump that up.....

 

[wiggydiggy]

Some mini have two modes.A setting to get air into the tyre quickly but they become hard work as the pressure increases.You then switch it to low volume but it gets the higher pressure in easier.My mini pump is a Topeak and it's not to bad . It's obviously not as good as a frame or track pump but in an emergency, it's come in handy a few times
I only realised mine had these two settings a few months back after several years of ownership 🤨

FFS! I threw mine out a little while back as I thought it was putting no air into the tyre, I probably had it on low volume mode so I was just pumping for ages into a flat tyre and nothing seemed to be happening.

 

[Windle]

Thanks for the replies.

By the way, by "frame pump", I mean one of those long ones that goes under the top tube, such as - https://www.topeak.com/global/en/product/235-ROAD-MASTERBLASTER. Sometimes in online reviews people seem to take "frame pump" to mean any pump that attaches to the frame. My "mini-pump" attaches to the frame, but is very short.

I"ll have a think. As I hardly ever get punctures, and I just about managed to get up to the tyre pressure I need, I might stick with what I've got for now. Though if I was touring or anything like that, I'd need something better. But boy the last few strokes before I gave up were hard work. Probably good for the chest muscles, or something.

The frame pump is a good idea, I've been thinking about getting one ~ I do have an ancient one but it's too long to fit any of my current bikes. I have an oldish Raleigh mini-pump and a new one from Lidl with a small hose attachment, which luckily I haven't had to use yet, the hose is a good idea as it's possible to pull the valve away from the tube during furious pumping with a normal one! I've got a very old plastic mini from when they probably first came out (late 80's?) which is next to useless. They probably seemed better in the 'old days' when we all had skinny tyres I suppose, but when I look at the wee Raleigh one I've currently got strapped to my 29'er MTB...... hmmmm, it would be quicker to walk home . If you think about them from an engineering / physics perspective they're never going to be much use ~ the small cylinder size means many, many strokes to get enough air in and the amount of leverage is never going to be enough for higher pressures. Co2 inflators are OK, though you can get frostbite as they empty 🥶.

 

[Dadam]

I've got a Topeak Race Rocket which is a nice little pump, allegedly can get 120psi I think I gave up at about 45 but it was enough to get me home. Could probably have managed 50 but 120, forget it unless you've got arms like Arnie.

 

[Mike Ayling]

The no longer manufactured Zefal HPX range do a great job.
I have one on each of my bikes.

 

[Dadam]

The frame pump is a good idea, I've been thinking about getting one ~ I do have an ancient one but it's too long to fit any of my current bikes. I have an oldish Raleigh mini-pump and a new one from Lidl with a small hose attachment, which luckily I haven't had to use yet, the hose is a good idea as it's possible to pull the valve away from the tube during furious pumping with a normal one! I've got a very old plastic mini from when they probably first came out (late 80's?) which is next to useless. They probably seemed better in the 'old days' when we all had skinny tyres I suppose, but when I look at the wee Raleigh one I've currently got strapped to my 29'er MTB...... hmmmm, it would be quicker to walk home . If you think about them from an engineering / physics perspective they're never going to be much use ~ the small cylinder size means many, many strokes to get enough air in and the amount of leverage is never going to be enough for higher pressures. Co2 inflators are OK, though you can get frostbite as they empty 🥶.

Pressure = force / area so to get high pressure you need a lot of force or a small cross sectional area (i.e a narrow piston). But a narrow piston means you can't get much air volume per stroke unless you make the stroke longer.

Hose is a good idea definitely.

 

[Alex321]

I have the Topeak mini_morph-G, and the few times I have had to use it, have managed to get the tyre pumped up hard enough to be close to normal, certainly comfortable to finish the ride.

It says it will do up to 160psi, but I normally only inflate to about half that, and 60-70 is enough for a roadside inflation. Because it has the fold out foot, it is effectively a mini track pump.

 

[fossyant]

Road Morph, 2x Blackburn Airsticks and a cheapy Amazon mini pump (Amazoon) which all will get to 100 PSI