[Braap!]

I just bought a topeak top tube pump for my rd bike. I have been getting by with my black burn mtn (not so) mini hanging from the cage mount. Not very roadie like but i'm not much of a roadie. When looking through the topeak catolog I notice they make a slick looking mini pump for road bikes. It looks much smaller than my blackburn. My main interest in a truly mini pump is it would fit in my camel back and i could use it when i got on 80 plus mile dirtbike ride. this would give me one pump for both road and mt bike and the dirtbike!! Whats the word on a full size top tube pump v. a true mini??

Already had someone suggest the top tube pump can double as a defensive weapon or at least give a dog something to chew on other than your leg. I suppose if you were really good you could wedge the mini inside his mouth so he couldn't close his jaws!!

 

[Mr. Versatile]

Large pumps are easier to operate / more efficient. Personally, I haven't carried one in many years. I have a Barbiere (sp?), that I got for Christmas a few years ago. Nashbar or Performance have them. It's very small, but it works. I've had to use it a few times, 7 it's no prob getting a 700x23 tire to over 100#. It'll easily fit in a jersey pocket, or a Camelback or similar. Weighs only a few grams. You might also want to consider carrying a CO2 inflator. They're inexpensive & very small.

 

[Travis]

co2

co2 is really good stuff and i have seen many people break stems pumping with smaller pumps. I have a large pump at home but only pack a co2 inflater and three cartridges

 

[wim]

Topeak Road Morph sort of cuts it down the middle between full size and mini. It's 36 cm
(about14 inches) long and, with a nod to floor pumps, has a flip-out foot stabilizer. Best of all, it has a flexible hose connection between pump and tube valve. Works nicely for me and weighs not much more than a CO2 inflator plus two cartridges.

 

[Dinosaur]

Frame vs mini

A full length frame pump will be more efficient that a mini and take less strokes to inflate your tire. I can get a 700x25 tire up to a rideable psi within about 7-80 strokes. Some mini's take a couple of hundred. I used to pack co2 plus a mini and used the mini to seat the tire and finish off with co2. Now I just pack a full length Blackburn under my seat tube and use that for my main source of air. I've read good things about the Barbiebi Carbone Mini. I used a Blackburn Airstick C.F. and it stopped working. The problem with just packing co2 is that it is possible to run out of co2 cartridges. I used to pack 4 or 5 of them and ran out once during the winter when it was cold and the co2 froze up and would not inflate my tire. A good full length frame pump such as a Blackburn or a Zefal HPX will never let you down, and they are both rebuildable. Of course what you chose to pack with you depends on what type of problems you run into with flats and what is available around you. Sometimes if I go for a long ride I will pack a co2 inflator loaded with one 12g of c02 and use that for my first flat. Frame pumps are more dependable. As long as you have two arms, you have a source of air. I've gone full circle on choice for air and returned to a frame pump. I end up packing less junk.

 

[cmg]

this pump will work and can be attached on the water bottle cage or back pouch

 

[Andy M-S]

Zefal pumps make you faster

co2 is really good stuff and i have seen many people break stems pumping with smaller pumps. I have a large pump at home but only pack a co2 inflater and three cartridges

Five or six years ago, doing a timed ride/race, I came across an otherwise fast rider sitting dejectedly by the side of the road, 10 miles or so from the finish. He'd blown his last CO2 on his first flat, then got another flat. I lent him my Zefal HPX and he fixed his tire, then happily pulled me to the line. As I said, he was fast--I shaved my time considerably that day.