Leaderboard: A flat tire is a nightmare – a flat tire is particularly annoying, especially when racing, whether on the road or in the forest. Even if the hole is plugged and the tire is back on the rim, the air has to go back in. There are now numerous very compact micropumps for road use that can be placed in the jersey pocket and, in an emergency, restore pressure in the tires.
micropumps? mini pumps? hand pumps?
As already mentioned, there are now all sorts of subcategories of hand pumps. The very small micropumps are mostly used in racing bikes, since the helpers have to find space in the jersey pocket and should also be very light. When it comes to mountain biking, you are usually a bit more flexible: you often have a small trail backpack with you or have a saddlebag mounted. Incidentally, there are no precise specifications as to the length from which a pump is considered a micro pump and when a mini pump - in case of doubt it doesn't matter, because it is important that it is not too large for the intended area of application.
Hose or normal pump head?
There are now two approaches to the pump head: Many modern models now use an extendable hose that is screwed or plugged onto the valve. This definitely has advantages: You remain much more flexible on the trail and don't always have to hold the pump perpendicular to the valve - this saves nerves, energy and protects the valve. The disadvantages are more of a theoretical nature - with such a system more seals have to be installed and the structure is a bit more complex overall - theoretically such a pump is more susceptible to a defect. In practice, however, we didn't have any problems with any of the test candidates. But even those who prefer a conventional, classic pump head will still find what they are looking for on the market and also get very good hand pumps.
How did we test?
In order to determine the pump performance of the respective pumps, we chose two flat test impellers each. A narrow 23mm tire was mounted on one, on the other a much wider and voluminous tire with 28mm - the trend is clearly going in this direction in the road sector as well. The test showed that not every pump can cope with both areas of application. Some could hardly be pressed from a pressure of 3 bar, while others needed around 400 strokes to bring the wide tires up to sufficient pressure.
Mini pumps racing bike
| Product | Length | Overall rating | Value for Money | Details | Price | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blackburn Airstik 2Stage | 170 mm | 88% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="88" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Trial 06/2015 | 90% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="90" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] |  High pressure and high volume mode Outstanding pump performance Pretty big | RRP: € 24,95 |
|
Topeak Micro Rocket CB | 160 mm | 87% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="87" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Test: 06/2015 | 78% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="78" color="#8deb86" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] | Very easy Beautifully processed Balanced pump performance Not quite perfect pump head | RRP: € 39,95 |
|
PRO CNC Minipump Tele | 130 mm | 86% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="86" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Test: 06/2015 | 76% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="76" color="#8deb86" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] | Very compact High quality manufacturing Very good at high pressure Problems with wider tires | RRP: € 39,95 |
|
Blackburn Airstik SL | 160 mm | 85% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="85" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Trial 06/2015 | 87% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="87" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] | Very easy Great processed Weaknesses with wider tires | RRP: € 19,95 |
|
Specialized Air Tool Carbon Road | 155 mm | 85% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="85" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Trial 06/2015 | 64% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="64" color="#8deb86" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] | Great look Very easy Strong at high pressure Weaknesses with wider tires | RRP: € 54,90 |
|
Zefal Air Profile Micro | 165 mm | 82% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="82" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] Trial 06/2015 | 83% | [graphs height="20"][graph title="Title" score="83" color="#27d000" text_color="#fff"]][/graphs] | Beautiful design Balanced pump performance Sluggish pump head | RRP: € 19,90 |