Best Mountain Bike Pump???

[RebornBiker]

What is your favorite portable pump? Where do you keep it? What would you recommend for a newb looking to spend less than $50?

[nachomc]

Topeak Mountain Morph.

[AndrwSwitch]

I treat these like a commodity. Lately, I have a Topeak Mini Master Blaster. It's about 10" long, so not the smallest out there, but it still fits in a jersey pocket or a hydration pack.

The super-tiny pumps are reputed to be a real bummer to use. I actually haven't had one. I haven't had all that many pumps - I don't find I use them that often, so they tend to last a long time.

Pay attention to the type of adapter the pump uses. If you have a couple different kinds of valve on your different bikes, one of the ones that adjusts itself (he heh heh) is a real convenience. I think I need to do a small amount of disassembly to switch mine around, but I also only have Presta valves right now, so it doesn't really matter.

I think retail is about $20. So if you don't like this one, you still have most of your budget left to try something different.

[RebornBiker]

See I have been thinking about the Mini blaster but I have heard so many mixed reviews that it pushes me away from it. Is it hard to use or time consuming?
Same with the mountain morph. People with mountain bikes have told me if I am going with a Morph that I should just do the Road Morph since it is better quality and an overall better pump.

[Burt4x4]

Specialized MTB "Air Tool"
Don't have a pic of it on my bike as I just put it on last night. It fits along side my water bottle, the mount shares the holes with the waterbottle cage. Fits tight along the frame. Does both valve types.
I have never used it LOL so I can't call it my fav but I'm sure it will fill a new tube if I get a flat..really all I need it to do..oh and it was $25 bucks. Alumin body w/steel "pump handle" not plastic...seams like a strong little pump...I liked the idea of a onboard guage and T handle and even the foot thingy...but really all I needed was to fill a new tube that I just replaced on the trail...so couldn't do the $55 for a frame pump...

[hkenshin]

Lezyne micro floor drive hv. I've mucked around with a lot of pumps, but nothing even comes close as a portable. Light, high quality construction (CNC Al, not plastic). I've managed to reseat a tubeless tire on the trail with this pump. You can get a tire up to 30 psi from flat in a minute instead of 5 with most pumps, and because of the rubber hose, you dont have to hold it awkwardly. It's ~40 without the gauge, 45 with. Has a lot of really neat touches like the pressure release valve, flip converter, little flip down foot holder, etc.

[AndrwSwitch]

See I have been thinking about the Mini blaster but I have heard so many mixed reviews that it pushes me away from it. Is it hard to use or time consuming?
Same with the mountain morph. People with mountain bikes have told me if I am going with a Morph that I should just do the Road Morph since it is better quality and an overall better pump.

Compared to floor pumps, mini pumps are usually not very good. It's not practical to take a floor pump with me when I'm riding, though, and it's pretty rare for me to even have one in my car. I haven't tried packing one of the morph style pumps with me on a ride. For me, the pump is just part of my flat kit. So I want it to work well enough, and be small enough to fit in a jersey pocket or my pack. I did have a frame mount for this pump, but I don't like to use them.

I've not had trouble with using a hand pump to inflate my bicycle tires. The biggest problem I have with them is that with a road bike, the force to operate the pump gets pretty high at higher pressures. Since I only inflate my mountain bike to 25 psi, it's not a big deal in that case. I think sometimes people find ways to tear the stems off their tubes. I usually hold the stationary part of the pump quite close to the valve, which helps me to isolate the pumping motion from the wheel. I feel almost embarrassed explaining this, but I've run into people who need it spelled out.

Now, I'm not going to claim that my little Topeak is an awesome pump. I think it just fell into my lap at some point - I'm pretty sure I didn't buy it myself, let alone do research. Which is what I was saying about these things being a commodity. All I really want it to do is work on the occasion that I get a flat and stay out of my way the rest of the time.

[RebornBiker]

You're right Andrw. I am over thinking this. I am going to go with the Master blaster and see where that takes me. Later if I decide to upgrade I will at least know if I should do a mini again or a mid size like the Lezyne micro floor drive hv;which is pretty cool I think just not enough reviews about it and seems like Topeak is a crowd favorite.

[AndrwSwitch]

Well, I'm not necessarily advocating buying a pump with no research. But yeah - there are a ton of things one needs to buy to ride bikes in the woods, and you can drive yourself crazy thinking about all of them.

[anthonyk]

I've got the road morph that I now use off-road. It's definitely a good pump, but it's not very high volume and it can take a long time to pump up the 2.2-inch 29er tires I'm running now.

[RebornBiker]

Yeah I have done some research on the Master Blaster and feel like it has really high reviews and it is highest reviewed on Amazon. I just was debating on getting it because I have heard the stories about ripping the stems out but this is not my first time with a pump so I should be good. anthony I was afraid someone was going to say that. I do have a 29er and so does my wife and I would hate for her to get drained just by pumping her tire. It looks like a really good pump though and it is also highly reviewed by both Mountain Seekers and Road Warriors.

[Shibby]

there are a ton of things one needs to buy to ride bikes in the woods, and you can drive yourself crazy thinking about all of them.

That is precisely what I do when I'm not riding. Maybe that's why I'm so messed up....

[zebrahum]

The forums hold high regard for the Lezyne Micro Floor Drive and the Topeak Mountain Morph which are both "convertible" style pack along pumps.

I've used everything from the Master Blaster to several micro pumps like the Crank Bros or a cheapish combo CO2/pump thing and I will never ride without my Lezyne MFD or equivalent pump again. Build quality is second to none and is functionally fantastic. Pumps tires very quickly, doesn't rely on you getting fewer flats than you are carrying CO2 containers, and won't wear out your arm pumping away while it gets dark or hot or cold or your buddies are riding away. So long as you're riding with a hydration pack, it's an easy choice. If I were racing, I'd go with something smaller but I'm not so I won't.

Anyway, for more information I'd do a search on the topic as it gets covered very frequently.

[GelatiCruiser]

Can anyone recommend (or is there such a thing as) a combo travel pump and shock pump? I don't want to buy both and want to carry it in my camelbak. Thanks.

[dv8xin]

You mean like the Topeak Shock 'n Roll?

Topeak pumps are awesome. If I were to buy again, I'd get this one, but I'm pretty happy with my individual ones. Don't need to carry the shock pump in your pack on every ride, especially after you find a nice tune. Not like an unideal tune is unridable like a flat tire is. Gotta have a good gauge on a mini-pump and I love the hose, and how I don't need to brace the valve so the pumping action doesn't damage it. Might be a little hard to get to exactly the psi you want with this pump, as the gauge is 0-300, instead of 0-160.

I've felt a Lenyze floor pump and have to agree that they're super nice in looks and feel, but they're super expensive. Even on sale, they're still around $50, while the Topeak does a very good job for $35. Don't know about who offers better support or which lasts longer though. I imagine the Lenzyne might be better in the long run, but I personally prefer the slip-on air chuck with lever, over the Lenzyne's thread-on chuck.

[GelatiCruiser]

Awesome! Thanks. Exactly what I'm looking for.

[hkenshin]

Dv8xin, I paid ~38 for my lezyne from abaxo on eBay. Pretty sure msrp is $45. I played with both it and the mountain morph, based on the reviews here. Lezyne definitely is worth the extra $.

[James_spec]

The forums hold high regard for the Lezyne Micro Floor Drive and the Topeak Mountain Morph which are both "convertible" style pack along pumps.

I've used everything from the Master Blaster to several micro pumps like the Crank Bros or a cheapish combo CO2/pump thing and I will never ride without my Lezyne MFD or equivalent pump again. Build quality is second to none and is functionally fantastic. Pumps tires very quickly, doesn't rely on you getting fewer flats than you are carrying CO2 containers, and won't wear out your arm pumping away while it gets dark or hot or cold or your buddies are riding away. So long as you're riding with a hydration pack, it's an easy choice. If I were racing, I'd go with something smaller but I'm not so I won't.

Anyway, for more information I'd do a search on the topic as it gets covered very frequently.

^This^. I first bought the Top Peak Morph but after having a few flats and having my arms go numb from pumping just one tire, I had to get something better. Did a little searching, read some hundred reviews on the Lezyne pump. Bought one and wished I had never spent the money on Top Peak. The build quality and design is second to none and you'll fill the tire with a quick few pumps. I liked it so much I went and bought the $100 floor pump (although I got it for $50 ). Also the best floor pump I owned...heck I can even pump my car tire with it if need be.

[RebornBiker]

So just in case anyone has been wondering (Yeah Right) I went with a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV. This just felt so right in so many different ways. It felt stronger than the Topeak Mountain Morph (Good pump as well though) and overall performed better (again the Morph was right behind it). I decided to go with it since I really do not want to be left stranded out in the mountains with a dead arm. If you want to be at your peak jerk-off performance go with a mini pump but if you actually want to inflate and go then the Lezyne MFD or Topeak Mountain Morph is the way to go.