A quick note on frame pumps

[Saab2000]

Today during our 100 miler I punctured a Veloflex Criterium. I have vowed to acquire a tubular repair kit and fix the mofo because the other dudes on their clinchers were mocking me and the expense I incurred due to puncturing this spendy but lustworthy tire. They rarely puncture, but I did find the guilty glass shard.

Long story short, I carry a Barbieri mini pump from like 1991. It works and will achieve 90+ PSI after about 8,349,293 strokes on the pump. My buddy with the Seven wisely ordered his bike 12 years ago with a pump peg and carries a Silca pump with Campagnolo head. On my Zank and Serotta Colorado Legend CSI and Grandis I carry a Zéfal HPx framepump. But on the Look 585 today there was no pump peg and therefore no framepump.

The Silca took about 15-20 or 25 pumps to get that spare Corsa CX up to 'enuf' pressure to complete the century. I refuse to use CO2 cartridges due to the waste factor and would have made it with the minipump. But the big one got the job done. Quickly.

Why do folks hate these things? They are so good. The longest part of the stop, by far, was removing the flat tire and getting the glue to let go. Putting on the old spare and pumping it up took a max of 120 seconds and probably more like 90.

Here's a quick shoutout to folks who may or may not think about framepumps. But if you are getting a custom steel frame, at least ask about them. Yeah, they're kinda heavy. But so am I. But if properly built they are totally transparent on the bike. No buzz. No rattle. No rattle and/ or hum. Nothing. It's just there when you need it. And when you do there is no substitute. 100 PSI like nothing.

And of story.

Well, not quite...

The third pic shows the transition of the second water bottle cage. This Grandis is nominally a 1987 frameset and has one set of bosses. I wish it had two, but it doesn't. So there. But the frame pump is even more secure on the seattube.

My fancy schmancy Looks have no pump peg and a carbon cage one the seat tube, thus the mini pump and stress with a flat tire. I'll probably be forced to soon acquire a Lezyne minipump with the hose.

[Kevin Maxwell Ostrom]

ilove my frame pump. I have met many people on the side of the road pumping up their tires with a small hand pump. I will almost always stop to offer up my full sized pump. Whan I am out riding with others and someone flats, the first thing after the expletives is the request for a full sized pump. I always carry mine. Soon I will build a frame with a pump peg.

Kevin O.

[ridethecliche]

I think the topeak road morph/road morph g is one of the best frame pumps ever. I used it as my only pump when I first started riding and it was easy enough to get to 120 psi. Awesome pump.

I've had the same one forever now and it's been fine. Even after I forgot it on my roof and had to replace a part in it when it hit the ground. heh.

[Mabouya]

My daily driver doesn't have a pump peg but I carry a frame pump and use one of those Velcro pump-strap things at the front end to hold the pump in place. Works very well and has never let me down.

[znfdl]

I have been using a Zefal HPX since the late 80's. Won't leave home without it.....

[SteveP]

saab,
the rest of the riders got impatient because of your 35 minute funeral for the veloflex crit tire.
they understand the sense of loss but making them form a line and tipping their helmets to the tire is considered too much for those who use clinchers.
and the burial in the churchyard was really over the top.

[Disturbed]

Hell, if you got a hole dug just toss the empty co2 in it.

[JBLANDE]

At the risk of thread drift, Saab: given how reliable those tires are, why the aversion to CO2?

I ask just because I used to carry a pump and now just use CO2. And this because I get a flat about once or twice every 5,000 miles. If I were regularly getting a flat, then I'd understand using a pump/carrying a full-size pump. But given how reliable the veloflex tubulars are, why the aversion to CO2?

(ps: your brakes are already in the mail)

cheers.

[Saab2000]

At the risk of thread drift, Saab: given how reliable those tires are, why the aversion to CO2?

I ask just because I used to carry a pump and now just use CO2. And this because I get a flat about once or twice every 5,000 miles. If I were regularly getting a flat, then I'd understand using a pump/carrying a full-size pump. But given how reliable the veloflex tubulars are, why the aversion to CO2?

(ps: your brakes are already in the mail)

cheers.

Great news on the brakes!

As for the no C02? I just like having a pump I can use for years with no waste.

[AntLockyer]

What I don't like about CO2 is the fear of it not working. I flatted once last year and the CO2 didn't work, luckily my buddy had a pump.

[dsteady]

From the Genuine Innovations website:

"'Can I recycle CO2 Cylinders?' YES! Genuine Innovations’ CO2 cartridges are made of steel and are 100% recyclable. Empty CO2 cartridges can be placed in any recycling bin that accepts metal. Genuine Innovations’ CO2 cartridges contain about the same amount of metal as found in a soup can."

Not disputing the superiority of framepumps, but C02 isn't all that wasteful, I might go through 3-4 cartridges a year. FWIW, I use a minipump to get the tube up to ~80 psi then finish it off with the C02. With a 16gr. cartridge that usually leaves enough for a second flat if I should have one.

[Too Tall]

Might want to give the Park frame pumps a look see. They are very adjustable and I'll bet a clever lad as yourself can find a place to hang it.

[scrooge]

I also like the look of frame pumps better. My Topeak mini-morph is great, but the disruption in lines annoys me.
Thanks for the post, I think I'll go buy a new frame pump this afternoon.

[John M]

Why do folks hate these things? They are so good.

I suspect it comes down to grams. Folks don't want a 230 gram pump weighing them down. (That is about what my trusty HPX weighs).

[itspeedmoore]

Just because a CO2 cartridge can be recycled does not mean its not wasteful. Its takes a lot of energy to melt that steel down and reform it into something new. Everyone who uses CO2 has had one fail and then they are begging to use a frame pump.

[WMdeR]

Why do folks hate these things? They are so good..... [ I ]f properly built they are totally transparent on the bike. No buzz. No rattle. No rattle and/ or hum. Nothing. It's just there when you need it. And when you do there is no substitute. 100 PSI like nothing.

Well, I like frame pumps a lot. I carry a frame pump on all of my bikes, even if I sometimes bring a CO2 inflator for short (<200K) rides in groups (or at lunch--who wants to be a minute later back to work?).

I prefer a Silca pump, personally, with a campy steel head. The Silca is pretty light (a pump that fits a 57 top tube with a steel campy head weighs around 155g, about the same as an "ultraflate" with three 12oz cartridges), doesn't require threading a hose onto the valve stem, and are quick to pump to 90psi or so. If not abused, they'll last more or less forever. They're really simple objects.

However, they aren't idiot-proof.

First, they don't have a check valve, so if you get the tire all pumped up, then try to wiggle the pump off of the valve stem rather than knock it off with your fist, you can dislodge the valve and the air pressure will blow the pump piston back the length of the pump barrel and break the threaded end off of the pump, leaving you with a cracked pump and a flat tire (and possibly a bruise, depending on where you were relative to the pump handle). Funny to watch. Second, they're fast to get to pressure because they've got a large diameter (high-volume) barrel, but, by the same token, they require some strength to drive the last few strokes into the tire. Third, they aren't the most robust of pumps. Hitting someone with one will probably break it (but the Campy head will be okay). Finally, Silcas do rattle a bit after getting used and remounted to the bike under the TT. They settle down eventually once the spring finds a happy spot.

The old Zefal Solibloc pumps worked adequately (and were over an ounce lighter than a Silca). They were indestructible, but they required double pump pegs (good if you're specifying a custom frame, not so fine otherwise) and I never really loved the little hose connectors. The hose fittings always seemed to leak at high pressure. They didn't rattle.

The Zefal HPX is a cockroach of a pump. They aren't light (240g or so in size 4, and my size 2 with an inner-tube boot over the handle weighs about the same), the spring lockout will pack up with grit eventually, depending on how it is mounted (and is unnecessarily complicated), and they're the original ugly stick, but the pump will survive a great deal of abuse, the barrel diameter is small enough that even climbers can pump up their tires to 120psi with them, and the long stroke length makes them much faster than a minipump. Unfortunately, they also can rattle when mounted horizontally.

Cheers,

Will
William M. deRosset
Fort Collins, CO

[atw]

I have had good luck with the Blackburn frame pump. Installed along the seatstay on the left side it is out of the way. It has helped many of my friends after they have finished fumbling with CO2.

[Chance Legstrong]

Radio Freddy says....The Frame Pump | Belgium Knee Warmers

[Saab2000]

The Zefal HPX is a cockroach of a pump. They aren't light (240g or so in size 4, and my size 2 with an inner-tube boot over the handle weighs about the same), the spring lockout will pack up with grit eventually, depending on how it is mounted (and is unnecessarily complicated), and they're the original ugly stick, but the pump will survive a great deal of abuse, the barrel diameter is small enough that even climbers can pump up their tires to 120psi with them, and the long stroke length makes them much faster than a minipump. Unfortunately, they also can rattle when mounted horizontally.

Cheers,

Will
William M. deRosset
Fort Collins, CO

The HPX is a cockroach in that you can't kill it. But on more than one occasion I have had nothing more and did just fine without a floor pump. Not ideal, but manageable. As for the rattling, if the pump peg is properly designed and the location strategic, the rattling is very minimal. The upper two pics I have are of one of my Serottas and my Zanconato and neither rattle enough to think about. No worse than the occasional chain rattle over big bumps.

As to being ugly? Can't deny that.

Oh, and the valve thing? As you know, the cam lever locks the ring around the valve, so there's no pounding involved. Easy on, easy off.

Anyway.... I'm going riding without one shortly as my Looks have no pump pegs....

[Bssc]

Zefal HPX for the win and for the record unless you have a gigantic frame you never need a pump peg, good old friction from compressed main spring does the job. ( even off road)

BTW it is the only option that can last multiple canine attacks