Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made

[lumpy]

Clearly.

Mostly on the track, going in circles, so when I'm on the road, I guess I just go hog wild and think there's so much to be found in a right turn or a stoplight. Wow! There are obviously those out there who have explored more off the beaten path than I.

I only meant compared to nudists and donuts.

[Matthew Strongin]

Peter Weigle modifies Lezyne pumps with a spring to fit between pegs:



https://www.flickr.com/photos/49353569@N00/14758111824/

Are those pump-pegsticles?

[Chad]

Are those pump-pegsticles?

My first thought as well, just couldn't come up with a catchy name other than balls.

[j44ke]

Not a frame fit pump. Instead it is a travel pump I got after receiving a gift certificate from my father & not being able to find anything at the corresponding shop that I needed. Works very well. Various rubber o-rings in the pump head are routinely available at hardware stores as far as I can tell. Haven't taken it apart beyond that. I figure a travel pump + small carry-along pump is the best of both worlds. Has the added benefit of looking like a small sniper rifle in my luggage, resulting frequent TSA fondling of my dirty underwear and sweaty cycling kit that I pack in the top layer of my clothes.



I also have an old Silca w/Campy head that came with my Raleigh Professional, but my carry-along pump is an old Blackburn Airstik from a long while ago. Why more pumps don't come with T-folding handles I know not. With it I can do 90 psi easy.

[j44ke]

Peter Weigle modifies Lezyne pumps with a spring to fit between pegs:

I once found an Ad Hoc pump that P. Weigle often includes with his bikes but thought then that it was just any old pump. I think it was $5 or $10 in a used craptastic bin at a shop in Tempe AZ.

[9tubes]

Wow. I never thought there would be so much variation in view on this topic. To me, frame pumps are retro, and retro means Silca, and it's only cool if it's painted to match the bike.

It used to be that you could spot a custom bike from 50 yards (yeah yards, we didn't have meters back then) by a color-matched Silca. It grabbed attention like a quail flying past a Black Lab.




.

[Noteddy]

..., and it's only cool if it's painted to match the bike. ...

It used to be that you could spot a custom bike from 50 yards (yeah yards, we didn't have meters back then) by a color-matched Silca. It grabbed attention like a quail flying past a Black Lab.
.

Like this one? The pump is not the bike, but it sure takes this one up a notch. Happens too infrequently.

[TMB]

basic question, that I may have missed .....

Is the HPX still made???


I could really use a couple of them.

[Loknor]

Tskkk... a simple visit to their ssite is all you needed

HPX Classic - Zéfal

[TMB]

Wow. I never thought there would be so much variation in view on this topic. To me, frame pumps are retro, and retro means Silca, and it's only cool if it's painted to match the bike.

It used to be that you could spot a custom bike from 50 yards (yeah yards, we didn't have meters back then) by a color-matched Silca. It grabbed attention like a quail flying past a Black Lab.




.

No.

Frame pumps are infinitely useful, indispensable tools that allow you to ride your bike worry free.

They are also environmentally friendly. They are carried by any sensible cyclist.

[Loknor]

my carry-along pump is an old Blackburn Airstik from a long while ago. Why more pumps don't come with T-folding handles I know not. With it I can do 90 psi easy.

REALLY???? I Hated that thing with a vengeance. after two punctures I went back to the HPX.

My advice for a minipump: The quicker pro; Bicycle mini pumps

I never had a better minipump.

[David Tollefson]

I've had several of the Blackburn Airsticks. I preferred the first gen push-on head, but unfortunately lost it out of a trailer... The thumb-lock ones are "okay", but latest one I have has a twist-action lock-on, which works better. But the T-handle is a must for mini-pumps, IMO.

[Mark Walberg]

.......There's no way to use those pumps on the road without putting some lateral force on the valve as you pump. Sooner or later you're twisting or bending the valve stem. ......

The answer I've found for this problem is to find a fence post or road sign post to rest the pump head on. This makes it A LOT easier. With a Silca like this, you can get any pressure you need reasonably quickly. The worst was when I got a slow leak that let me go about 1 mile, and my spare had a worse leak. I was looking for posts every mile all the way home.

[Mr B]

In my bid to join the Big Boys Proper Frame Pump Club, I eyed up my frameset, did some measuring and decided to try placing a Zefal HPX#2 in this position:



The length of the pump is fine, but I'm a little wary of its security particularly considering its proximity to the rear wheel.









The seatstays are too tight to seat the pump fully 'under' the NDS stay. I thought a strap could help secure it there, so there's a velcro placeholder for now.
I also think another (rubber?) grip/strap of some sort could be used to secure the pump handle down close to the dropout. Any suggestions on what to use?

The frame has no pump peg/nipple on the HT, so I erred towards the rear location. Would I be better off returning this pump and ordering an HPX#3 for use under the TT (strapped in place - no pump peg)?

[jt10000]

I'm curious to try out the Topeak, but you can have my HPX when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

I've got Topeak on one bike (to fit along the left seat stay) and Zefal HPX (under top tube) on another. The Zefal seems a little more solid, though in reality the Topeak has been just as tough. The Topeak seems a little sleeker. Both much much better than Silca.

[jt10000]

Zéfal HPx for the win. First pic about 2 weeks ago with the Serotta S&S traveler and the next pic a day or so after Ballers 2012.

Swix straps?

[jt10000]

In my bid to join the Big Boys Proper Frame Pump Club, I eyed up my frameset, did some measuring and decided to try placing a Zefal HPX#2 in this position:



The length of the pump is fine, but I'm a little wary of its security particularly considering its proximity to the rear wheel.









The seatstays are too tight to seat the pump fully 'under' the NDS stay. I thought a strap could help secure it there, so there's a velcro placeholder for now.
I also think another (rubber?) grip/strap of some sort could be used to secure the pump handle down close to the dropout. Any suggestions on what to use?

The frame has no pump peg/nipple on the HT, so I erred towards the rear location. Would I be better off returning this pump and ordering an HPX#3 for use under the TT (strapped in place - no pump peg)?

I've had pumps mounted like this a years - sometimes with the lowerpart on the chainstay/dropout as you do, and sometimes on the tip of the quick-release lever. I use a strap as you have. It works fine, but the one problem is that water/gunk from the road tends to get to the pump. I've tried to cover the edge of the handle with a sort of boot made from an inner tube, which helps. But this position seems to kill pumps faster. Under the top tube is much better for the pump - the only downside to that position, if it can work on your bike, is if you tend to lift the bike a lot with your hands/shoulders.

That said, I don't trust a pump under the top tube without a pump peg on the headtube.

[thollandpe]

The frame has no pump peg/nipple on the HT, so I erred towards the rear location. Would I be better off returning this pump and ordering an HPX#3 for use under the TT (strapped in place - no pump peg)?

I've made a pump peg out of a stainless #10 washer and 1/4" ball bearing, epoxied in place. Bent the washer to the curve of the head tube, ground a little flat on the ball.

[Mr B]

I've had pumps mounted like this a years - sometimes with the lowerpart on the chainstay/dropout as you do, and sometimes on the tip of the quick-release lever. I use a strap as you have. It works fine, but the one problem is that water/gunk from the road tends to get to the pump. I've tried to cover the edge of the handle with a sort of boot made from an inner tube, which helps. But this position seems to kill pumps faster. Under the top tube is much better for the pump - the only downside to that position, if it can work on your bike, is if you tend to lift the bike a lot with your hands/shoulders.

I went for the rear-stay solution on account of living in a 3rd-floor apartment and shouldering my bike up and down stairs every ride. If I were to fit and remove an HPX pump under the TT every ride I expect the paintwork would be chipped to hell in no time. Not ideal, as I plan to upgrade from this frameset in the next year or so.
I thought I saw chrome clip-on pump pegs somewhere online, but can't find them for sale - does anyone know where I could get one? Then I could simply move the HPX#2 to the TT and hold it against the ST with said clip-on peg.
The upside-down nature of the pump as it is now does lend itself to water and crud dribbling down into the handle.

TH, the bearing and washer is a fine idea. If I had any means of bending and machining metal, I'd probably go for it!

[Too Tall]

Silca frame pump is inevitable. I held the prototype in my hands recently and its all that and a bag of chips. When that becomes available everything else becomes less than ;) AND it will be available to your favorite framebuilders disassembled ready for paint. Yes!