Electric Pumps for Dummies

[Ming the Merciless]

I’ve yet to see anyone using an electric pump out on the road. Are they not a bit of a niche fetish?

 

[fossyant]

I’ve yet to see anyone using an electric pump out on the road. Are they not a bit of a niche fetish?

Well, some swear by them. I use my normal pumps so little (and no I don't have tubeless) a battery one would be flat by the time I went to use it.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Well, some swear by them. I use my normal pumps so little (and no I don't have tubeless) a battery one would be flat by the time I went to use it.

So you can’t fix a flat because it’s flat?

 

[screenman]

Why not carry both a mini pump and one of the electric pumps? just slide it in your pocket before you leave home, makes sense to me.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Why not carry both a mini pump and one of the electric pumps? just slide it in your pocket before you leave home, makes sense to me.

And a CO2 cartridge in the opposite pocket.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I would say it depends on whetehr you are thinking of use at home or out on the road

On the road - no
at home - well I have on occaision thought it would be handy to use the one that came with my car
but taking it out to the car would be a pain. but I have thought about having an adapter from 13A to the car power socket type thingy (I still call it the cigarette lighter) so I can use the car pump in the back garden
at the moment I have a cheap track type pump which is great but as I already have decent electric one in the car it would be nice to be able to use it

 

[screenman]

And a CO2 cartridge in the opposite pocket.

I must admit I use CO2, I might invest in an electric pump though/

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I have an electric pump in my desk drawer at work. There is no space for a track pump and a mini pump, whilst good enough to get me home, isn’t great for getting the pressures I want. It’s a relatively inexpensive one from Amazon, and a little bulky for riding with, but very good for my use case.

 

[kingrollo]

There are a few threads on electronic pumps and I’ve written about my personal experience with them.

I’m able bodied and would always reach for the track pump at home. Going out I carry either a Lezyne or Topeak mini pump. The Lezyne has taken to removing valve cores but that is another story. I do have a shoulder issue and when tired at the end of a long ride I can struggle to get a tyre hard with a mini pump. To address this I considered CO2 or electric as back up. I decided to give a Fumpa nano a try and it’s pretty good. It will inflate a tyre to finger test hard with one charge, or top up a couple of partially inflated tyres. It recharges quickly e.g. while you are having a coffee or from a power bank. It is about the size of a matchbox and weighs very little. The obvious downside is the need to keep it topped up. I’d not want to rely on it completely without a mini pump on a long ride but as a get out of jail free card it works well. Other models with more capacity, but potentially more weight, might be a better balance for some folk.

Get out of here with your well informed and sensible pro + cons post.

Say they are crap and remind people they have two arms !

 

[Seevio]

I have just bought an electric mini pump having looked into them after seeing this thread. I would say that for the times when I would absolutely need it, I.e. put on the road, it is probably not worth the money for the amount of times I would expect to use it. Saying that, it takes up less space than a mini pump and is clearly easier to use. It also compares favourable to my track pump although if I use it at home it would have to be not immediately prior to a ride.

The disadvantage is the limited battery capacity. The number of times the avarage tyre can be inflated from flat on a single charge is in the single digits. This means that ideally you want the pump to be fully charged before a ride just in case. Not an especially onerous task but it's why you don't want to use it at home before a ride if you have a manual pump to hand.

Lastly, I have two arms and can use a manual pump. I also have two legs and can walk and yet I still ride a bike.