the last few strokes before I gave up were hard work. Probably good for the chest muscles, or something.
And therein lies the problem with any pump that plugs directly onto the valve: you're trying to compress the pump between outstretched arms. Of course it's hard work. On the other hand, a pump with hose has the freedom of movement to brace your left hand holding the cylinder against your knee, making it nearly as easy to use as a track pump braced against the floor.
Until I was about 50 I used traditional aluminium pumps that fit between pump pegs with a hose in the handle, the last one was ~35 years old when it expired, and I never knew what a PITA pumps and pumping could be until I was forced to use something else.
The first alternatives I tried were the cheap Zefal plastic ones, but the first jumped out of the pegs and got lost, and the second melted: the heat softened the plastic to the point where the little brass bush that the hose screws into extruded itself out of the end of the cylinder. I tried a pump that plugs onto the valve, with the obvious result, so that went back to the shop. I repaired my aluminium pump and used that for a while, but what made me give up with it in the end wasn't the pump itself, it became impossible to find good quality hoses once they were out of fashion and only used by 'weirdos' like me. Half a dozen uses and they developed aneurysms, and burst like bubble gum.
hose is a good idea as it's possible to pull the valve away from the tube during furious pumping with a normal one
Being as my pump is the only thing between me and a 20 mile walk when I get a puncture, I've always regarded pump reliability with the seriousness it deserves. You need something simple and good quality, with nothing much to go wrong and standardised spares that are readily available, just like pumps always used to be until some bright spark thought they needed 'improving'.
I’m currently trying an electric Fumpa nano pump. It’s about the size of a matchbox and makes a loud farting noise, but does inflate from flat to 80 psi in less than a minute.
They're great aren't they. Until you get a puncture in a storm in the middle of Rannoch Moor and find the battery's flat.
i carry a topeak road morph
I bought the Turbo Morph because I preferred the dial type gauge to the inline one, but it has a larger diameter cyclinder so it's getting hard work by 70-80psi. Fortunately my tyres are rated at about 80psi max anyway, so I got by. It's the best of a bad job, but it's just a hotch potch of unnecessary bits & pieces to get broken and leave you stranded.
Kind of you to say so.
