In the interest of keeping Xiaoqin's Ritchey Road Logic as light as possible, I opted not to install a regular air pump, but instead to stuff a CycPlus Tiny Pump into her saddlebag instead. We bought one during Prime Day for $72 (which is expensive but cheaper than many competitors), charged it up, tried it to see how it worked, and then forgot about it until September, when she had a flat tire during a ride.
To my surprise, the device was still charged and happily pumped up a spare inner tube that we had with us to full operating pressure (which admittedly was only around 50psi for 700x32mm tires). It saved me a bit of pumping on a hot day, and I'm impressed that the charge stayed good for so long.
The caveat with these pumps is that you cannot use them with a TPU tube --- the heat of the electric motor running would melt the plastic valve stems on those tubes. That's a small limitation in my book. If you're hooked on TPU just install them on your bike and then carry a standard tube as a spare and you can have the best of both worlds. Or you can buy an extension hose (which is not very practical to store or carry!).
Recommended.
1 comment:
I have this pump as well. The heat is the only real problem -- you can easily burn yourself trying to close the Presta valve. That said, there are a couple TPU tube brands that have metal stems, so that at least helps with the heat dispersion. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4CNS9N7
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