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Seeing how 2-3psi seems to make quite a big difference to my new 36's I thought I might invest in a digital shock pump to take the guess work out of setting the pressures.
Any recommendations? I was looking at the Lezyne ones which I think STW reviewed and seemed to think were pretty good?
I've just spent a grand on fox 36's so not super expensive but on the other hand I've just spent a grand on fox 36's so a few quid on a shock pump to make them work properly is probably money well spent...
cheers in advance.
Had a look at a few. Eventually went with the Syncros as I liked the idea how the head worked and liked the colour. Had it a few years and not needed a new battery yet
https://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/the-best-mountain-bike-shock-pumps-45707/
A shock pump is a shock pump, just because its digital does'nt mean its accurate, as long as its consistant , your average digital pump is no way going to be accurate to exact psi.
The issue is being consistent when the gauge is so small and the needle covers half the distance between 70psi and 80psi and literally a couple of pumps from 'somewhere in the bottom third of between 70-80psi' and 'somewhere in the top third of between 70-80psi' means the different between 25% sag and 15% sag.
and literally a couple of pumps from ‘somewhere in the bottom third of between 70-80psi’ and ‘somewhere in the top third
eh? That's what the pressure releases button's there for.
What I mean is it's hard to set it accurately and consistently. I want to be able to say ok 72psi means it's 25% sag, 74psi is 28% sag 76psi is 30%.
Whether it is actually 72 or 76psi is less import than reproducibility.
Do you find analogue clocks difficult to read too? Serious question.
I could understand if you were struggling to tell if the pointer was showing 72 or 73 psi but struggling with the the difference in pointer position between 72 and 76 sounds a more than a little fetched to me.
A digital gauge is undoubtably nicer to read. If you think that's worth it go ahead and spend the extra money on one. I don't think you have to make things up to justify your purchase though.
Two things I'd add - as others have noted, a digital guage gives the impression of greater accuracy/repeatability but likely to be an illusion.
From research on analogue gauges for my track pump they're all only accurate around a small range in the middle - the reason most track pumps aimed at road bikes go up to about 200psi is becauase that means the 100psi you want is in the most accurate part of the guage.
You can buy low pressure shock pumps that will be both more accurate and easier to read at the pressures you want (or you could buy a new guage from eBay and convert one that you already have - they're all using off hte shelf parts) .
eg this one
has nice clear 2 psi increments around the right part of the guage. (not checked thread size or anything else)
well I bought the Lazyne digital shock drive. I find it good, reliable and I can read it without my specs on! Big recommend. Nicely made bit of kit too.
well I bought the Lazyne digital shock drive. I find it good, reliable and I can read it without my specs on! Big recommend. Nicely made bit of kit too.
same here, and it's tiny so take hardly any room in the bag
I could understand if you were struggling to tell if the pointer was showing 72 or 73 psi but struggling with the the difference in pointer position between 72 and 76 sounds a more than a little fetched to me.
In all the ones I've used the needles can be a little sticky at times, slow to respond at times and yeah about as thick as 2-3psi
Mate in my old LBS just used the fox digital when doing any kind of service, it just reads the number nice and easy. Why piss about with something else.
I have the Lezyne one - nice and small and the chuck is good in that you don’t lose any air when taking it off - but I don’t like the hose attachment to the main body - is probably buy one again tho
and the chuck is good in that you don’t lose any air when taking it off
...like most other shock pumps, the air is coming from the pump valve ,not the shock or fork
Most shock pumps come from one place. The wiggle one looks like a fox/rockshox/rfx all of which work fine but the lifeline is half the price. My RFX is consistent with my shockwiz FWIW. Well consistently 2 psi different which I would consider acceptable.
The lifeline one is on offer at Wiggle for £25 at the moment.