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I keep being bombarded with adverts for these little micro pumps.
Anyone bought one ? Any good ?
Just why? A landfill bound solution to a problem that a pump solves many times over.
I had a vague idea that there was one which effectively acted as a mini compressor - so the battery/pump filled a resevoir which then gave you an immediate shot of air enough to seat a tubeless tyre - effectively replacing CO2 rather than replacing a minipump.
Or did I dream/misunderstand this product?
Just why?
Leaves you with a hand free to puff on your throwaway vape?
These are just small electric pumps. Expensive and bulky compared to a reliable Topeak Road/Mountain Morph, which needs no charging.
Didn't go down well when I told someone that, when they were boasting about it.
I'm presuming all these mini pump advocates are still running tubes and carry a camelbak on every ride?
I find mini pumps are about as likely to bend the valve as they are inflate the tyre, and they take ages. CO2 canisters are useful but often need a top up from a pump anyway.
I haven't seen much to suggest the USB pumps are great right now, but if they can develop something that fits in a pocket or frame storage, is reusable, and fills a tubeless 29" I'd be throwing my money at it.
I find mini pumps are about as likely to bend the valve as they are inflate the tyre, and they take ages.
Get a "midi" pump then, one with a hose. Mine still fits in my pocket (but it usually is in my camelbak or clipped to the frame).
CO2 canisters are useful but often need a top up from a pump anyway.
So far i'm looking at the thick end of 25 years of CO2 use (mostly racing) and not yet needed to top up, even after i transitioned to tubeless. So "often" might be pushing it. (Though puncture rate with tubeless has gone from occasionally to "i can't remember the last time").
Dave Rome (tech writer at Escape collective and previously CyclingTips) rates the Fumpa pumps highly.
Think you should be able to read this without membership https://escapecollective.com/mini-electric-tyre-inflators-nanofumpa-vs-cycplus-cube-review/
If it can Bang ~80psi into a (tubed) road tyre than they sort of make sense to me. But there is a good chance these are just future landfill.
I now run TPU tubes on my Summer road bike and those apparently don't play nicely with CO2, so I am going to be sticking to a pump anyway for that, having an air squriter that requires minimal effort is nice, but reliability trumps all other considerations, and if theres a rechargeable battery, there's an oportunity to forget to charge it as well as variable UK weather to degrade it.
Even if I got one, I'd still carry a pump of some sort, which then sort of defeats the supposed compact & convenient selling points.
Take one on holiday as it's better than my mini pump and takes up no room.
Edit..it's a fumpa pump and was a gift. I wouldn't buy one.
I find mini pumps are about as likely to bend the valve as they are inflate the tyre,
You can't design out ham-fistedness.
I'd quite like a usb powered one for my motorbike but wouldn't even consider one for an mtb to be honest.