Track Pump Recommendations

Joe Blow Sport 3.  Just does the job. 

Just taken delivery of a Giant Control Tower 2-Stage, £30 from Tredz.  As well as HV and HP settings, the gauge is huge, with a larger scale from 0 - 40 psi, then smaller to 160. It's accurate to 0.5 psi, according to my Jaco digital gauge.  The pump head works with Clik valves (pressure gauge works), Presta and Schrader. Should mention it in the PSA thread really.

I recently bought a Joeblow Booster. 

I'm not that impressed tbh. 

I suppose it blows tyres up ok but...

The head is tricky to get on without releasing a load of air that's already in the tyre. The PSI gauge is hard to read accurately (BAR is better defined I suppose). The booster release of air seems quite slow, but it's the first one I've used so nothing to compare to

SKS Rennkompressor.

Joe blow with schwalbe clik head adapter and clik valves here 

I've not owned (or used elsewhere) anything that's perfect for everything.  It's a lot to ask a pump to be accurate both at mtb pressures (15-30psi ?) and at 80-100+ for road use and the high pressure pumps I've had have been hopelessly inaccurate at mtb pressures.   The ones with the non-linear (is that right?) gauges look interesting.

I ended up with:

- SKS Rennkompresser that's got a 0-60psi gauge fitted in the car for topping up/checking tyres before riding (with dual pump head so can use for the car tyres too)

- Lezyne floor drive fitted with a Hirame pump head in the workshop

- Airshot for seating tyres.  

(and and ancient Silca with an SKS EVA head that lives in the hall coat cupboard with the Bromptons that have Schraeder valves).

How long did you joe blow last, and can it not be resurrected with a Joe Blow rebuild kits

I'm on my second JB sport and as the first lasted 15+ years (probably 20), I'm struggling to see past them for the money & availability of spares.

I was given a SKS Rennkompressor, it does have a higher pressure range, but I rarely use it as I much preferring my JB.

I have a couple of lezyne floor drives. One high pressure, one low pressure. Both fine, but I had to strip down and rebuild/relube the high pressure one in the last year. The gauges are nonsense though, so I use a handheld topeak digital gauge. 

What pressures do you run for road? I just about get away with the Joe Blow Mountain EX which is up to 60psi for MTB, Gravel and Road as I run around 60psi in my road bike so I just max it plus a pump for good luck.

The extra volume it pushes is so much better for MTB and gravel tyres, and even works well when the van tyre went flat too which was handy!

I much prefer a digital gauge so we have a SKS Air Xplorer Digi which works well enough for both mountain and road tyres. It's only downside is it's a bit big. 

Bontrager Dual Charger Track Pump in Red

I have one of these.  I like it a lot, has a switch to change between high volume and high pressure and the head works really well.  Nice long hose, very stable base and big gauge you can actually read.

FWIW, I've recently been given a Silca Terra to replace 3 pumps (Leyzene CNC floor drive, Joe Blow sport 3, Joe blow fat pump) that died in many and various ways. It's bloody lovely. The actual pumping is of course the same, but the chuck is excellent and the gauge is not only accurate (tallies with 2 other pressure gauges), but by an absolutely country mile the most useful I have ever used. Handle is a lovely thing to hold/use as well. 

Just fixed a JB Sport with a new seal kit for about £6 delivered. 

Lidl, £10. Say it every time. With a Fillmore valve it take 4 pumps to get a tubeless tyre up 🙂

Posted by: big_scot_nanny

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the chuck is excellent

Silca Hiro chuck is excellent but not as easy to use as SKS Clik

I use a Joe Blow Max II which is fine but if I had to replace it I'd go for the Bontrager Dual mentioned above.

Hirame chuck wasn't cheap, but it's been way better than any the Birzman or Lezyne heads it replaced

Halfords Advanced Track Pump - best I’ve used.

SKS Rennkompressor (and an additional standalone pressure gauge for accurate readings)... That or a Makita 18V inflator...

I have both...

Both are absolute game changers!

Almost 20yrs in the industry, much of it working in or running shops, much of it working directly for a tyre brand... I wish I'd stopped faffing with other track pumps long ago and just got a Rennkompressor much sooner... And then Makita made an 18V inflator to fit their existing range of drill batteries (for which I had a couple already) and that's moved things on again, albeit at a cost that many wouldn't be happy spending...

+1 for "2 pumps", road gravel and mtb have really different requirements. Joe Blow Mountain X is £32 and just basically does everything right. Big volume low pressure which is ideal for mtb in general and tubeless too. I prefer their 2-sided head rather than the single one but it still does the job well.

Honestly fancy chucks is one thing that bewilders me, a boggo basic chuck done right does the job superbly. But companies know that by the simple method of doing it wrong they can get us to buy an expensive pump and then upgrade it. So frustrating. I fell for it once and got some handcrafted brass thing that could only do presta, had the worse release valve in the world, and bloody hurt if you banged it off your leg. The best I own now was £2.99 off aliexpress, it's a bit of cheap plastic and rubber with a lever and it just works. But it's not artisanal.

Gotta get a Renn. You’ll need to change the washers in the head every few years. You’ll. ever need another track pump. 

I really like my Lezyne steel track pump, but I would probably get the digital version if I bought it again. But it’s been bombproof for over 10 years. 

Posted by: mboy

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SKS Rennkompressor (and an additional standalone pressure gauge for accurate readings)...