Lazy Weekend

It was the perfect weekend to ride a bike yet I was stuck just looking out the window. My bronchitis is getting better but I am still coughing enough to know that any aerobic activity will set me back although it was really hard not to go out and ride.

So instead of another story of my bike adventures I wanted to post a review of the new pump I got. I currently have a Topeka Road Morph

Its a good pump and has the features of a floor pump, including a gauge. The pump is heavier than most bike pumps but is very reliable I and can get any tire up to 100 psi with out too much effort. Since I lead rides I use this pump a lot to pump up tires of anybody that gets a flat. After 3 years the pump was wearing out and I needed a replacement so I wanted to see if there was anything better out there.

I looked at three other pumps. This first one I looked at was Pro Bike Tool pump.

What I liked about this pump was that is was small and light but still had a hose to connect to the value and a gauge that was east to read. I decided not to get this one because although most people thought it was a quality pump most agreed that it was hard to get the pressure much over 80 psi. If this was a pump I used to get me home after a flat that would be fine but since I have to deal with flats on a regular basis with the people that ride with me I wanted something a little easier to pump and could get me to a higher pressure.

The second pump I looked at was the Lezyne Micro Drive HP Pump.

This thing is not only a compact floor pump it is also a work of art. Joe had this on his new new Soma Sans Marcos bike a few weeks ago and it looked great on his bike. This is a great pump but it is about twice as heavy as the current Road Morph I carry. I don't really care about the weight but it is also very bulky so it might be hard to find a good mounting place on my bikes for it. Although this would look great on my feather I went for something easier to carry.

The pump I chose was the Topeka Turbo Morph. This is essentially the same as the Road Morph but will a better gauge.

It also pumps at a higher volume. As you can see from the comparison below it is almost the same as the old Road Morph. There are some minor changes in the design. The head seems better built and the hose doesn't extend any more. I am hoping the internal parts a a little better to so that maybe this pump will last a little longer.

For me the Morph pumps are a good trade off between weight, size and function. When I or anybody I ride with have a flat I want a pump that I is almost as good as a floor pump so I know I have enough pressure in the tire and don't have to worry about pinch flats.