Pfffffffffff. The sound of compressed air suddenly escaping from the tyre is something nobody likes to hear on a ride. After all, if you have a flat tyre, you're usually out of air for the time being. On the road, a spare inner tube can help, and then it's time to pump, pump, pump - at high pressure.
But that's where the problem often starts: Only if you have a good pump can you quickly get back on your bike and continue riding. But which pump quickly and reliably creates a new high-pressure zone in the tyre? The traditional puncture fixed. After all, the puncture service shouldn't take longer and be more sweaty than the training lap. The pump should also be easy to transport. If it stays at home because it doesn't fit on the frame or drills holes in the jersey pocket, it has failed to fulfil its purpose.
The achievements of technical progress, which have long since overtaken even such a simple structure as the air pump, occasionally distract from the actual task of the air compressor; sometimes it is hard to tell whether they are useful technical details or pure gimmicks when fold-out handles, telescopic tubes, valve clamping levers, dual pistons with different diameters and even small pressure gauges accompany the handling of the pumps. Do they make pumping easier? The test will find out.
All pumps in this test:
Barbieri Pompita, BBB Windraid Windstorm, Silca Impero, SKS Rennstar, SKS Wese Mini, Topeak Master Blaster large and Pocket, Zefal HPX 3 and HPR Graph
(Text: Matthias Borchers)
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