Topeak Tyre Pressure Gauge

Last night went to Mezda's house and brought home the goodies they brought for me from America.

Yet to be unpacked

Of course, I had paid for them but thanks to Gublai and Mezda/Boudi for the help in terms of buying them on my behalf and then carrying them here. I had procured three items. A pair of trekking poles from Black Diamond, an Anker solar charger and a Topeak smart digital tyre pressure gauge. 

The first item that I unpacked was the Topeak tyre pressure gauge.  The official name of the unit is Topeak SmartGauge D2. I attacked it first because this is the item that is necessary almost on a day to day basis. The most attractive feature of this gauge, which is why I bought it, is that it can measure the tyre pressure from both Presta and Schrader. It's digital and the measuring unit can be any three - psi, bar and kg/cm2. I chose psi because that's the unit we still use here in India (though every thing else is in metric system).

Features explained

The unit is battery operated. Last time when I had a puncture on the road I came home with 20 psi pressure in the front tyre. That's because I didn't realise how much air I had pumped. I just felt the pressure with my fingers and it seemed fine. Filling a tyre with 20 psi pressure when it requires nothing less than 60/70 is potentially dangerous. If you hit a pot hole or a stone you might get snake bite leaks. If I had this in my saddle bag that wouldn't happen. So getting a tyre pressure gauge for the saddle bag is a must. The problem with gauges is that in India you get only Schrader valve gauges - basically for cars. Presta pressure gauge is unheard of. Even in the West they aren't so common. My two bicycles have two different types of valves. Mampu's is an even third type but in terms of pumping or gauging it is as good as a Schrader. Technically it's called a Dunlop valve.  Life becomes easier if you have a gauge that can check both type. In fact if you think about it, I have a car, a motorcycle, three bicycles. I have to measure tyre pressure of all these. And this can gauge them all. Like one size fits all answer to my pressure gauging.

Therefore, when I saw that here was a gauge at $32 that can measure both the types I just grabbed it.

The unit feels fairly robust and well made, despite being made of plastic and in Taiwan. It runs on a small button cell battery (the supplied battery is a Sony). You turn the machine on, choose the valve type by turning the switch as per requirement. The valve shape is illustrated so that even confirmed idiots don't mess it up. Then you just hold it on the valve and press it in. Of course before that turn the cap of the valve loose, like you would if you were to pump the tube. This is for the Presta valve. There is a small beep and you can see the reading. There is a small amount of pressure loss when you engage the unit. But that, I suppose, is negligible.

I am yet to use it on my Schrader valve tube. But interestingly enough, the mouth of the nozzle does not change the shape whether you turn it to Presta or Schrader, like it does in a pump. I shall see tonight how it works on the car. I think I am going to carry this in my saddle bag from now on and also when I go long distance driving. I have asked Mampu to make a small cloth bag for it. Don't want to put too many scratches on it just yet.

The unit has another useful feature. Suppose you want 60 psi pressure and you find the tyre has 70, you can put it on the tune mode and slowly release the pressure bit by bit by pressing the yellow star like button and the display shows the change continuously - just like in petrol pumps. This will be convenient and useful for those who do not have a pump with a pressure gauge. My home pump has it but the road pump does not. But then overfilling a tube with that Park Tool pump is perhaps out of question.

Language, Timothy, language

Park Tool PMP 4 Mini Pump

Today I got delivery of the Park Tool PMP 4 Mini Pump at work. I bought it online from Happy Earth - a store in Bangalore that stocks various top quality brands. I guess they are the official importers of Park Tools in India. They also import other reputed brands for cycling accessories and components.

I bought this as a supplement to my Firefox regular floor standing pump. While that remains the main pump at home (and it works very well too), this new pump, being extremely handy, will accompany me on my long tours. Whenever I go out cycling, I am mortally scared of a puncture out on the road. I have a new spare tube in the saddle bag of my road bike, as a precaution, as well as few tyre levers to take out the tyre. But I doubt that I will ever get a Presta valve compatible pump anywhere on the streets in India. So the tube would be as good as useless unless I also carry a Presta to Schrader adapter, which is not available in Calcutta. Touchwood, so far I have not had any puncture since I started cycling at this old age. But I know, it is not a question of whether but when. I must be prepared. 

This particular pump came equipped with the system to accommodate both Presta and Schrader valves. As it came from the factory it was set for Schrader type valves. I changed it for my Presta valve road bike. I tried it out immediately. It works just fine. Of course the strokes are small so I will need to pump in a lot of times but that's fine and better than nothing. I did an actual mock test with the tube inside the tyre. With all my strength I could pump it up to only 30 psi (as measured by the gauge on my floor pump), which is ridiculously low for the rear wheel and somehow acceptable for the front wheel.

But something is better than nothing and if at all I use it on the road, I have to be careful not to hit a major pot hole and reach the nearest pump as soon as possible or home - whichever is closer.

Only problem with this pump is in the absence of a gauge, one has to depend on manually pressing the tyre to check if it is good to go. This pump is rated for 90 psi, which is fine for me. Being lighter than 65 kg I go for 85 psi in my rear wheel and 60 for the front. In an emergency situation the exact pressure is not important to know. Just ensure that it is hard enough not to give a pinch puncture and pedal on. But I have half a mind to go for this. Problem is it's more expensive than the little pump itself :-) But of course it can be used in the car and motor bike as well. But before getting it I also need to buy a Presta to Schrader adapter. Otherwise I cannot use it for my road bike.

The pump comes with a bracket to attach it to the frame. I have not quite been able to work out how to use it. The back pocket of my cycling jersey, I guess is good enough.

This is how the pump is mounted. The bike is mounted in my DIY stand

The above review was published on April 23, 2018. However, it was written in October. As per my record I had placed the order on October 24, 2017. Exactly six months ago. Would have got it in a few days. 

Firefox Foot Pump

Bicycles can have any of three types of valves on their tubes. Schrader, Presta or Woods valves. Road bikes usually come with Presta valves. They are thin with a nut on top. If you loosen it, you can release the pressure by just tapping on the tip. This is what my Scultura 200 has. Woods (or Dunlop valves) are our good old bicycle valves. I believe all Dutch bikes have this type of valves. Geetanjali's ladies' Hero has this type of valve. The other type is the Schrader valve that even cars have. My converted Hero has this type of valve.

This effectively means I have all the three types of valves in my house !!!

One of the first things I had to buy after Someshwar set up my bike was a Firefox floor pump and this review is for that. 

Supratim had recommended the brand. On his advice I took the one with a pressure gauge. The precise name of this model is Air Pro. They have a small carry along model too. But I chose the stand up traditional style floor pump. My bike needs 120 psi air pressure in the tyres. And it is best to be self sufficient because the automotive tyre repair shops may not have the nozzle for presta valves. Also it might be dangerous to use them on the super thin tubes. Because the total volume of air in them is ridiculously small and it would be easy to blow off tubes there. 

Since my previous experience with a bicycle pump is some 40 years old and I had a particularly bad specimen that never worked (keeping it tight on the valve itself was a major challenge) I was bloody impressed by this pump. It has an alloy barrel. The foot-peg is plastic. So is the handle. They seem cheap Chinese but they work. The pump is well made and doesn't seem it's going to come apart.

From zero to 120 psi, my 700x23 road tube took about 15 full strokes of this model. It gets hard from 80/90 psi. But if you are strong enough, it should not be a problem to pump it as hard as 120. The pump is officially rated for 160 psi. Frankly I don't think it can do that. Even at 120 it is really really hard.

Presta valve

The nozzle in this pump can be used to pump both Presta and Schrader valves. Or so I have been told. Initially I thought this was a lie. It's not. It can certainly pump up my Presta and Woods but not my Schrader. There is a reversible nozzle. One side is for Presta/Woods. The other side is for Schrader. Changing it from Presta to Schrader is a little tricky. But it does work. I will probably write a separate how to for that some time later.

The Woods valve on Mampu's Hero

So my pump can be used to fill in air in both my Merida Scultura 200 with a Presta valve and Mampu's ladies' Hero with a Woods valve and also my Hero MTB with a Schrader valve. But in real life I use the Good Year compressor. 

Schrader valve

My Scultura loses air pressure if I leave it idle for a week. The pump is quite a help for me. It locks fairly easily on the valve with a thumb key. And then all you need to do is just pump hard. 

As with most such items, the worth of this pump will be evident after at least one year's continuous use. I have used it only a few times so far. It has been hassle free. I shall review this review after a year. 

Incidentally the better international brands like Topeak or Crank Brother etc are not easily available in India. But this internationally unknown desi Firefox brand serves its purpose pretty well. I am sure its a Chinese import.

Before going out on a long trip, I will need a smaller carry along pump. This is too big for a long trip. I wonder if I can use the Firefox branded small pumps. Once I do that I shall review that too.

I have asked Goobs to bring me a few Presta to Schrader adapters from the US. Once that comes along, I can use the foot pump for all three types of wheels.

Additional Points Worth Remembering

I have used the pump for a few months now. Let me write down the experience. It is not so much a review as a how to for myself. I tend to forget things and have to once again go through the entire learning process. 

The nozzle can inflate two types of tyres, as I said. For Presta valves the side of the interior nozzle (green plastic) that has a tiny little spring should be facing up and come in contact with the valve when you are trying to inflate. Otherwise, if you have the pointed side up, then it will press out all the air from the tube !!! The pointed side is for Schrader valves. But just changing that green plastic is not enough. You have to reverse the other rubbery small cylinder also.

Point number two to remember - the locking mechanism works by pressing the thumb lock up or down. When you press it down it is unlocked. When you push it up it is locked. This is a bit counter intuitive. But that is how it is, universally.

The steps are as follows 

1. Unscrew the cap off the cycle valve. 
2. Loosen the nut on top of the valve and test by tapping on top. A little air will gush out with a pssst sound.
3. Align the nozzle vertically above the valve and press it in with the thumb lock in the loose position. It should go in and click lock itself somewhere. You can feel the click. The spring inside the green plastic should be absolutely vertical. 
4. Pull the thumb lock up and start pumping.
5. 0-100 psi took me 30 pumps. 
6. I filled close to 120 psi.
7. Once you take off the nozzle don't forget to tighten the nut on the valve.
8. If you have OCD like me you will go back to check it again and again :-)