Cannondale Airspeed Max

Length: 27cm
Weight: 238g

Most mini trackpumps have a sort of lock, or click, which encourages the foot plate to stay at 90° to the rest of the pump when extended; the Airspeed Max’s foot plate lacks this and the pump can wobble around a bit. This means you have to wedge your heel and calf right up against the barrel to try to maintain stability, which limits room to manoeuvre when pumping away. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s a bit irritating.

Use with both Presta and Schrader valves is super easy: a double-sided, screw-on chuck at the end of a generous length of hose means access to even tightly-placed valves is fine and there’s no dis/re-assembly required. In common with other screw-on chucks, though, care is needed not to remove the valve core along with the chuck when you’re done. Tiny rubber caps to stop grit getting in are firmly attached to the hose (for now at least), though I can foresee them getting lost at some point due to the wear and tear of rattling around in a bag for ride after ride.

The handle is a fold-out version: once out, it stays out and avoids trapped fingers, though folk with large hands might want it to be an inch or so longer as it’s on the stubby side. Air transfer is perfectly acceptable, with high and low-pressure modes available via a switch at the bottom of the body; it’s undeniably easier inflating large-volume tyres with a pump like this than it is with a hand-held version, though as everything folds away neatly in line it’ll work like that too. It’s a functional and ordinary mini-track pump, only needing a sturdier footplate and perhaps an extra inch on the top.

Review Info