I need a new shock pump. My battered old RockShox analogue one must be north of twenty years old and my squinty old eyes struggle to read the display through several layers of scratches and filth.
So I'm thinking of grabbing a new digital one. My new bike is apparently pretty sensitive to shock setup, so accuracy is important. Or at least, accuracy to itself.
So, options.
A new RockShox one costs circa £50. I can live with that if it's the best option, but it's probably not going to get used loads.
There's a second-hand Syncros SP1.0 on eBay for £35. Looks pretty well rated, but quite old now. Or at least an old design.
Or there's the RockBros option for £25, but I've no idea how good their stuff is.
My fave option at the moment is the Syncros I think. Does anyone have experience of any of them? Any other recommendations?
The rockshox digital one is a rebranded cheap one. Lifeline used to sell the exact same model, as do fox.
That sounds about the same as it was when I had three or four analogue ones from different manufacturers that were identical apart from the branding!
I have the Rockshox one, can't say I've used it much but works well. I think generally Rockbros stuff is a pretty decent budget option (and have the odd thing from them), no idea on their shock pump though
I brought the toepeak digital shock pump. Main reason was I now struggle to read the analog dial! Bit pricey seems well made and found it cheaper than the rrp.
Just an aside, I’ve received a toepeak electric pump at Christmas. It reads the pressure the same as the toepeak digital pressure gauge, so they seem to be consistent, so hopefully the shock pump is too.
I have the Syncros one and like it. It has the "screw onto valve then screw again to open valve" thing which i like as it feels as though you lose less air and the whole process is more precise.
Cheers all - put in a cheeky offer on the Syncros one on eBay, so that should be here later this week. Mostly I liked how green it is.
I have the Topeak one. I have no complaints.
I don't think accuracy is that important, so long as it's consistent. What matters is if the pump can attach/detach without affecting the pressure.
I got the Bontrager one for £60 which I have been very pleased with so far.
Bought a lezyne digital, kept turning on on my toolbox so the battery would then be flat. Back to analogue!
I replaced the analogue gauge and fitted a cheap digital gauge to my rockshox pump and it works fine.
I don't think accuracy is that important, so long as it's consistent. What matters is if the pump can attach/detach without affecting the pressure.
Not this again....
What matters is understanding how the pump and valve work together!
Analogue work fine the problem is the gauges dont give you the required resolution, because it needs to read 0-300ish psi for your rear shock, but your forks might only be at 80psi, and the gauge is not fine/accurate enough to easily tell the difference between 76psi and 78psi - which is the level of detail often required to get your fork working correctly.
The cheapo digital ones, rebranded by lifeline, Rockshox, Fox etc work absolutely fine, and most importantly, are very repeatable.
I replaced the analogue gauge and fitted a cheap digital gauge to my rockshox pump and it works fine.
This is a great idea too, it owuld be useful to know if the most common designs of basic analogue shock pumps use a 1/8 NPT threaded gauge as then there are plenty of options to change this out.
I thought mine was Topeak, turns out it's a Lezyne, still no complaints. It's this one: https://ride.lezyne.com/collections/bike-hand-pumps/products/digital-shock-drive.
:SIGH: As we're getting into this silliness again... As someone who works in selling pressure measurement kit, all the available shock pumps and gauges are a bit pants. I've never seen an accuracy statement* on any of the digital ones (resolution isn't accuracy!!!).
The design of the schraeder valve interface means you cannot lose pressure from the shock upon taking the pump off, unless something is damaged. That hiss is the pump venting to atmosphere.
Realistically, the best you can expect is to set your sag, make a note of the pressure reading and then know that X Sag is equal to Y pressure reading and hope it's reasonably repeatable.
*Where accuracy means Non-linearity, hysteresis and repeatability. Not to mention Temperature Effects, drift etc etc.
The design of the schraeder valve interface means you cannot lose pressure from the shock upon taking the pump off, unless something is damaged. That hiss is the pump venting to atmosphere.
If air starts escaping through the threaded interface before the valve seals air will leak from the system. If it's designed properly this shouldn't happen but if the nose of the pump is to long it could. I guess the main issue is that none of us trust it not to happen and it freaks us out when you get the rush of air out of the pump after undoing. It's obvious this will happen if you think about it but the fact that the pressure it lower when you reconnect because the pressure has to equalise across both pump and shock reinforces the feeling that your loosing air. Even if that's daft.