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What’s the most accurate floor pump? Is the Joeblow Pro any good? I’ve got a cheap one I’ve had for years but it’s only accurate to between 5-10 psi at 50+ so I’m after a better one. Currently I have to pump up to way over what I want and then attach an AccuGauge to fine adjust. I’d rather do it all at once with a digital floor pump but it’s no good if they are all rubbish…
None.
My park tools is miles out
Lifeline, miles out.
Happily I can get them both close as I know roughly how far out they are
Do you want accurate or consistent? One is much more important than the other and also much easier to check.
Most pressure gauges are inaccurate on floor pumps - not least the dial is tiny and the needle large so where you stand is often +-10psi which also means they're inconsistent.
Your accu gauge is possibly better if you can read it consistently, the gauge is any good and recently calibrated for your normal range (I'm doubtful on at least one of those counts, nothing personal - it looks like a sprung rather than fluid gauge?)
Accuracy isn't really relevant for bike tyres, consistency is, and in most cases inconsistent readings are because people, me included, aren't very good at reading gauges, portable small ones like the accu gauge are always going to be difficult to read. (eg you'd like a big fixed gauge under a fixed light to start with so there's no shadowing, increments need to be wide and clear and so on)
For 50+ psi you're on accu guages 160 by the looks of it? That looks like a tiny dial with a huge needle to be reading to (supposedly) 3.2psi accuracy. (looks to be the same size as the 15psi range one that does look like it might be reasonably good to read)
That being said at plus of 50psi does it make any odds if you're at 70 vs 75 psi?
The AccuGage I have is the one that goes up to 60psi but one of my preferred settings currently is 58psi so when I use the floor pump sometimes I go to nearer 70 initially and then the AccuGage hits the end stop at 60 before I let some air out with the button on it, which I’m assuming isn’t all that good for it. It’s very easy to read though - easy enough to hit .5 of any chosen psi with reasonable accuracy - how accurate the gauge is though is another matter…
Perhaps I’ll just stick with what I have although I do hate the attachment bit on my current pump, it’s an oldish Beto attachment that has separate holes for presta schrader and the lever is really stiff. A new head might be a better option…
how accurate the gauge is though is another matter
According to accu gauge at 58 on a 60psi gauge it's not and I won't disagree there.
Also if it is sprung, your suspicion is likely true and it's doing it no good at all.
Their High Volume Road Tyre gauge is what I want probably but no stock anywhere as far as I can see..☹️
Sadly (like many things in life) you get what you pay for.
I recently left a job that I had been in for a long time. Fortunately for me my boss was also a cyclist. So, when it came to a leaving gift, he knew what to get me. Something I would never buy for myself. Something that will hopefully last a lifetime and will always remind me of my time with the company.....
A Silca Super Pista Ultimate Hiro. It is an obscene amount of money for a pump, but the action is incredible, the head is incredible and the gauge is spot on. Worth the money? Nope, absolutely not. It is just a bicycle pump. But it is amazing.
Having made do with a normal track pump and separate digital gauge afterwards, it is pure luxury to use, but not something I could justify for myself.
Silca Super Pista Ultimate Hiro. It is an obscene amount of money for a pump
You could buy a coffee machine for that!
Add a proper commercial gauge to a rennkompressor.
How do you know how accurate it is?
Mine’s digital so you get a good decimal readout, but I have no real idea how accurate it is, nor do I have a way to calibrate it.
How do you know how accurate it is?
I own 4 digital gauges, 2 for racing, 2 for house.
2 are SKS air checker
2 are Oxford
They all read within 1.2psi at 23psi.
Hence I can guage they're fairly accurate.
I have a couple of topeak digital gauges and 3 topeak pumps and they all read within a psi or two at 20. But it could all be a topeak conspiracy
So what digital gauges do you all use then? I have a Topeak one but it’s a bit fiddly to line up with the valve and get minimal air loss when checking - you have to be quick and air always escapes. It only does whole numbers too which as a bit crap.
Silca do a gauge too £££££
Does that ridiculously prices Silca floor pump head have a bleed button? If so does it cope with tubeless sealant. In fact, do any of them cope with tubeless sealant? I always release a spurt of air before attaching my gauge to clear sealant from the valve which obviously also means air loss…
It only does whole numbers too which as a bit crap.
Why would you need to be any more accurate than 1psi?
Do you want accurate or consistent?
I agree. I've a Joe Blow Pro and honestly couldn't tell you, nor care how accurate it is, but front tyre a smidge below "20" on the gauge and the rear tyre at a smidge over the "20" gauge is good enough for what I need, and as consistent as I need
Topeak Joe Blow fat. Gauge is massive but only goes to 30psi. Dismember it and get the gauge calibrated if accuracy is really your thing (takes 5 seconds). As everyone else has said though, it’s consistency you’re looking for.
My Joe Blow is surprisingly really accurate vs my Topeak digital gauge. Also, Decathlon do a decent (SKS?) digital pressure gauge for £20.
Consistency on a pump is fine if you only ever use one pump.
+1 consistency being more important than accuracy for the average joe rider.
Hence I can guage they’re fairly accurate.
No, you can't 🙂
What you need is a pump that when it says X on the gauge always gives you X. It doesn't really matter if X is really Y unless you're obsessed by matching your number to someone else's (which of course is a massive facilitator for science and industry IRL and keeps me in a job) but for making sure your tyres are at your preferences it really doesn't beyond 'what pressure do you run? Dunno exactly but it says 24 on my pump'
If it's that important to actually know I reckon a digital gauge will be better than a dial not least because it removes uncertainty in reading it - no parallax, thickness of pointer, etc. - but even then doesn't necessarily mean it's a true number. And if that vital for bumbling around some woods on a child's toy then either use a digi gauge to check after pumping, or make some time to 'calibrate' your pump against the gauge. If you don't have time for that .... I'd suggest it isn't that important.
This isn't what you asked for but I saw this the other day and I thought it looked very pro! I did wonder which stwer would have one in their garage.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-2VbH7hHqdY?feature=share
I take it anyone looking for super accuracy takes thier pump with them on rides and adjusts their pressures every time they change elevation or the temperature changes?
As theotherjonv said it's just messing about on a kids toy.
My Lezyne digital one seems spot on - have double checked it (using a car tyre as a reference) against both an electric pump with a digital gauge and a hand held digital gage - all within 1PSI of each other which is good enough for me.
I reckon a digital gauge will be better than a dial not least because it removes uncertainty in reading it – no parallax,
Whilst I can see that dosing your self with purgative before inflating your tyres might lead to significant uncertainty I'm not sure that's the OP's issue. It might help with the retentiveness over the 2psi I suppose.
The effect of the heating of the freshly pumped air also needs to be taken into account, as it will subsequently contract when it cools inside the tyre.
Maybe an intercooler is needed in the hose from the pump body to the valve.
And some tyre warming blankets for the riding on chilly days ?
I've got an old (15-20 years?) Bontrager floor pump. 23 on the dial is 23 on my digi doobries (Topeak and Schwalbe).
Obviously, given the dial, 23 is somewhere a little bit over halfway between the 20 and 25 lines, but the dial's at the top of the pump andit's pretty easy to get the needle there. I don't tend to bother with the digi gauges much any more, except for the fatbike where 1psi makes much more of a difference and the motorbike.
The annoying thing is that the head is on the way out, but decent pump heads are as much as a new pump I'm stuck in a loop of being about to pay for a new pump head, then stopping because I may as well get a new pump, then stopping because the one I've got is good and accurate. Edit: just found a decathlon one for £5.49. That'll do.
Adding to the problems with accuracy above, tyre pressures are a massive compromise anyway, if you accidently put 2 psi above your standard go-to pressures in, there will be a good slice of the ride where the higher pressures will be beneficial. And that's just the conditions, before considering how you're going to be riding - I don't always know when I leave the house if I'm going to feel really good and smashing the turns and hitting the bigger jumps.
I feel like a bit of a luddite now as all I do is pump up the tyre and then do a squeeze test. My 20 year old Joe blow does have a dial with pressures but that's not very accurate and more of a suggestion than a guide.
I do a squeeze test and then grab the pump! Maybe:
Hardish = probably hasn't lost much air since 2/3/5/7 days since the last ride, helmet on, out the door.
Softish = lost a bit of of air - needs a bit more.
Didn't check at all = maybe fine, maybe find out on that early turn that I should have checked.
As above, the important thing is reliability - does it give consistent readings. Best thing to do is buy a digital gauge and take it with you on the trail until you find your optimum pressures by trial and error. Then find the indicated pressure on your pump that matches your target pressure on your gauge. It doesn't matter at all whether they match, just that they give consistent readings. It's like a Celsius versus Fahrenheit thermometer - the numbers are different but each reading on one matches to a single reading on the other so you can convert between them.
