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Zefal FP50 Floor Pump

Zefal FP50There comes a point in every cyclist’s life when the standard on-bike or mini pump is no longer enough. Cast down in frustration for the final time and swearing to finally invest in that overdue garage-ready floor pump, isn’t it time you invested? But where to start? It’s possible to spend upwards of a £100 (yes, we’re looking at you Topeak Joe Blow) whilst at the other end of the spectrum sits the likes of the LifeLine Performance at little over £20 – which leaves Cyclo looking mid-pack at the Zefal FP50…

 

At £44.99 the Zefal FP50 also sits mid-range in the company’s own offering of eight models, but has much to recommend it and frankly nothing substantial to dislike. In red and black Zefal colour-ways the FP50 isn’t light at over 1.7kg but with both a steel barrel and base (the latter making for good stability) the extra bulk makes sense for robustness – and, of course, it’s a floor pump so you’re unlikely to consider hefting it about with you anyway.

 

The hose is a fairly generous 1.1m and it’s capable of delivering 180PSI, whilst the red bevel swings into action to mark out the desired pressure and ensure an accurate fill. This is also helped by an over-sized (80mm) dial and, for good measure, a magnifying window that swings with the bevel mark; there’s really no excuse for getting it wrong with the Zefal FP50. The handle, a lighter-weight dual-composite, is comfortable and the piston action feels effortless even when filling to higher pressures or trying to squeeze in those final few BAR.

 

The FP50 also neatly overcomes the fiddly job of Presta and Schrader switching thanks to the pump’s ‘Z-Switch system’, where a slide of the switch on the fill head quickly replaces one for the other. However, the slightly plastically feel to the head (and switch system) was the one area that smacked of ‘weakest link’ failure point – time will tell…

 

Buy cheap, but twice is so often the case and top-end floor pumps – whilst potentially giving you a longer lifespan of use – seems disproportionately costly. For us the Zefal FP50 feels like a solid option in more ways than one.

 

Further details of the Zefal FP50 and the extended range at zefal.com

 

 

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Zéfal Air Profil FC01

Zéfal Air Profil FC01Zéfal have a solid reputation for both value for money and the quality of product that said money gets you. The Zéfal Air Profil FC01 is no exception to either of these rules, coming in at less than £20 and being solidly built despite the slightly plastic feel.

 

The thermoplastic construction is reinforced with an aluminium stem, meaning there is rigidity and muscle where it’s needed most, and, thanks to the telescopic barrel, the Profil almost doubles its stowed length of 200mm when in action. This more substantial  ‘action-length’ means that a pressure of 6bar (87psi) was easily achieved and a tyre, from flat, was fully inflated in less than 150 strokes. Cyclo found we hardly broke a sweat even squeezing in those final few strokes.

 

The connector is integrated – so we won’t have to dump it with the dozens of other discarded pumps that have lost them – and switching between Presta and Schrader involved the simple unscrewing and reversing of the connector end. Flexibility is good to, so reduced chance of damage to the valve stem, and the connection itself felt rock solid. The chunkier design makes it (probably) more suited to MTB, as does the bike mount – with Velcro fastenings, which doesn’t lend itself to bottle cage integration.

 

At 116g the Zéfal Air Profil FC01 is mid-weight and the extra bulk actually makes for a more comfortable grip and easier refill. A full five pounds cheaper than the similarly featured Topeak Race Rocket Master Blaster Mini Pump (£24.99) it’s easy to see why Zéfal maintain such a good budget option reputation.

 

For further details and to find a retailer see zyro.co.uk or take a look at the video below (in French, but don’t panic – subtitles provided…)

 

 

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Zéfal Air Profil

If you’re looking for exceptional value for money when it comes to buying a micro pump then the Zéfal Air Profil certainly fits the bill. At less than £15 it’s the kind of price you would expect to pay for a bog-standard all-plastic affair for your kid’s bike; but does buying cheap mean buying twice?

 

On the contrary the Air Profil seems remarkably well constructed given the price point – you could easily double (and then some) for the price of other manufacturers – and although the handle is plastic, the barrel, stem and thumblock are all aluminium for rigidity and, hopefully, longevity.

 

230mm in length and weighing in at 92g it achieves 8 bar (116 psi) with ease, but being a mini pump there is work to be done in fully inflating a tyre – it took us just shy of 180 strokes to completely refill a flat, but even squeezing in those final few puffs required little effort, with a good valve connection throughout and a comfortable, ergonomic handle design which didn’t leave any unwanted pressure sores. Cyclo’s only word of warning is that the screw cap for reversing the Presta/Schrader connection was initially so tightly secured that it required a multi-tool to shift the first time out – not something you want to have to deal with on the road with freezing fingers.

 

Not surprisingly the pump attaches to the bike frame via the water bottle mounts and the clip that holds it in place is augmented by a Velcro strap. This might, at first glance, look almost literally like ‘belt and braces’ but it does an excellent job of insuring that it’s still there when you need it.

 

A decent o-ring to prevent water entering the chamber between the stem and body should be something you check for whenever buying a pump and with the Air Profil you get not only this but a second sliding o-ring on the body which simply slips out of the way when pumping; a nice touch which many more expensive models neglect. Cyclo have had this pump on test for a month and so far no sign of any slacking off in parts or action despite some fairly rough handling. It remains to be seen if a mini pump at this price will truly withstand the rigours of a full winter, but so far we’re impressed by this budget model.

 

For further details and to find a retailer see www.zyro.co.uk

 

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Extras Reviews

Specialized Airtool Mini

Specialized Airtool Mini

Specialized airtool miniThe Specialized Airtool Mini is one piece of kit that Cyclo can, without question, describe as having been seriously put through its paces, mostly because it’s been our on-bike in-a-crisis pump of choice for several years and so has rarely been off our radar.

 

Now, at a tiny 25cm you probably wouldn’t want to use this as day a day to day pump – it takes an age to fully inflate a new inner and the flat grip end is positively blister-inducing for extended use – but weighing less than 100g it’s near faultless for roadside emergencies. With an aluminium handle shaft and chamber it ships with a bottle boss mount and can even, according to Specialized, “fit in a jersey pocket” – though to be honest we’d hate to meet anyone with a jersey quite that big.

 

The locking head (a good secure fit without any sign of leakage) converts from presta to schraeder valves and a neat added touch is the cap end which unscrews to reveal a glueless mini-patch and micro sandpaper. On a pedantic point the manufacturers did claim that it came supplied with mini-patches (plural) rather than the measly single patch that ours contained, but the compartment is nonetheless a fun bonus feature that could even be used for squirreling away a jelly bean or two to cheer yourself up in the event of a flat.

 

The newest iteration from Specialized has a very sleek carbon fibre-effect finish (Cyclo’s is brushed-metal but still, we think, pretty classy) and at less than £15 remains an utter bargain. Despite its size and weight the airtool mini is also surprisingly robust. Ours has survived more than one quite spectacular wipe-out and even remained un-dented when dropped from a third floor window. The latter not so much a controlled experiment as a freak accident, the details of which are too embarrassing to recount.