# Bike Pump: High Volume or High Pressure?



## TripleB (Dec 21, 2012)

Looking to get a smaller non-CO2 pump to carry with me and have been checking out the ones by Lezyne that are offered in 6.7" and 8.5" lengths.

The question is should I be looking at the High Volume series or the High Pressure series?

I'm currently riding a GF Mamba mountain bike with Bontrager H2 26x1.50 tires but am planning to move to a road bike in the future...was going to be next Spring but due to the cost of adding a trailer hitch and hitch rack the purchase of a road bike will probably be delayed by 6 months or more.

Thanks for your help!

TripleB


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## stuarttx (Jun 25, 2016)

I have a small Nashbar pump that is can pump HVLP amen then if you twist a collar at the bottom it switches to LVHP. I used it for several months before I even realized it could switch that way!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

The high pressure one is the more versatile, if you need something that will work for both fat and skinny tires. You can pump a big tire with it; it will just take more strokes. But the high volume pump will have a very difficult time getting to the high pressure at all.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

I think much more important is to get a pump that has a hose between the shaft and the chuck, not one where the chuck is right on the shaft. This will greatly lessen the chance of inadvertently breaking the valve stem off while pumping. IMO, this is much more important than whether it is rated for high pressure or high volume.

This is the one I use. It can be used for either road or mountain tires. It even has a convenient fold out foot pad to give you extra leverage while pumping. I can easily get up to 100PSI with this one:

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/pro..._medium=base&gclid=CK78han1k88CFcUmhgodGmgCig 

https://www.rei.com/product/735866/...183695794120&gclid=CJza-_n0k88CFQNkhgodcHwCYQ


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## TripleB (Dec 21, 2012)

_*Thanks for all the help so far.

Any recommendations for a tire pressure gauge...obviously the pumps I'm looking at don't have one built in?

Thanks.

TripleB*_


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Lombard said:


> I think much more important is to *get a pump that has a hose between the shaft and the chuck, not one where the chuck is right on the shaft.* This will greatly lessen the chance of inadvertently breaking the valve stem off while pumping. IMO, this is much more important than whether it is rated for high pressure or high volume.


Definitely. Pumps with the chuck right on the shaft are horrible. A hose makes things much easier.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Jay Strongbow said:


> Definitely. Pumps with the chuck right on the shaft are horrible. A hose makes things much easier.


A member here had a discount code for the these, a good pump, even at full price:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DAHMR00


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

TripleB said:


> _*Thanks for all the help so far.
> 
> Any recommendations for a tire pressure gauge...obviously the pumps I'm looking at don't have one built in?
> 
> ...




I don't carry a gauge with me. The objective is to pump the tire up enough to finish the ride comfortably. Unless you have unusual upper body strength, it will be very difficult to overinflate a road tire with a mini pump.

Use your "tactile gauge" as in when it feels hard, you're good to go. Then pump up to correct pressure at home with your floor pump. Try to get a feel of what correct pressure feels like in your tires. In fact, you can experiment with this at home to see how high you could actually go with your mini pump, then attach your floor pump and see where the floor pump gauge is.


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## n2deep (Mar 23, 2014)

JCavilia said:


> The high pressure one is the more versatile, if you need something that will work for both fat and skinny tires. You can pump a big tire with it; it will just take more strokes. But the high volume pump will have a very difficult time getting to the high pressure at all.


Absolutely High Pressure!!! Although I only carry an inflator and cartridges and ditched the mini pump.


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## TripleB (Dec 21, 2012)

Lombard said:


> Use your "tactile gauge" as in when it feels hard, you're good to go. Then pump up to correct pressure at home with your floor pump. Try to get a feel of what correct pressure feels like in your tires.


That's what I'm trying to do, but being a 'newbie' to riding on a consistent basis I'm having a bit of a problem...maybe!

I pump my 26x1.50 tires up to what I feel and looks to be the proper pressure...start out on my ride, look down at my rear tire, and it looks more "flattened out" than I think it should. But then I think about my car tires and they are flattened out as well so maybe the pressure is correct.

Thanks for your input.

TripleB


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

TripleB said:


> That's what I'm trying to do, but being a 'newbie' to riding on a consistent basis I'm having a bit of a problem...maybe!
> 
> I pump my 26x1.50 tires up to what I feel and looks to be the proper pressure...start out on my ride, look down at my rear tire, and it looks more "flattened out" than I think it should. But then I think about my car tires and they are flattened out as well so maybe the pressure is correct.
> 
> ...




No, no, no. What I am saying is that I don't carry a gauge with me *on the ride*.

*At home*, I definitely have a *floor pump with a gauge on it*. That is the one you should be using before you start a ride.

Use this link to determine what pressures you should be running based on tire width and your total weight (fully clothed rider, bike, water bottles, etc.). 37mm is close enough to 1.5 inches, so use that for your width. Use the *2nd box*:

Bicycle tire pressure calculator


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

Lombard said:


> Use this link to determine what pressures you should be running based on tire width and your total weight (fully clothed rider, bike, water bottles, etc.). 37mm is close enough to 1.5 inches, so use that for your width. Use the *2nd box*:
> 
> Bicycle tire pressure calculator


I can't stand guides like that! If I went with the pressures described in the link, I'd either blow up my tire, or get constant puncture flats. Maybe because I don't follow stuff like that, and discovered my ideal pressures is why I haven't had a flat on my road bike in a long time.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Peanya said:


> I can't stand guides like that! If I went with the pressures described in the link, I'd either blow up my tire, or get constant puncture flats. Maybe because I don't follow stuff like that, and discovered my ideal pressures is why I haven't had a flat on my road bike in a long time.



Before you poo-poo it, keep in mind that people generally underestimate the total weight figure. Let's say you weigh yourself in your birthday suit first thing in the morning at 170. OK, bike clothes don't weight a lot, but shoes and helmet will bring you up to 175. A road bike is roughly 20lbs. That brings you up to 195. Two full 24oz. water bottles add 3lbs. Add 2lbs. for anything else you may be carrying, more if you carry more stuff. You're up to 200lbs. Your 170lbs. is your weight in the morning before eating or drinking anything. Add 5lbs. for this error. You're now at 205lbs.

25mm tires carrying 205lbs. using this link gets you to 70 front / 110 rear. With 28mm tires, you get 60 front / 92 rear. You will not have pinch flats or blow outs at these pressures unless you do something really stupid. In fact, you will have much better control over the front of the bike when going over rough surfaces. 

Doesn't sound so outlandish now, does it?


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## GKSki (Nov 12, 2014)

Chances are now good that you jinxed yourself and can count on a flat next time out.


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

Lombard said:


> Before you poo-poo it, keep in mind that people generally underestimate the total weight figure. Let's say you weigh yourself in your birthday suit first thing in the morning at 170. OK, bike clothes don't weight a lot, but shoes and helmet will bring you up to 175. A road bike is roughly 20lbs. That brings you up to 195. Two full 24oz. water bottles add 3lbs. Add 2lbs. for anything else you may be carrying, more if you carry more stuff. You're up to 200lbs. Your 170lbs. is your weight in the morning before eating or drinking anything. Add 5lbs. for this error. You're now at 205lbs.
> 
> 25mm tires carrying 205lbs. using this link gets you to 70 front / 110 rear. With 28mm tires, you get 60 front / 92 rear. You will not have pinch flats or blow outs at these pressures unless you do something really stupid. In fact, you will have much better control over the front of the bike when going over rough surfaces.
> 
> Doesn't sound so outlandish now, does it?


I agree with you on underestimating weight. However, the pressure of the guide is still far higher than I use with success on my road bike. Maybe it's due to the wider rims I have? Maybe it's because I know how to "ride light"?
The best number I got for the rear wheel according to my heaviest bike+rider+gear on the back tire is 122psi! I usually ride about 95psi in the back, sometimes lower if the roads are very rough to reduce fatigue.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Peanya said:


> I agree with you on underestimating weight. However, the pressure of the guide is still far higher than I use with success on my road bike. Maybe it's due to the wider rims I have? Maybe it's because I know how to "ride light"?
> The best number I got for the rear wheel according to my heaviest bike+rider+gear on the back tire is 122psi! I usually ride about 95psi in the back, sometimes lower if the roads are very rough to reduce fatigue.



Really, if you are getting 122PSI, you should probably move to a wider tire. Though if you are running lower pressure with no problems, I wouldn't sweat it.

At first, you gave me the impression you were getting lower pressure figures than you thought you could run. Turns out it's the other way around.


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## knezz (Aug 10, 2013)

n2deep said:


> Absolutely High Pressure!!! Although I only carry an inflator and cartridges and ditched the mini pump.


 That was my previous thought but after having a cartridge fail on me I now carry both cartridge and a Lezyne Road Drive in my shirt.

After a 5 mile walk in my stocking feet, I learned my lesson.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Theoretically I'd favor the high volume over high PSI because I never use over 90 psi and even if you do 90 is good enough to be on your way so why not get more per pump.
But I say theoretically because what most mini-pumps say the max PSI is and actually getting that are generally two different stories. Mine is rated for 90psi but around 70 I'm done with trying to get more.


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