Specialized Air Tool Mini - Small but perfectly formed
Bike pumps live a tough and sometimes short life when in my possession. I expect them to work, properly. Being an incredibly picky professional mechanic has given me very little patience with poorly designed tools. Pumps don’t have to do much, so it’s amazing how many do that single task badly.
I’ve lost count of how many I’ve tried out over the years, so my current pump was right to be nervous when I plucked it from the shelf, it needn’t have been. The Specialized ‘air tool mini’ has now been strapped to my bikes for about 4000 miles, through all weathers. I haven’t had to treat it with kid gloves, far from it, I’ve treated like all my tools, it does it's job or dies. I don’t expect to have to maintain my tools.
The air tolo mini, isn’t good because of its features, it’s good because it has so few, it pumps only on the downstroke, its not carbon and has a reliable pump head (invert the internals to change valve!). It is plenty small and strong enough. Its size does mean it can take a while to inflate a big tyre, but it’ll reach 100 psi with ease without needing arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It’s small, neat, dull and works, and keeps working. If you need a mini pump (if you haven't got one, you need one!) buy one!
Posted by Chris







