Lezyne Steel Floor Drive Pump

If you've ever experienced the crappy plastic chucks that are standard on most bike pumps you've undoubtedly used some choice expletives while trying to inflate tires that use presta valve stems. I've had a number of such pumps and had resorted to using a schrader to presta screw-on adapter as a work around--workable but a real PITA. I had the opportunity to remember how bad those pumps can be during a recent vacation when I packed the bikes on the bike rack and the pump in the trunk but left the schrader to presta adapter sitting on the work bench.With the old pump retired to a dark corner of the garage it was time to look for a replacement. I initially hesitated ordering this pump because of the price. I'm glad I ordered it as this is by far the best pump I've ever used. First there's the construction; excellent old school quality and built without plastics! The base and gauge housing are cast aluminum. The gauge has a clearly marked pressure scales (PSI and Bar). The handle is a solid piece to hardwood bolted on to the pump shaft. And the hose is long enough to allow inflating while the bike is mounted on a work stand. But the real beauty is in the two way screw-on chuck which completely eliminates the hassles of typical pumps. The chuck screws onto the valve stem for perfect positioning and seal every time. There's even a small pressure relief valve on the side of the chuck to allow you bleed pressure from the hose before removing the chuck from the valve. As an added bonus, there's a clip on the base of the pump that allows you to secure the hose when the pump isn't being used. Simply drape the hose over the handle, pull the hose taught and clip the chuck in place.One minor oversight is the lack of storage for the pin and cone inflator that are included with the pump. I'm sure I'll forget those on the workbench when the pump comes on our next vacation.Other than that--perfection! As other reviews have mentioned this is likely to be the last pump you'll ever own so go ahead and splurge.

I got this pump mainly for the connector -- a screw on design instead of the usual push-and-hope-it-works configuration. In addition it has the bleeding system whereby pushing a button on the assembly releases air in the hose before you remove the connector.And why should this matter? I have Presta valves, great to look at and durable but easily bent by pumps that have the clamp on fittings. That type of design often involves wrestling to get the fitting on and then wrestling again to push the clamp over for a good fit. Invariably that leads to bent valves that usually fail shortly thereafter. In addition, back pressure still left in the hose prior to disconnecting can cause wear damage to the valves, too.But there is a rub here. If you have the smooth Presta valves with no threads this pump isn’t going to work. Since it screws onto the fitting you must have threads.Otherwise this is a well built pump made of mainly metal that looks like it should last quite a few years. Do appreciate the extra long hose and positive nozzle connector on the base, too (videos shows the hose easily fitting into its connector on the base but that isn’t true -- you’ll have to stretch the hose some).Why dump a star? The valve connector is plastic. Great quality control otherwise but then they cheap out and use plastic for the main part?

What follows is my original positive review. I only used it a few times and now it does not drive any air at all, therefore I have modified my rating.-------------------------------------------The Lezyne Steel Floor Drive Pump is perfectly suited for use on Woods-Dunlop valves. Using the Lezyne pump on the Express type valve, the gauge shows and holds the tire pressure accurately. Using the Lezyne pump on the traditional Woods-Dunlop valve, the gauge exhibits the pressure variation described below… a property of the valve, not of the pump. I am very pleased with my purchase.I purchased a cargo bicycle made in the Netherlands which has Woods-Dunlop valves on the tires (traditional type on the front and express type on the rear). Although it would be possible to change the inner tubes to the more common Schrader or Presta valves, it seemed wasteful to me not to use the original equipment tubes until there was at least some other reason to change them (wear or puncture). Also, since much of the rest of the world still successfully uses Woods-Dunlop valves, thought that I should be able to use them as well.J.B. Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire, and C.H. Woods improved Dunlop's original valve design. This design is elegant, which is likely why it is still used in parts of Europe, and it is simple (therefore economical to manufacture), which is why it is used in the 3rd world… a person with skill and time could make one of these valves out of aluminum rod using only a small drill and a file. Also, since this valve is completely separate from the tire tube, it can be moved to a new or repaired tube if necessary… but that's not something we are likely to do in the US. Although newer versions of this type valve ("Express Valves") use a modern spring-loaded valve mechanism, the traditional Woods-Donlop is simply a tapered metal tube with a hole in the side, covered by rubber. As air is pumped in, it displaces the small piece of rubber tubing on the valve allowing the tire to inflate. When pumping is stopped, the rubber again covers the hole in the side of the valve, keeping air from escaping, and the tire inflated. Since (for these valves to work) they need not be manufactured to strict tolerances, they often are not… so the threads on the valve may be less than accurate. Because of its design, filling the tire to a specific pressure is also somewhat less accurate: With each pump, your pressure gauge will jump past the desired pressure because the pump must overcome both the existing pressure in the tire and the resistance of the rubber which is part of the valve. Then as the valve closes, the pressure is recorded accurately only momentarily, because the pressure soon leaks out of the pump tubing (not, however, the tire), maybe because of inaccuracy of the valve's threads. Since the Woods-Dunlop valve body is the same diameter and thread pitch as a Presta valve, a pump which screws on a Presta valve will fill a tire with a Woods-Dunlop valve. Screw-on Presta to Schrader adaptors are available which will increase the valve diameter so that a screw-on Schrader pump may also be used. A push-fit pump attachment may not fit onto a Woods-Dunlop properly due to the much shorter length of threaded area above the shoulder on the valve in comparison to a Presta or Schrader valve.