B'Twin FLP 700 Floor Pump

The B'Twin FLP 7000 is a cheap, effective pump for garage/shed/support car use.

The twin foot metal base and aluminium body of the FLP 7000 give the pump a sense of solidity, and despite the shaft being a little rattly in the tube you can hoik down on the handle with confidence. It doesn't take long to get a road tyre up to pressure even if it is via just a single slim barrel without the girth or double-chamber fancies of other pumps. You can get to 100PSI in a 23mm tyre with ease in under 30 strokes, so it's a pretty useful pump.

The gauge at the base of the FLP 7000 promises that it can go up to 160PSI/11Bar should you wish, but you have to have pretty good eyes to see that as the face is small and a long way away (height dependant). Luckily there's a bright orange arrow on a rotating bezel that you can align to your preferred pressure to make correct calibration easier from several feet up, and the accuracy seems up to bar, I mean par.

The pump head is of the common twin-head variety with separate holes for Schrader and Presta valves, and there's a locking lever to keep it tightly clamped to the valve so you can use both hands for thrusting. It works well and after some considerable use the valve rubbers haven't become chewed and baggy, so it still pumps efficiently. It would be nice however if the valve heads were colour coded in some way so you could instantly tell which one was Presta or Shraeder without having to look for the tiny 'S' and 'P' embossed on the head or peer inside at the internals each time. It's a niggle that can easily be solved with a dab of paint or nail varnish though.

The pump hose wraps around the top of the handle to keep everything tidied away when idle but it's a little short when you need to put it to use, requiring frequent shuffles closer to the bike. This stunted tube is also mildly annoying when the bike is up in a workstand, so you have to spin the valve to the bottom for the pump to reach. It shouldn't be a big issue really but it leads to muttering every time.

The rubberized grips on the handle are comfortable enough for thwapping with, but it's a nod to the FLP 7000's bargain price that they're not stuck on and can slowly work their way loose over time. It's a simple job to slip them back on, but still. Then again, twenty quid.

Verdict

Great pump for amateur use, and cheap enough to carelessly throw in the back of the race vehicle