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Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump

7
£37.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Solid, easy-to-use pump that does the job without being especially exciting
Weight: 
1,430g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Specialized's Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II floor pump is a generally decent pump with a couple of thoughtful touches that make it friendlier and easier to use. It's a solid entry in a very crowded market; well worth considering but without anything that makes it utterly compelling.

  • Pros: Comfy handle, easy-to-use smart chuck
  • Cons: Not really "all-metal"

The SwitchHitter II part of the Air Tool Sport's name comes from the 'smart' chuck, which easily accommodates both Presta and Schrader valves. The lever then closes it firmly around either type, and it releases easily too. With some floor pumps, you need to really yank the chuck to get it off the valve when you're finished. That's not the case here, all you need is a gentle tug, so you're less likely to damage the tube, and the washer that seals the valve should last well.

Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump-4.jpg

> Find your nearest dealer here

With the chuck firmly clamped round the valve, it's time to start pumping. The handle is really nicely shaped, with a cross-section that almost looks like an aerofoil. No, Specialized hasn't taken to designing pump handles in the wind tunnel. That would be silly. Rather, the shape provides a flat section to press against and a round area for your fingers to curl around. It's a nice touch.

Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump-2.jpg

It took 30 strokes to get a 28mm tyre up to 90psi with the Air Tool Sport, compared to 29 with my old faithful SKS Rennkompressor. There are faster track pumps out there, but they tend to have other problems, like difficulty getting to high pressures for light users or mechanical complexity. Zefal used to make a floor pump, the Double Shot, that pushed air into your tyres on both the up and down strokes. It got tyres – even fat tyres – up to pressure in a dozen strokes, but its fiendishly clever concentric shafts and all-plastic construction made it more than a little fragile.

The Air Tool Sport doesn't feel fragile at all and I got a tyre to the maximum 160psi fairly easily, though the last couple of strokes did need quite a bit of oomph with most of my 95kg behind it to shove the air in. If you want to pair the Air Tool Sport with a separate tank to blow tubeless tyres into place it'll do the job, but there will be tubeless tyre and rim combinations where it won't work on its own.

Getting that 28mm tyre up to 90psi was easy for me, but my partner's 55kg daughter struggled. This is a perennial problem with floor pumps. Petite or svelte riders just don't have the mass to shove the plunger all the way down at higher pressures. Switchable pumps like the Ravx Dual Phase or Bontrager Dual Charger can help, and light riders would be better off with a pump like that than with the Air Tool Sport.

There are three places a floor pump maker can put the gauge: right at the top of the shaft; by the foot; and somewhere in the middle. Specialized has put the gauge down low where it won't get damaged if the pump falls over, but the downside is that it's not as easy to read when it's all the way down there. A movable arrow on the outside of the dial provides a more-visible indicator of your desired pressure.

Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump-3.jpg

Nicely executed as the SwitchHitter II chuck is, its plastic construction is a slight cause for concern. A recent user report on Specialized's own website mentions the head coming away from the hose at high pressure, though I had no such problem. The body of the chuck is attached to the hose with a plastic nut and while it's all acceptably thick and dense, I'd really like to see more pump makers offering a metal smart chuck for improved longevity and general robustness. Topeak has one on the Joe Blow Ace Dx, but that's a £140 pump.

> Buyer's Guide: 15 of the best pumps and CO2 inflators

Browse any of the big online retailers and you quickly realise you're spoiled for choice when it comes to mid-range floor pumps. For about the same money as the Air Tool Sport, the Crank Brothers Gem quickly inflates fat tyres too, while the slightly pricier Bontrager Dual Charger boasts a bigger gauge as well.

Compared with those pumps, the Air Tool Sport has a nice, solid feel, even though it lacks some features. If you want an unfussy pump that just gets on with the job, it's well worth a look.

Verdict

Solid, easy-to-use pump that does the job without being especially exciting

road.cc test report

Make and model: Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump

Size tested: One

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

It's a floor pump, for everyone who needs to get air into high pressure tyres.

Specialized says:

"This economical, all-metal Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II Floor Pump comes with all of the essentials for easy inflation and an accurate reading."

Can't argue with most of that, but "all-metal" is a stretch. There are plastic components holding the shaft to the base, conveying the air under the base and holding the hose in place.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Specialized lists:

2" (50mm) oversized gauge is easy to read with excellent accuracy.

New ergonomic Wing handle.

All-steel construction on base and barrel.

42" (110cm) hose length makes the pump easy to use.

Auto selecting SwitchHitter II technology.

Max pressure: 160 PSI (11bar)

Volume-per-stroke: 326cc

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

Everything is tidily finished and feels solid.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Gets your tyres to pressure with acceptable speed, and the SwitchHitter II chuck is very easy to use.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

There's too much plastic here to expect it to survive being kicked around a professional workshop the way an SKS Rennkompressor does, but for a home user it's plenty robust enough.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
9/10

The Wing handle is really rather nice.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

The construction quality and smart chuck are pretty much exactly what you'd expect for £37, so it's neither unusually expensive nor unusually cheap.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It works well. Air goes in your tyres, and the two main features, the Switchhitter II chuck and that shaped handle, do their jobs really well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Faff-free Switchhitter II chuck means I can inflate the Schrader and Presta-equipped bikes in my family's fleet without hassle.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

A bigger gauge would be nice, but that's nit-picking.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

For the features on offer, and particularly the well-executed and very effective smart chuck, the price is right in the ballpark. It's a bit pricier than the Fabric Stratosphere, but it's more solidly constructed, and it's cheaper than the Crankbrothers Gem, compared to which it lacks the dual-action feature but has a tidier smart chuck.

Did you enjoy using the product? Insofar as pumping up tyres is ever something to get excited about, yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

This is a good floor pump, hence the score of 7/10. It's not shiny and exciting and it doesn't have any fun gimmicks like a bleed valve or a digital display, but it inflates tyres easily and is overall simply nice to use. It's a proper reliable tradesman of a floor pump.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 5ft 11in  Weight: 85kg

I usually ride: Scapin Style  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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5 comments

Avatar
ktache | 5 years ago
1 like

Still on my Topeak Joe blow deluxe, almost 20 years, second plastic smarthead, and had to combine them a month back to get one good one.  When I first got it, the SmartHead was like magic,  it just KNEW.  Bit disappointing when I had to open it up, rather simple little mechanism.  Took away the wonder.

I am liking the look of the all metal smarthead on the DX, I suppose I have to wait until until I can no longer bodge the two I've got, £35 is a bit steep for a pump head.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

I actually use two Spesh Airtool MTB for all my road bikes, bloody brilliant pumps, however for the last 12 years I was using a s/hand metal bodied oxford branded track pump for home, last summer it finally gave up the ghost.

Was about to pull the trigger on a new pump when I remembered I'd bought a replacement some 8 years ago, a metal barreled BETO from LIDL for £5, in fact I'd bought three and gave two away, I've found it to be a really good pump and the dial is very accurate (tested against a Schwalbe digital guage).

My 10 year old grandson can use it easily to pump up his tyres, the head unit is a cinch to put on and take off, honestly I'm not seeing in my limited experience of 'budget' pumps that you can readily purchase ones that offer everything a home user needs that ones £30+ don't do any better nor offer better longevity.

Avatar
peted76 | 5 years ago
1 like

lol that's exactly what I read! 

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

Is it just me, or did anyone else read that as switchHitler?

Avatar
Chrisbpr replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes
HawkinsPeter wrote:

Is it just me, or did anyone else read that as switchHitler?

 

 

glad it wasnt just me....

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