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review
Pumps & CO2 inflators
Revolution Air Track Pump Sportrevolution-air-track-pump-sport

Revolution Air Track Pump Sport

9
by Shaun Audane
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Mar 18, 2009

0
£14.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Nothing budget about the build or performance
Weight: 
1,247g
Contact: 
www.edinburghbicycle.com
How we test

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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The price of three bog standard inner tubes buys you Revolution’s Air track pump Sport. Intended for the home workshop there’s nothing budget about the build quality. The steel barrel resists all but wanton recklessness and despite my initial reservations it packs a mighty punch, inflating a 700x20 from zero to 110 psi in twenty three easy strokes and feeding 80psi into a 26X1.5 in a very respectable forty-eight. The resin base and shapely ergonomic handle continue the reassuringly solid feel, shaming many track pumps costing twice the price.

A large, easy to read analogue gauge positioned twenty centimetres from the ground is very accurate and means there’s no excuse for over inflation. The 'clever-head' accommodates presta or Schrader valves, eliminating the need to strip and exchange the head’s internals when moving between the two, which is superb functionality at this price.

The hose could’ve been longer and in my experience valve heads of this kind eventually give up the ghost after a year or so’s continual service. However, spares are available to rebuild the head and they cost a princely £1.91, although Edinburgh bicycle advise they would obviously look after customers should the hose or other components prove faulty.

With the exception of shop-use which would be a bit too much to ask of a £15 pump, this Air Track Sport would suit novices and keepers of two-wheeled harems alike. It will even inflate car tyres, repaying its meagre investment ten times over in tyre/tube life before coming even remotely close to retirement.

Verdict

Astonishingly well made given the price – every home workshop should have one.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Revolution Air Track Pump Sport

Price: 14.67

Weight: 1247g

Size tested: n/a

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?

As its name suggests, it is a keenly priced workshop pump for the home enthusiast on a budget. To use an overworked phrase, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

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

Key to the design is a 51cm steel barrel that will resist most accidental knocks and scrapes whilst supposedly delivering greater pressure per stroke than others in its class. The ergonomic handle provides comfort, a large-easy to read gauge is positioned quite high on the barrel and the clever head morphs to accomodate either presta or Schrader valves

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
 
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Surprisingly rapid inflation given the relatively modest barrel

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Not designed for workshop use but should last. The most vulnerable area would be the head and Edinburgh Bicycle offers a rebuild kit for a very modest sum. Nylon base feels more durable than some double the price.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
9/10

Reassuringly solid (1,247g)

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10
 
Rate the product for value:
 
10/10
 

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

The pump has a suprisingly solid feel and rapid inflation time, helped in no small part by the barrel's rigidity and the Clever valve allowing hassle free inflation of both valve types- great on a fleet of bikes.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Extremely well thought out,solid build quality and pleasant to use.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing, although the hose could've been longer

Did you enjoy using the product?Yes

Would you consider buying the product?Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend?Unreservedly

Your overall verdict of the product taking everything into account

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

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

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

 

Workshops
Track pump
Revolution Air Track Pump Sport
Revolution
Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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