Dropping a mint on a pump isn't easy, unless it's the Blackburn Air Tower 4 Pump. Guaranteed for life and built to last, the Air Tower 4 features an aluminum base and body for stiffness and durability. The gauge sits on top of the barrel, eliminating sore necks and strained eyes. Nifty handle storage drawers hold small parts like needles and tire irons, and blowing up your cruiser or race machine is easy thanks to Presta and Schrader friendliness.
Submitted by
Michael L
a Cross Country Rider
from Pasadena, Ca. USA
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2011
Strengths: This pump was a warranty replacement for my 12 year old TP4 that went bad. One phone call,immediate live knowledgeable English speaker, no hassle replacement shipped out asap.I called them back today with a technical question and again great fast service.This pump works great and after a few trys you will get used to how things work unless you are a moron.The bit of air that escapes from the valve head after you release comes from reserve within the pump not from your tube otherwise your tube would empty out.So pump it up to the regular lbs and pull it.Maybe 1 or 2 of the previous reviewers got a lemon but the rest of the whiners wouldn't understand how to operate a paper clip!
Weaknesses: Release handle after inflation can bust a knuckle if done wrong but you can learn.
Bottom Line:
Great pump and extraordinarily excellant warranty and customer service.
Submitted by
amfast
a Cross Country Rider
from Alexandria, VA
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2011
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: Cheap. Failed twice in a year.
Bottom Line:
I'll never buy a Backburn product again. Was broken within a week. Got a replacement head after waiting for weeks and now a year later (light use) it doens't pump at all.
Similar Products Used: Specialized, Topeak Joe Blow
Bike Setup: Various
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
jonasneeser
a Cross Country Rider
from Pocatello, Idaho USA
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2010
Strengths: Easy to read, accurate gauge. Valve head connects easily.
Weaknesses: Does not produce enough volume to easily seat tubeless tires. Valve head hard to figure out how to connect to shrader versus presta valves (the lever has three positions).
Bottom Line:
I haven't had any problems with my pump. I would buy it again. I bought it five years ago and the head never connected to the valve very well. Blackburn has a lifetime warranty so last year I sent it back. They sent me this new one that works great so I am very happy with Blackburn.
Submitted by
Guppie58
a Racer
from Hudsonville, MI
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2010
Strengths: gauge is raised so you don't need to bend over.
Weaknesses: Garbage valve. Seriously, pure garbage. Also, the cord doesn't wrap over the handle during storage so that constantly goes up when you transport it. No biggie if you keep it in the garage, but I travel for races and trails so much, it gets annoying. Also, you have to measure PSI after you pump it up because so much air leaves the pump when you unhook it. Don't buy this product.
Weaknesses: This was a replacement for two Air Tower 5 CFs that failed. The internals on this failed within 2 weeks. Horrible product, and the third Blackburn pump that failed trying to do what pumps are supposed to do -- pump. If you rearrange the letters in "Blackburn Pump," you get "DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT EVER OR BUY ANY BLACKBURN PUMPS BECAUSE THEY ARE HORRIBLE, ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE." Okay, maybe you can't rearrange the letters in "Blackburn Pump" to spell that, but you get the idea.
Similar Products Used: C02 innovations cheapy that's still going strong
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Submitted by
aldujaparov
a Weekend Warrior
from Longmeadow, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2009
Strengths: Shrader connection works o.k.
Weaknesses: Presta connection useless
Bottom Line:
garbage; received as warranty replacement for TP-4 (handle broke, Blackburn had no replacement part); once I saw this I asked Blackburn to return TP-4, said they couldn't.
Presta connection useless: in order to seal, requires pressing down to the point that Presta stem is depressed, releasing air in the tire. As mentioned in other reviews, air is also released when the head is released, so you have no idea how much air is left in the tire after you've pumped! Why have a gauge at all! TP-4 was a great pump; can't believe they'd replace it with this junk.
Submitted by
yellowmtb
a Cross Country Rider
from MI
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2009
Strengths: Crap. Slow to connect to presta valves. Slow inflation.
Weaknesses: Sticky pump. Cheap handle. Unstable base
Bottom Line:
They are great about warranty replacement. I have paid $12 three times to return a defective pump to them and receive a new one. Customer service is A-1 if you want the same piece of crap back.
Bike Setup: X.0 ellwsworth, scott road bike dura ace, and others.
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Submitted by
drewmcg
a Cross Country Rider
from Ann Arbor, MI
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2009
Strengths: Accurate gauge
Works
Smooth, efficient pumping
head works fine (old style--black with flip down to lock)
Weaknesses: thumb lock backwards (they evidently changed this on the new, grey head)
the exposive release of air when you remove the head after inflation can be disconcerting (really loud)
Bottom Line:
Very good, very reliable floor pump. Probably best lifetime warrantee in the business.
Weaknesses: bad construction. Too many brakeable plastic parts for a pump in this price range. Gauge doesn't work anymore. Customer service...what customer service.
Bottom Line:
sure they have life time warrenty but try having them get back in touch w/ you so you can claim that!!!!
Submitted by
RoxRunner
a Cross Country Rider
from Mystic, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2009
Strengths: Moves a lot of air. BlackBurn's warranty! I've used it a bunch.
Weaknesses: Valve system in head fails frequently.
Bottom Line:
The valves fail much too frequently and seem to be very, very temperature sensitive. If I'm going for a morning ride, I can't use the pump if I left it in the garage overnight b/c the innards don't seal and if I put in a presta stem, air shoots out the schraeder side (and vice-versa). It's pretty annoying, but with BlackBurn's lifetime warranty, I've been trading the pumps in every three to six months for a couple of years now.
That said, when it does work as it's supposed to, it really moves s a ton of air in that big barrel and I can get the pressure up to 125 psi on my road bike with no problem. It's pretty great that way. I'd likely buy this again if I was going to live in a warm/dry place, but it seems that the cold and humidity of the NorthEast is too much for the valves to work right.
Similar Products Used: Joe Blow Pumps by ¿Topeak? Not sure who makes the Joe Blows.
Bike Setup: Too many bikes to list, but all are in the entry level of high-end bikes, parts and accessories.
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Submitted by
stillkeen
a Weekend Warrior
from Cambridge, UK
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2008
Strengths: Solid construction.
Gauge at the top.
Smooth operation.
Easy to attach to presta valves (I dont use Schrader).
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
I've had three pumps before this one, and they've been wobbly and had bad valves. The best before this was the Park, but it had the gauge halfway down barrel and wasnt stable/solid.
This pump just feels solid and is easy to attach to the valves. The lifetime warranty sounds great, so hopefully this will be my last pump.
