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Submitted by
Ricky J
a Weekend Warrior
from San Luis Obispo, CA USA
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Art's SLO Cyclery | | Strengths: | Dual action head worked well, conveniently located gauge, efficient action, simple. | | Weaknesses: | Fairly short-lived! | | Similar Products Used: | Various & sundry | | Bike Setup: | Steelman Signature road, Ventana El Capitan 29er | | Bottom Line: | While it worked it did so pretty flawlessly with only the odd check valve stickiness to complicate things. Recently though it has become almost useless with irregular action and back-leakage.
A lifetime warranty is nice but having spare parts available to owners would be MUCH better for me than shipping it off for repair or replacement. Live and learn they say. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Harp
a Weekend Warrior
from Redlands, CA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Probably Online | | Strengths: | This has been a solid pump for many years with no problems. I use it for both road and mountain tires and it works great on both. | | Weaknesses: | After years of use the "magic gripper" pump head broke. Bell Sports replaced it for me free of charge and no questions asked. A customer service dream. | | Similar Products Used: | All of my friend's pumps and I've never liked one any better than the Blackburn. | | Bike Setup: | Classic Barracuda XX with mixed components. | | Bottom Line: | This is a very good pump and a GREAT company. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Slack
a Weekend Warrior
from Willoughby, OH
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Sport Mart (? I forget) | | Strengths: | Rugged construction, guage at top | | Weaknesses: | Schraeder nozzle | | Bike Setup: | REI Aspen Novara | | Bottom Line: | I only needed the Schraeder side of the nozzle. I found that it would stay on sometimes, and at other times it would fly off with a burst. I found that I sometimes needed to hold it on with my foot, to keep it in place, while I pumped up my mountain bike tires.
Everything else about the pump seemed to be of good quality, except for the nozzle. I came up with the idea to replace it with the Topeak SmartHead Upgrade Kit $18.00 Item 634037 from REI:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=74819&parent_category_rn=4500860&vcat=REI_SEARCH
The nozzle with this upgrade kit has a lever to hold it in place, and it works great.
Note: This Topeak nozzle works the opposite of how I think that it should. You have to put the nozzle on, then lift up on the lever, to lock it in place.
Added use: I found that I can even use it, quite easily, to put pump up my car tires. 5 pumps to get 1 PSI. (Why don't they advertise bike pumps for this?) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
P N
a Cross Country Rider
from Dayton, ohio United States
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | K&G Bike Center | | Strengths: | Solid construction, easy to read gauge, pumps tires quickly. | | Weaknesses: | Hose design | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bottom Line: | Execellent pump with excellent support. Yes, the hose design could be better. It tore right beneath the screw-in section where the hose is clamped.
I called their contact number at www.blackburndesign.com and they're sending out a new hose (with valve heads)and a rebuild kit for the valve head FREE! No questions asked! I even asked for a second hose assembly because I like the pump so much (and offered to pay) and the rep said no problem and again, no charge.
I also asked if they had an rebuild kit for the tube section and rep said they did not. The way they hganlde it is to for the owner to send in the pump. If they can fix it, they will. If not, they send you the latest-greatest comparable model no charge.
In Blackburn's case, lifetime truly IS lifetime. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bikeman
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Oaks at night | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Pumps a lot of air, solid metal construction, gauge at top | | Weaknesses: | Lifetime guarantee (NOT!!!), lack of replacement parts in OZ, no warranty or sevice from distributors | | Similar Products Used: | Purchased a Silcar Pista based on the MBTR reviews for $AUS 60 on Ebay. Hoping for many years of trouble free pumping | | Bike Setup: | Road - Giant TCR Carbon, Ultegra. Montain - original Specialized Ground Control FSR, Psylo SL, with XTR, XT. | | Bottom Line: | Had about 5 years of trouble free pumping until it failed miserably. Don't believe the lifetime warranty as nothing lasts forever. No replacement parts available, dodgy Oz distributor with no service. Purchase with caution. Would recommend the Silcar Pista - read the reviews, it just doesn't pump the same volume of air. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gustavo
a Cross Country Rider
from El Paso
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Cerro Bola | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Crazy Cats Cyclery | | Strengths: | 100 % reliable, just failed after 7 years of use, the valve head broke but it was replaced by the manufacturer at no cost. Gauge mounted on top. No air leaking while pumping. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll 3000. Full XTR 2003 & Mavic Crossmax SL wheels. | | Bottom Line: | You can go wrong with a Blackburn pump, no product is perfect and in case you have a problem with it, Blackburn's warranty & service is more than excellent.
Simple, reliable & durable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rod Munch
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Rosa, CA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | The one less travelled | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Many years of usage | | Weaknesses: | Not all happy | | Similar Products Used: | many pumps in last 30 years | | Bike Setup: | Hammerhead 100X, Fox 100RLC, ProPedal, XT, Martas | | Bottom Line: | I think I've bought about 6 Blackburn pumps, and they used to be the best thing out there. Solid build, nice design. Maybe I'm asking too much of a $35 pump, but I wish it would just... work... forever. Somewhere along the line, Blackburn gave up on thumb locks. This unit had a press-on seal, which never ever really sealed that well. MTB tires at 35 psi, roadies at 135 psi, whatever. The gasket would fail regulary, simple beacuse you can't slide a compressed rubber ring around serrated brass for long before it becomes worthless. The pump body would also regularly unscrew from the base, and eventually broke at the threads. Please... somebody- enough with the plastic. Make a pump that works, and will last. I'll pay for it. Just bought a Park FP-2 and will see how that goes. 4 steamin' turds since Blackburn puts out a better product than the rest. "Fair" overall since the product needs to function better. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bilbo79
a Cross Country Rider
from las vegas
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | bootleg canyon | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | bike chalet | | Strengths: | price. pretty durable (1000+ uses before any problem). great customer support. | | Weaknesses: | the schrader valve side (on mine). | | Bike Setup: | metal frame. round wheels. | | Bottom Line: | bought the pump years ago to service 3 bikes. 3-4 times a week. often pumped up car tires with it. one day, after like 5 years, the schrader side (less often used) plastic piece on the inside gave up. the presta side still works great. i was going to throw the pump out, but who throws out a $45 pump because a .4 cent plastic piece breaks. tried to find blackburn online, but couldn't. anyway, went to a dept store to kipe the plastic piece from a display model. but someone else beat me to it. the display model did have the customer service information though, so i copied it down. called them, and they were happy to just send out a rebuild kit for the whole pump. for free. got it a week later, and didn't even have to pay for shipping. don't normally leave reviews for accessories, but will now. thier customer service saved them. this thing is going to last 1000+ more uses. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Henry
a Racer
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | chutes and ladders Fruita | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Strengths: | Easy to read guage, good handle | | Weaknesses: | Valve head wears out to fast, after a season of use it needs rebuilt. | | Similar Products Used: | Park Pro | | Bike Setup: | Road bike, presta set at 118 lbs./Mt. Bike presta 60lbs. | | Bottom Line: | This pump is great for about a year and then it's time for a new one, replacing the guts never really brings it back to good working condition. Not a good pump for a home mechanic or someone who rides daily, would work well for the weekend warrior. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ronaldo
a Weekend Warrior
from Hollis Hills, New York
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | www.nashbar.com | | Strengths: | Size,Durability,Air volume. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Bike Setup: | GT Backwoods, XTR, Hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | Can't beat the price, only $24.95 + shipping at Nashbar.com. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Racer
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Flat Creek Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$49.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Handles low volume high pressure road tires as easily as high volume low pressure tubeless MTB tires. Accurate, easy to read gauge. | | Bottom Line: | I broke the hose at the connector this morning. Oof-dah! Called Bell Sports customer support at 800-456-2355 about my lifetime warranty. They asked me for my address so they could mail me a replacement dual nozzle hose. That’s all. The call took about 90 seconds. $20 value item. For Free. No shipping fees. Way cool. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | Good solid pump.
Metal pump body will last forever.
Lifetime warranty.
Gauge is accurate and easy to read.
Quickly pumps high volume of air.
Dual sided pump head works with both Schrader and Presta without compromising on either.
Great customer service.
| | Weaknesses: | Only minor nits:
Takes two hands to attach and twist pump head to valve stem. Don't know of any pumps that don't have this problem.
The hose clip for attaching the hose to itself for storage is a little cumbersome and leaves the pump head dangling.
| | Bottom Line: | This really is a great pump that works really well.
What inspired me to write this review was the quality of their customer service. Recently rubber gaskets in the pump head wore out causing the pump to no longer fully depress presta valves making inflation difficult. I contacted Bell Sports customer support via e-mail (http://www.bellsports.com/main/about/contact.html) and they responded within 24 hours telling me that they would immediately send me a free repair kit. All companies should have such good service!!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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