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Specialized Air Tool Road Pump

6
£27.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Very good performance let down by poor ergonomics
Light and minimalist
Gets air in fast
Secure head fitment
Limited area to keep the head in position without pinching your fingers
Too smooth to grip barrel tightly
Narrow diameter makes it uncomfortable to use at high pressures
Weight: 
100g

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 Specialized Air Tool Road is a nod to the traditional frame pump that you always used to see sitting under the top tube or against the seat tube of road bikes in years gone by. It's much smaller in size but efficient, and it looks great – but it's not the most comfortable to use.

Let's kick off with positives. The Air Tool Road looks sleek and cool, and it's very simple to use.

> Find your nearest dealer here

Being a road-specific pump there are no 'smart heads' or twin connections for various valves as it's Presta only. Nor are there any clamps to hold the pump in place – you just push the pump head onto the valve. It's a pretty secure fit, requiring just a bit of pressure from your fingers to hold it in place as you pump.

2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - vale head.jpg

The machined alloy construction is of a high quality too, with very little in the way of flex or wobble even when at full extension.

To stop the pump accidentally opening, there's a neat little dust cap that clips into the head opening which is screwed into the main section. If the dust cap is in place, the pump can't extend.

2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - head.jpg
2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - detail.jpg

Its volume per stroke is 60cc and this gets the air into your tyres quickly. In a 28mm tyre with an inner tube I could manage 50psi in just 100 strokes, and 75psi in 150. It's rated to achieve 100psi and I'd go along with that, although it'll take some time to get there – from 75psi onwards it takes a bit of a workout to go higher.

> How to choose the best bike tyre pressure — balancing speed, comfort and grip

As the pressures increase and it becomes harder to compress the pump, you need to use your hand to make sure the head stays on the valve, and also that the valve doesn't get damaged. The trouble is, the small area available makes it hard to hold the head without pinching your fingers each stroke.

2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - extended.jpg

Also, that smooth machined body looks cool, but once you start pumping away, the pump warms and your hands start to sweat, which makes gripping the pump difficult. Okay, mitts help, but not everyone wears them. I certainly don't once the temperatures have risen above the need for full gloves.

On top of that, to get purchase on the pump, to compress it once the tyre has got above 65psi, you need to use the palm of your hand to push against the rounded end of the main chamber. Because the diameter is so small it creates a pressure point that can be annoyingly painful.

2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - base.jpg

It looks the business, but its usability is compromised.

Thankfully, at £27, it's not overly expensive.

It's slightly cheaper than the Topeak Roadie TT Mini Pump (£29.99) and delivers nearly twice the cubic capacity. The Topeak is a lot shorter, though, which means it can fit easily in a jersey pocket or saddle bag rather than just the supplied mount, unlike the 268mm  Specialized.

2021 Specialized Air Tool Road Pump - with mount.jpg

Nick got on with the Topeak, too, with the valve clamp reducing the need for so much finger pressure at the head, and the bigger barrel diameter reducing pressure on the pumping hand.

> Buyer’s Guide: 21 of the best bike pumps and CO2 inflators

The SKS Airboy is practically the same money (£26.99) as the Specialized and a similar kind of product. Again, it doesn't deliver as much air as the Specialized does per stroke, but it is so much easier and comfortable to use. Little details like the rubber grip on the end of the main barrel just aid the pumping motion.

Conclusion

I can't criticise the Specialized's performance – from that perspective it is a very capable pump – and I love the looks. It's a quality piece of kit. But it's let down by not being that comfortable to use.

Verdict

Very good performance let down by poor ergonomics

road.cc test report

Make and model: Specialized Air Tool Road Pump

Size tested: 100psi max

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?

Specialized says, "The Air Tool Road is a modern version of the traditional frame pump. It's a little smaller than the pumps of old, but thanks to the inverted dual chamber design, it fills high-pressure road tires faster than you ever remembered."

Those traditional pumps had a good sized handle and barrel to grab hold of, though...

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

Specialized lists:

Inverted dual chamber design is smaller yet moves 25% more air per stroke when compared to our previous design, reducing pumping time by up to two minutes.

Presta-only head with updated dust cover prevents pump from opening due to vibration.

Machined outer barrel for extra grip while pumping.

All-aluminum inner and outer chamber for durable performance.

Water bottle boss frame mounting bracket included.

Max pressure: 100 PSI (6.9 bar)

Volume-per-stroke: 60cc

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
5/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

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

It's a good pump from a performance perspective, but the shape detracts from that.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Gets air into a tyre or tube quickly.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Narrow, smooth barrel causes grip and comfort issues.

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

It's similar to other quality road pumps on the market such as the SKS Airboy and Topeak Roadie TT Mini Pump.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes and no. I liked the aesthetics and the quality, but there are better pumps out there for usability.

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? No

Use this box to explain your overall score

I get what Specialized has aimed to achieve here, and when it comes to getting air into a tyre or tube from such a small pump then it's done well. It's just a bit of a faff to use, and has a few compromises.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

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

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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