Pumping

A few weeks ago, the gauge on the foot pump I use for my bicycle started playing up - a foot pump with a gauge being more or less mandatory these days given that high pressure tyres are pumped up to around 60psi. Old hand pumps not really up to the job. I suppose the idea of all this pressure is to maximise the efficiency with which rotary leg energy is converted to forward motion. 

In the present case, the gauge would climb up to the desired pressure and would then slowly slide back down again, in steps, which meant that one had no idea what the pressure in the tyre actually was. One could of course kick the tyre in time honoured fashion, but one prefers to do better than that.

The problem persisted over several attempts, spread over several days.

So I take the pump down to the bicycle shop where the young man on duty can just about tear himself away from playing Black Shark Pro on his telephone to talk to me about bicycle pumps. No, we can't do anything about your old pump. This without bothering to attempt to use it. No you can't get spares for it. But we can sell you a new one, anything from £20 to £40. We use the £40 one here in the shop - a shop which is also equipped with the power line mentioned at reference 1.

Maybe if I was buying a new bicycle for £4,000 rather than £40 he would actually turn his telephone off. Maybe even put it in his pocket, out of sight.

I settle for the £40 one, which is indeed rather better than the old one. Better made with a better action.

Just to round off the story, I try the old one again, to find that it has started to work again. Maybe there was a bit of grit in the thing which locks onto the valve on the inner tube.

All very tiresome. Upside, I now have two pumps. Downside, I have to find shelf space for two rather than one. And try to remember which is which.

PS: in the snap above, old right, new left.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2021/08/diy-not.html.