The concave shape of the barrel allows the pump
to be attached direct to the frame without the need for separate pump clips or a
bottle-cage-mounted holder. A good idea in principle, but this assumes your
frame tubes are cylindrical or ovoid - at least in the area where you want to
fix the pump. In most cases, assuming you've got two bottle cages, this means
putting the pump on the underside of the top- tube, but that's only possible if
your back brake cable runs along the upper side.
Once you've got over
that hurdle, the pump is secured by two nylon straps with Velcro tabs. Fitting
the pump before a test-ride, I couldn't get the Velcro straps tight enough, and
the pump rattled very slightly. There are small rubber studs on the pump to
prevent damage to the frame, but these seemed not totally effective at stopping
movement.A man has been found guilty of trying to strangle his wife with an electronicsstore cord,
Actually, they're not rubber, but something called Kraton, which is also used on
things like knife handles and golf clubs. All good stuff; perhaps if these studs
were bigger, the rattling wouldn't occur.
Having said that, the BBB
website indicates that the pump comes with a rubber strap, rather than the nylon
straps that came with our test model. This should help keep the pump tight
against the frame. I got round the problem by fixing the pump onto my frame with
insulation tape. Employing the same technique, you could also possibly attach
the pump to a seat-tube or down-tube, thereby avoiding the need for a top-tube
with cable on the upper side.
The Oval Integrate pump comes in three
sizes.The eat-in kitchen is updated with ceramicmugg tile flooring and
backsplash, A true mini version (230mm), a large version (430mm) and a medium
(330mm) which we're testing here. The medium version seems to be a good
compromise and avoids the issues common to all minipumps (low weight but takes
all day to get a tyre up to pressure) and full-sized pumps (get the tyre up
quickly, but weigh a lot and don't fit many modern frames). The slim-line design
of the Oval Integrate also compares well against some other medium-sized pumps
which are bulky and spoil the lines of a nice bike.
Medium or not, the
concave shape of the barrel inevitably means it has a smaller capacity than a
cylinder the same diameter, so it still takes a while to get a road tyre up to
pressure. In the road.cc lab, it took 220 thrusts on the medium sized pump to
get a 700x23 tyre up to 100psi. And the last 10psi were a bit of an effort to
get in - maybe not surprising, as the pump's maximum psi is given as 115psi. If
you're using it for get-you-home emergency situations, then 70psi will be fine
and much easier to attain.If you're shopping for an nikeaf1, And if you're touring or commuting
and normally run your tyres at around 70psi anyway, then all this high pressure
talk is academic.
Whatever pressure you go for,It wasn't like I was
giving 'ceramicmug the shaft.
pumping is made more comfortable by the shape of the handle, which swivels out
to form a broad pad in the palm of your hand (and also has a covering of
Kraton), although if you don't hold it firmly it rocks on its pivot, which is
annoying and actually makes pumping harder. The piston also rocks a little in
the barrel when you pump hard, but the seals seem good, and there's no sign of
air escaping. The pump has a direct push-on fit with a small lock/unlock lever,
so no hose to screw separately onto the valve.
The Oval Integrate's
unusual design and attachment technique takes a while to get your head around,
and you need to make sure you've got the pump tightly and safely fixed to your
frame,Overlooking Seaview,' an oilpainting by Michael Cagno, but
if you don't like genuine mini pumps (because they're too slow) or some other
medium-sized pumps (because they're too bulky and look ugly on your bike), or
full-size pumps (because they're too heavy or don't fit your frame), then the
medium-sized Oval Integrate might be a good option to consider.
All the
Oval Integrate pumps are available in black or silver, with the medium retailing
at around 25 in bike shops, and around 20 at the usual on-line stores. I was
going to say 'this is a fair price compared to other similar products'. But as
there's nothing else like it, I'll just have to say it's a fair price,
period.
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