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Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump

8
£25.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Super-shiny high pressure pump that works very well and seems reassuringly durable
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 Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump has that retro look, mimicking frame pumps of old. With a screw-attachment hose it'll get your tyres up to triple-figure pressures at the side of the road pretty simply, should you require it.

The Unich HP comes in two lengths; this, as you've probably guessed by the name, is the longer of the two at 233mm, meaning it only just squeezes into the category of mini pump for me: it should fit in a jersey pocket and stay put while riding, something the Long only just manages without toppling out.

> Find your nearest dealer here

You do get a frame fitting mount included, which attaches using your bottle cage bolts, allowing the pump to sit alongside the cage and water bottle.

The Unich is a simple design with very few parts. Inside the handle you will find the rubber hose screwed in place to keep it safe. Unscrew it, pull it out, flip it round, screw it back into place, and you're ready to go.

It feels a bit odd using the pump 'backwards', with the hose exiting the handle end, but it keeps things simple.

Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump - hose out.jpg

The rubber hose is 140mm long, which takes a lot of the pressure away from the valve when you are pumping, as its flexibility allows it to move around a lot.

A smart little anodised fitting at the valve end allows the Unich to be used with both Presta and Schrader valves by unscrewing it and flipping it to whichever end you need. Both types screw onto the valve for a solid, airtight connection. Only once on a Presta valve did I have any leakage, which just required unscrewing and retightening on the valve.

> Check out our guide to the best pumps and CO2 inflators here

As far as pressures go, I got 60psi into a 28mm tyre after 150 strokes, with another 50 taking that up to 87psi without too much effort. The barrel does start to get mighty warm, though. Another 50 took things up to around 100psi and it was becoming a bit of an effort. Unich claims a capacity of 140psi, which I'm not denying, but there was no way my biceps were going to be doing it.

Overall, the Unich HP Long is a really nice, simple pump that, from what I can see, isn't going to let you down at the side of the road.

Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump - mounted.jpg

The shiny finish looks smart (although it does scratch easily) and the anodised finished parts come in orange, blue, silver, black and grey, so you might be able to match it to your bike. The price is pretty good too, and it fits in well alongside other alloy models from Lezyne and Birzman

Verdict

Super-shiny high pressure pump that works very well and seems reassuringly durable

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump

Size tested: 233m

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?

The Unich High Pressure Long mini pump is designed to be a portable option for fixing flats on the road. With its screw-on hose and alloy body it's also quite retro.

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

Length - 233mm

Claimed Weight - 100g

Claimed Capacity - 140 PSI

Use - Road & MTB Tyre

Smart valve included PRESTA and SCHRADER.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

There isn't much to it to be fair but it's well finished and looks the business.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Impressive performance near that of a traditional frame pump.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

The polished finish scratches easily but the other minimal parts all seem up to the job for the long term.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
6/10

Pretty good for a full alloy construction and included hose.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10

Easy to grip as long as you don't have sweaty hands. Heat transfers to the body after 150-odd strokes.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Compares well with the likes of Lezyne, Birzman and so on.

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

Works well and something I'd definitely be happy to rely on out on the road.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The attachable hose for both Presta and Schrader.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The body scratches quite easily.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

The Unich is a dependable, simple to use mini pump that'll get your tyres up to a decent pressure at the side of the road.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Mason Definition

I've been riding for: 10-20 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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4 comments

Avatar
Lancesky | 7 years ago
0 likes

Lezyne's hose is stored on one end of the pump and you have to take it out and attach it on the other end to use it. Unich's + birzman and other's on the market designs it so that the hose simply extends out of the barrel which saves time.

Easier to replace hose (if damaged) on the Lezyne.

Avatar
KiwiMike | 7 years ago
0 likes

I think pump firms should only be allowed to advertise a certain pressure as measured going into a 25mm tyre on a 19mm rim, for 150 strokes. Or something like that. Certainly no longer than your increasingly-grumpy/cold clubmates would be prepared to wait, or the amount of pumping effort that say a slight female could manage. I'm no Hercules by a long shot, but as Stu infers above, I've had my arms give out in a hot, gnarled-fist, cramped, aching-bicep mess long before the headline pressure was reached.

 

Tony/Dave - how about Road.CC lead the charge in the industry with a standardised, real-world benchmark test?

 

Clearly, and as I've found with reviews of my own, the idea a pump like this can realistically achieve 140psi without taking quarter of an hour and several rotations of pump monkey is utter nonsense.

Avatar
monkeytrousers | 7 years ago
1 like

Are you Lezyne in disguise?

Avatar
Rixter replied to monkeytrousers | 7 years ago
0 likes
monkeytrousers wrote:

Are you Lezyne in disguise?

Exactly!

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