Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Zefal Profil Mini Trackpump RG01

7
£29.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Frame-mountable pump that's capable of getting full pressure into your tyres out on the road
Weight: 
215g
Contact: 
www.zyro.co.uk

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.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The Profil Mini Trackpump RG01 is small enough to carry on your bike and has enough punch to get your tyres back up to full pressure – rather than 'get me home' pressure – if you have to fix a flat.

I must say, though, that I think calling this a trackpump is pushing it. It's more of a frame-mounted pump with a stabilising foot.

It's 34.5cm long with an aluminium barrel and piston. The lengthy (60cm) hose features a gauge to show how much pressure you have in your inner tube while the lockable aluminium head is suitable for both presta and schrader valves. It's not a smart head – you have to unscrew the end and reverse the rubber seal to swap between the two different types.

Fold out both the foot and the piston's dual-compound T-handle and you can use this like a trackpump... kind of. That foot doesn't lock into place so the RG01 isn't nearly as steady as a dedicated trackpump, and the handle is big enough for only one hand – although I found that gripping one hand with the other was the best technique. That said, as long as you're relatively careful to avoid losing stability, you can get a lot of power behind the piston – certainly a lot more than with most minipumps.

We managed to get 120psi into a 700x23c tyre in 180 strokes, and 100psi into a 35mm tyre in 225 strokes. Zefal reckon you can get up to 160psi with this pump. The highest we achieved was 140psi. That was relatively easy until the last few strokes. The gauge is pretty accurate too – within 4psi of the figures we got with a standalone digital gauge.

The hose hooks around the handle and the head clips back onto the foot to hold everything together, and the whole thing fits to a nylon bracket mounted to your bottle cage bosses. A rubber strap holds it securely in place and it hasn't slid down to batter the paintwork over rough roads.

Big Shaun Audane bent the piston of the first one of these pumps that we got in so we sent it back. We'd expect any similar failure to be replaced under warranty too. We put it down to bad luck because we've had no issues at all with the replacement.

Verdict

Frame-mountable pump that's capable of getting full pressure into your tyres out on the road.

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Zefal Profil Mini Trackpump RG01

Size tested: n/a

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?

Zefal say, "High pressure pump with inline gauge ideal for road bikes.

- Max pressure 11 bar/160psi

- Extra long hose 600mm

- Ergonomic dual compound handle

- Lockable T-handle

- Foldable aluminium base

- Supplied with bike mounting clip

- Length 345mm

- Reversible head for Schrader & Presta valves"

It's not especially small or lightweight but it works well to get your tyres up to full pressure.

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

The inline pressure gauge is pretty accurate according to our measurements.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
6/10

It's not especially small or light compared to a minipump.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

The handle is pretty small but it's certainly useable even by those with large hands.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

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

It achieved realistic road tyre pressures in respectable times without requiring superhuman efforts.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

It's a neat design that mounts to your bike without too much trouble.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

I wish the handle was a bit bigger. Plus, it would be good if the foot would lock into place for extra stability.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Possibly.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 190cm  Weight: 75kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

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

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,

 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
Raleigh | 11 years ago
0 likes

That's nothing. My Airbone (99mm long and fits in my saddlepack) has been known to take well over 300 'reps' to get up to even 100psi.

(Just read that back, anyone who giggles is literally 12 years old.)

Avatar
davebinks | 11 years ago
0 likes

"180 strokes" ? My God - who has the energy or time for that?
Zefal already make the excellent HPX pump. A frame fitting full length pump with a narrow barrel that means you can easily and quickly get to very high pressures, and an easy to use quick release clamp to get a good seal on the valve. It's also cheaper than this complicated piece of kit.
I lost my last one and immediately bought another.

Latest Comments