Birzman Zacoo Maha II track pump

The Zacoo Maha II is a well-made pump that backs up its cool appearance with a strong performance.

Jez reviewed the Zacoo Maha III earlier in the year and was really impressed, although he has since had to replace the Snap-It head (£15).

The difference between the Maha III and the Maha II that we have here comes down to the handle – the Maha III has a varnished wooden handle while this one is extruded and then CNC machined aluminium. The other features are the same... The three-legged base is aluminium – those legs spaced wide enough to provide a load of stability – and so is the pump barrel.

All the aluminium is highly polished so the pump looks neat. It's good to have some cool looking stuff in your life. If you're anything like me, you'll scratch the finish sooner or later, despite your best efforts. It's a floor pump – you're bound to. I've done that a couple of times but it still looks great. Oh, and before anyone brings it up, yes, it does resemble a Lezyne pump.

The hose reaches from the bottom of the barrel, over the handle, and back down to the base again. How long is that? [Reaches for tape measure]. It's 115cm, which can be useful at times.

One of the most interesting features is Birzman's Snap-It head that works with Presta valves. You pull back the collar on the Snap-It head, push it onto the valve, then push the collar forward and give it a tiny twist. That locks the metal threads inside the head onto the threads at the top of the valve.

It's really clever and really secure. As I said above, Jez had some trouble with a Snap-It head after trying to get some tubeless tyres to seal, but I've had no worries at all so far.

To remove the Snap-It head from the valve, you just draw back the collar and pull it away, so there's no danger of accidentally removing a valve core. Here's a video of it in action.

I pumped up a 700 x 23C tyre to 110psi in 28 strokes with very little effort, and I got the maximum recommended 160psi into a pair of tubs equally easily. Birzman reckon you can get up to 220psi here. They might be right but I've got no tyres that require anything like that. The handle is comfortable and everything feels perfectly solid. Birzman point out that the pump actually tilts towards you slightly (by 5°) to improve the ergonomics, although I hardly noticed that in use. Sorry! The gauge is pretty easy to read despite being on the base rather than positioned at the top of the barrel.

If you want to use the Maha II on Schrader valves, you just remove the Snap-It head (you can store it on a little rubber holder that's attached to the hose so that you don't lose it) and screw it in place, again getting a very secure, leak-free connection. One other neat feature is that the head has an air release button that allows you to get the pressure spot on.

Verdict

Very well made floor pump with a strong performance to justify the price.