pump

The new SKS Spaero Sport Alu is a solid mini pump that works efficiently to get a decent amount of pressure into your tyres.

I've had it with lightweight plastic mini pumps that mount directly onto the valve. Yes, they weigh nothing and they take up very little space in your pocket but most of them don't actually work very well.

This pump from SKS is 21cm long and it weighs 111g, which is a little heavier than some, but the crucial thing is that it does the job.

What a great little pump this Birzman Zacoo Tiny Tanker is. Birzman have been busy over the last couple of years making some really nice kit for your shed and the Tiny Tanker is one of their best offerings yet.

Tiny? Well, smaller than a normal floor pump. It measures 51cm high and the single foot means its footprint is very small; it's easy to tuck away in the garage or the boot of a car. The idea is that you get floor-pump performance with a bit more portability.

SKS make the bike-shop-stalwart Rennkompressor pump and a bunch of other high quality units, and they've trickled down some of that engineering into the new Airkompressor 12.0 - enough of it for the pump to be a very good buy for the £30 list price, and you can have it for less if you shop around.

In terms of size and weight (165mm long and 94g respectively), the Zefal Air Profil Micro is about as 'mini' as they come, disappearing easily into a rear pocket.

Attached to the bike via the provided water bottle mount, the Air Profil is unobtrusive.

The light overall weight belies the fact that the Air Profil is made from aluminium throughout, with the sole exception of a plastic flip-lock lever. The all metal construction promises good reliability and in the hands, feels reassuringly sturdy and well made.

This is a very good CO2/mini pump that'll get both Presta and Schrader inner tubes up to high pressures – although you'll need to take preventative action to avoid problems if you use Presta valves with removable cores.

Zefal's FP50 Profil Max Track Pump is a tough piece of kit that's fast, effective and accurate.

Weighing 1775g, there's a distinctly old school flavour that runs much deeper than the tough red/black livery. It comprises a steel barrel and base, which don't make it light, but there's a dual compound composite handle and super smooth piston that's a joy to use.

Like many cyclists, my Sunday mornings usually involve packing the car in the pre-dawn chill en route to the far corners of the country for some race or other. I'd dearly like a van but I have to make do with a 10-year-old Corsa packed to the gunnels with bike, spare wheels, tools and enough food to survive a minor environmental disaster. Space, it goes without saying, is at a premium, and this is where the Lezyne Travel Floor Drive comes in.

The Portland Design Works (PDW) big silver pump is a beautifully executed example of the ton-up pressure midi size pump that has largely superseded the humble frame-fit.

Pedros Super Prestige track pump