Blackburn’s Piston 2 floor pump is a no frills get-the-job-done pump that’s best suited to gravel and road riders, although mountain bikers will still be impressed with rugged design and easy action.
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Featuring a full steel design (well, apart from the handle) the Piston 2 is built to last. The handle is made of plastic but it’s seriously wide, offering a stable platform as you inflate a tyre. The Anyvalve head is made of a different, durable-feeling plastic.
Down on the wide, thin base sits a three-inch gauge. While the colour of the face matches the pump nicely, it doesn’t offer the greatest contrast, and can be tricky to read in low light. However, the needle is a pretty chunky outline design and if you read your pressures in bar, it very neatly surrounds each number… incredibly satisfying to my inner perfectionist.
That narrow base is great for in-car stowing, and while you might fear it’d make for a wobbly unit when you’re pumping away, its serious width calms any wobble down. The Piston 2 is super stable.
The handle certainly isn’t the most refined out, there but it does the job perfectly well. It’s good and wide, and the hose clips directly into the handle to add a little bit of protection from damage – a nice touch.
Anyvalve is Blackburn’s term for their auto-select head. While it means you don’t have to worry about compatibility, it is awfully choosey. Sometimes it fits onto a valve without issue, while at others it puts up a bit of a fight to achieve a proper connection. Still, once it does connect with a confident clunk of the handle, the pump is a pleasure to use.
There is absolutely no resistance in the stroke of the pump, which makes for an easy time. It’s capable of seating tubeless tyres too, though it’s definitely not the most efficient of pumps. It errs more on the side of high pressure – it’s better suited to skinny, low volume tyres unless you’ve got time and patience on your side.
The Blackburn Piston 2 is a great pump for those who have more than one bike in the shed as it inflates anything you throw at it – providing you’re happy to put some effort into larger air volumes. It’s also built like a tank, so it’ll be with you for a long while. If you exclusively ride fat-tyred mountain bikes, however, you’ll definitely be feeling its lack of efficiency.
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