Topeak’s 2Stage Mini Pump is the perfect length for jersey pocket or handlebar bag stowage. It is Presta head only and, via a twist in the bod,y it can pump either high volume or high pressure, it weighs a svelte 101g and is well finished in satin black. It certainly has a lot going for it but just how good of an option is it among the best mountain bike pumps?
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Topeak Gravel 2Stage mini pump – Technical details
Topeak’s Gravel 2Stage is sleekly finished in satin black with crisp branding graphics along the barrel. What makes this a gravel pump? Well, it is optimised to work around 60psi with a maximum of 90psi. I’m not sure about you gravel riders out there, but 60psi in my gravel bike tyres would be pretty horrific. I’m mostly rocking around 30-35psi these days.
The £37 Gravel 2Stage is Presta only, which is not really an issue with its intended market. It has a small metal valve lever to help you lock on the valve before pumping, and a rubber cover/plug fitting neatly over the head. The pump body twists and locks with a positive click to prevent accidental extension in your pocket or bags.
At the other end of the very short pump (it’s only 18cm long), is the 2 Stage rubberised dial. You have two options marked on the base of the pump body; HP for High Pressure think 60+ psi to the max of 90psi with each stroke claiming to deliver 24.8cc per stroke and HV for High Volume for up to 60psi delivering 71cc per stroke (cc = cubic centimetres or air).
The Gravel 2Stage mini pump is supplied with a plastic bottle boss mount clip with a Velcro strap to hold the pump securely. Topeak offers a two-year warranty on its pumps.
Topeak Gravel 2Stage mini pump – Performance
In use, the pump easily fits into shorts, jersey pockets and bike bags, making it a very useful bike packing pump as you can just stash it away and forget about it, even more so with its low 102g weight.
When the need arises and you have remembered where you stashed it, the pump is somewhat of a mixed bag in operation. It unlocks and extends with ease and the aluminium thumb lock works as advertised clamping securely onto the valve. It works without a flexi hose so you will need to hold the pump and the wheel/tyre with one hand and the pump with the other which can become tiring on the back.
I chose the high volume (HV) because I wanted to fill a 700 x 45mm Schwalbe Overland tyre I measured how much pressure I achieved with 100 strokes of the little pump. 26.8psi as recorded by my trusted SKS Airchecker.
This was the average of three attempts to inflate a flat tyre with the valve core removed and replaced to ensure there was no pressure left in the tyre. For the sake of thoroughness, I also tried the same test with the pump on high pressure (HP) and achieved 12.8psi on the Airchecker so it pays to choose the correct setting before you start.
Should you want to put more than 30psi into your tyres then you are going to need to do a lot of pumping and as you get close to 80 strokes the pump starts to complain about being compressed. In fact, it is actually really quite difficult to pump 100 strokes, (which only got us 26.8psi) and makes me question whether it would even be feasible to pump this tyre to 60psi on this setting. Your hands and back would not allow it either so be very grateful that for most gravel tyres and riders 30psi is sufficient.
A solution can be achieved by combing the two settings – which provided less arm and back fatigue but produced much lower pressures. Seventy strokes of HV and 70-100 of the HP will get you to a rideable pressure of about 25psi. HP will get you 30psi eventually but requires a lot of pumping.
So the good news is that 100 strokes of the Gravel 2Stage achieved more pressure than the Blackburn Core and nearly as much as the Silca Gravelero mini pump. The Gravel 2Stage gets the job done but definitely lets you know about it! One word of caution though is that both pump options are not going to help reseat a tubeless tyre that has popped off the rim. That will need extra help from gas.
Topeak Gravel 2Stage mini pump – Verdict
At £37, it’s priced at the upper mid-level of the best mountain bike pumps but it is less than the £40 Blackburn Core Mini pump and more efficient. The Core Mini Pump only achieved 24.8psi but has been thoroughly used and abused and keeps on working. The Gravel 2Stage is approximately half the price of the Silca Gravelero at £90 but the Silca is a joy to use and puts out more pressure for less effort. All of these pumps were benchmark tested on the same tyre wheel set-up.
The nearest short mini competitor we’ve tested is probably the £33 Truflow MiniMTN High Volume pump which impressed Liam with its flexy hose complete with reversible valve head with lever lock. Although it’s not as well sealed as the Core pump and is even shorter at 180mm and lighter at 118g. Only the plastic lever provided cause for concern.
Liam was also impressed with the Bontrager Air Support HV Pro mini pump giving it nearly top marks with just the kinking hose causing some retraction issues. At £33, it’s good value but nearly double the weight of the Gravel 2Stage or the SKS below.
SKS’s AirboyXL impressed Ty at £27 with its reversible valve head and ergonomic design to aid pumping but has no flexi tube. It’s 180mm long and weighs in at approximately 90g so it’s small and easy to stash.
The Topeak Gravel 2Stage mini pump works efficiently but it’s not easy on the back or the hands. The price looks good for the performance and, let’s face it, you are only going to use it in an emergency and, in that case, it stashes away effectively for that very situation.
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Product purpose:
Build extra:
Product performance
Product performance extra:
In terms of compression performance, it becomes very hard to use over 30 psi and 100strokes. I’ve no idea if 60 would even be possible or whether your hands would ever recover Score sub 5.
I’d say its not exactly effortlessly as described by Topeak on their product page.
Product durability
Product durability extra:
Product weight
Product weight extra:
Product comfort
Product comfort extra:
With no hose, you have to hold it around the wheel tyre and valve head area which is uncomfortable in almost every position I tried.
It’s difficult to actually compress the pump together to get over 30PSI.
product value
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Product value extra:
In terms of duarbility and warranty and comfort it’s less so.
2 years is pretty short compared to Blackburn and Silca’s Lifetime warranties
Overall performance:
Gets the job done quickly and gets you back on the trail.
Product likes:
length
Product dislikes:
very difficult to actually compress over 34PSI and about 100 Strokes on various test wheels.
