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Truflo Digitrack track pump

7
£99.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Brilliantly performing high-pressure track pump, but the LCD screen pushes the price too high
Weight: 
1,450g

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.

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Truflo's Digitrack Track Pump is very well manufactured and does the business of getting air into your tyres in a fast and solid manner. You'll have to decide whether it's worth the extra price to have a digital display, though.

Ergonomics is something Truflo has concentrated on with its track pump. This shows with things like the slightly upwards swoop of the handles and the extra couple of inches (over competitors) of barrel length, which means you can stand a little more upright when pumping up your tyres. It all helps if you suffer from lower back pain.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

It's a sturdy item to use as well, certainly having some weight without being overly heavy. The housing for the LCD protrudes out quite far, so when it's paired with the outer feet you get a solid three-pronged base to push against. And it needs to be as the Truflo is rated to 240psi/16.5 bar – not that we tested it that far, though I did manage to get 180psi into a pair of tubs without too much hassle.

Truflo Digitrack track pump - 3.jpg

The head is a beautiful piece of machined alloy with a thumb clamp to hold it on the valve. It takes a fair bit of pressure to use but does guarantee a leak-free fit – you just have to be careful that you don't bend the valve when tightening it.

Truflo Digitrack track pump - valve head.jpg

Both Presta and Schrader valves are catered for thanks to a switchable head, which only takes a couple of seconds to swap over.

The LCD screen is colour and backlit so it's easy to see in most lights, in fact pretty much everything except direct sunlight. By tapping the buttons you can set the pressure limit you want to reach in psi, bar or kg/cm3, and the numbers flash red when you reach that figure. All pretty snazzy, but for this type of money I'd like to see, or hear even, an audible warning.

Truflo Digitrack track pump - base.jpg

On the screen there's also a battery indicator to show how much life you've got left in the two CR2032 coin style batteries. I've had the Truflo two months now, using it five or six times a week, and the battery indicator has yet to drop.

Performance-wise, the Truflo reached 100psi/6.9 bar in 22 strokes; that's nothing exactly out of the ordinary compared to its competitors, but certainly quick enough.

> Check out our guide to the best track pumps here

The big question then, what about value?

Truflo says the Digitrack has the quality of its mechanical Airess pump with the added bonus of an LCD screen. The Airess is £59.99, so does having digital numbers instead of a needle and gauge warrant an extra £40? Not for me, I have to say.

And that's my overall conclusion really: the Digitrack is a really good pump in the way it works and feels, but I can't really see why it needs to be so expensive. Okay, you can be a little more precise with the digital display, but to my mind it's not a deal clincher.

Verdict

Brilliantly performing high-pressure track pump, but the LCD screen pushes the price too high

road.cc test report

Make and model: Truflo Digitrack track pump

Size tested: Silver

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?

Truflo says: "Taking the quality of our renowned Airess track pump, with the added bonus of a LCD display gauge"

The Digitrack pump is capable of the mega high pressures of track tubulars and everything below.

It's a very solid and well built pump that is easy to use.

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

Polished alloy body with laser etched graphics

Ultra stiff die cast base

2 tone handle

Easy to use base mounted LCD gauge

Rated to 240psi/16.5 Bar

Screw on clever head fits Presta and Schrader valves

Optimal 800mm height

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

A solid seal on the valve and a quick 22 strokes from 0 to 100psi.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

The key components are certainly well manufactured.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10

Enough weight to feel solid and sturdy.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10

The overall height and soft handle make it comfortable to use.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Truflo's similar Airess track pump uses a manual gauge and is priced at £59.99, and while the digital display here is great I don't think it warrants an extra 40 quid.

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

You can't really fault it for the way it does its job, but you do need to go easy with the thumb lever as it takes quite a bit of pressure, making it easy to bend the valve.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Secure, non-leak fit.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The price.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? I'd recommend it for its pumping ability, it'd be up to them if they wanted to pay the premium for the LCD.

Use this box to explain your score

The Digitrack is a really good pump, the valve fit and build quality are top notch, and I do really like the LCD screen. It's a gadget though and you'd have to decide whether it's worth the £40 premium over very similar quality manual-gauged pumps. I don't think it is, which brings the overall score down a bit.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Kinesis T2  My best bike is: Mason Definition

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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3 comments

Avatar
Danger Dicko | 8 years ago
1 like

A solution for a problem that's not really there.

Avatar
HalfWheeler | 8 years ago
1 like

Digital gauge? Fuck right off.  

Avatar
andyp replied to HalfWheeler | 8 years ago
1 like

HalfWheeler wrote:

Digital gauge? Fuck right off.  

bizarre comment.

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