The Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump has that retro look, mimicking frame pumps of old. With a screw-attachment hose it'll get your tyres up to triple-figure pressures at the side of the road pretty simply, should you require it.
The Unich HP comes in two lengths; this, as you've probably guessed by the name, is the longer of the two at 233mm, meaning it only just squeezes into the category of mini pump for me: it should fit in a jersey pocket and stay put while riding, something the Long only just manages without toppling out.
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You do get a frame fitting mount included, which attaches using your bottle cage bolts, allowing the pump to sit alongside the cage and water bottle.
The Unich is a simple design with very few parts. Inside the handle you will find the rubber hose screwed in place to keep it safe. Unscrew it, pull it out, flip it round, screw it back into place, and you're ready to go.
It feels a bit odd using the pump 'backwards', with the hose exiting the handle end, but it keeps things simple.
The rubber hose is 140mm long, which takes a lot of the pressure away from the valve when you are pumping, as its flexibility allows it to move around a lot.
A smart little anodised fitting at the valve end allows the Unich to be used with both Presta and Schrader valves by unscrewing it and flipping it to whichever end you need. Both types screw onto the valve for a solid, airtight connection. Only once on a Presta valve did I have any leakage, which just required unscrewing and retightening on the valve.
> Check out our guide to the best pumps and CO2 inflators here
As far as pressures go, I got 60psi into a 28mm tyre after 150 strokes, with another 50 taking that up to 87psi without too much effort. The barrel does start to get mighty warm, though. Another 50 took things up to around 100psi and it was becoming a bit of an effort. Unich claims a capacity of 140psi, which I'm not denying, but there was no way my biceps were going to be doing it.
Overall, the Unich HP Long is a really nice, simple pump that, from what I can see, isn't going to let you down at the side of the road.
The shiny finish looks smart (although it does scratch easily) and the anodised finished parts come in orange, blue, silver, black and grey, so you might be able to match it to your bike. The price is pretty good too, and it fits in well alongside other alloy models from Lezyne and Birzman.
Verdict
Super-shiny high pressure pump that works very well and seems reassuringly durable
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Unich High Pressure Long Mini Pump
Size tested: 233m
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?
The Unich High Pressure Long mini pump is designed to be a portable option for fixing flats on the road. With its screw-on hose and alloy body it's also quite retro.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Length - 233mm
Claimed Weight - 100g
Claimed Capacity - 140 PSI
Use - Road & MTB Tyre
Smart valve included PRESTA and SCHRADER.
There isn't much to it to be fair but it's well finished and looks the business.
Impressive performance near that of a traditional frame pump.
The polished finish scratches easily but the other minimal parts all seem up to the job for the long term.
Pretty good for a full alloy construction and included hose.
Easy to grip as long as you don't have sweaty hands. Heat transfers to the body after 150-odd strokes.
Compares well with the likes of Lezyne, Birzman and so on.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Works well and something I'd definitely be happy to rely on out on the road.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The attachable hose for both Presta and Schrader.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The body scratches quite easily.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
The Unich is a dependable, simple to use mini pump that'll get your tyres up to a decent pressure at the side of the road.
About the tester
Age: 37
I usually ride: This month's test bike 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
Stu knocked out his first road.cc review back in 2009 and since then he's chucked the best part of seventy test bikes around the West Country, a couple of them quite literally! With three alloy and two steel bikes in his fleet he's definitely a metal man (that'll be the engineering background) but is slowly warming to that modern carbon fibre stuff along with fat tyres & disc brakes.
It's not all nostalgia though, after spending the last few years in product design Stu keeps banging on about how 3D printing is going to be the next big thing and he's a sucker for a beautiful paint job too.
4 comments
Are you Lezyne in disguise?
I think pump firms should only be allowed to advertise a certain pressure as measured going into a 25mm tyre on a 19mm rim, for 150 strokes. Or something like that. Certainly no longer than your increasingly-grumpy/cold clubmates would be prepared to wait, or the amount of pumping effort that say a slight female could manage. I'm no Hercules by a long shot, but as Stu infers above, I've had my arms give out in a hot, gnarled-fist, cramped, aching-bicep mess long before the headline pressure was reached.
Tony/Dave - how about Road.CC lead the charge in the industry with a standardised, real-world benchmark test?
Clearly, and as I've found with reviews of my own, the idea a pump like this can realistically achieve 140psi without taking quarter of an hour and several rotations of pump monkey is utter nonsense.
Exactly!
Lezyne's hose is stored on one end of the pump and you have to take it out and attach it on the other end to use it. Unich's + birzman and other's on the market designs it so that the hose simply extends out of the barrel which saves time.
Easier to replace hose (if damaged) on the Lezyne.