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Fumpa Pump

8
£139.00

VERDICT:

8
10
A really easy way to get tyres of any size inflated, fast, saving the hassle of carrying/using a track pump.
Weight: 
377g

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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The Fumpa Pump is capable of inflating tyres to trackpump pressures with zero effort, again and again. With a multi-scale digital pressure gauge and reversible head, It's a travel-friendly feasible substitute for a trackpump. If you have the cash, that is.

  • Pros: Inflates tyres fast, accurate pressure, battery level meter, reversible Presta/Schrader head, compact, free battery replacement
  • Cons: Price, discharges if left on, not USB-C so long charging time, no fully-charged indication, battery charge level somewhat inaccurate

Hailing from Australia - a country renowned for its quantities of hot air - the Fumpa Pump does an admirable job of shifting as much of the stuff as possible into your tyres with zero effort. The premise is pretty simple: small compressor, battery, gauge - job done. That no-one's managed to do it previously in a package that works so well is testament to the Fumpa team and their vision of making cycling a bit easier and more convenient.

The Fumpa Pump is a quality bit of kit - from the anodized alloy body and valve head, to the digital display and 360-degree hose joints, it just feels classy. Which is just as well, having asked you a pretty £139 you'd hope for something to drool over and fondle repeatedly. At this point I imagine many readers will be reaching for the Font Of Disbelief / Indignity / Derision, that something this small and apparently simple can cost so much for so little benefit over a £30 trackpump, but hear me out - this is a pretty decent product.

Fumpa say 'We have designed Fumpa to be used before you go for a ride. So this one stays at home in your garage. If you've got presta valves we believe it is arguably the fastest and simplest way to pump up your tyres, especially for road bikes'.

The digital pressure gauge reads in PSI, kPa or Bar, and is really accurate - it varies maybe plus or minus 10PSI when inflating. This makes it pretty easy to hit a target figure - just go about 10psi over, stop then wait for the pressure to settle. You toggle through the pressure scales with a single quick press of the button. To inflate, it's simply a matter of turning on, pressing the head onto the valve, and holding down the button. You'll appreciate immediately that this pump is LOUD - you'll need to shout to talk to someone right next to you, and if you use it in a hotel, chances are the neighbours will be knocking on the walls before long.

In a non-scientific workshop test it took me about 23 seconds and thirty strokes of a typical trackpump to get a 23mm tyre to around 90PSI. It took the Fumpa pretty much exactly the same time, but obviously with no more effort than holding down the wee button and watching the gauge. Heading north to around 125psi took a total of 30 seconds from flat using the trackpump, and around 40 seconds for the Fumpa Pump, before it cut out at an indicated 125PSI, measured at 128 on an SKS Airchecker digital pressure gauge.

Doing multiple inflations, the Fumpa could get a 23mm tyre to 100PSI three times in quick succession - averaging 22 seconds per inflation - before the display started flashing and the thermal cutout kicked in, and it needed to cool down. As you'd imagine, shifting that much air in the palm of your hand means a lot of heat buildup to deal with, so you should welcome that protection circuitry. Indeed, repeated quick inflations almost warrants wearing a glove to handle the valve end of the Fumpa. Waiting around five minutes it was good to go again.

In total, from a 100% charge down to zero, the Fumpa was able to inflate a 23mm tyre to 100PSI a total of six times. Shifting to a 26' MTB tyre at a healthy 30psi, it managed five inflations in a row before it needed a cool off, those five bursts taking half the battery life. Once chilled out, it was good for four more 30PSI bursts in a row - so a total of either six high-pressure skinny tyres or nine MTB tyres.

Charging is via a supplied standard micro USB cable at a current of 550mA, and takes about three and a bit hours to charge from flat. You get to an indicated 30% charge after 15 minutes - but that's only good for one pump up to 23mm at 75PSI, so the battery charge scale clearly isn't linear. Fumpa say a faster-charging USB-C would have increased both the size of the pump and the cost. Somewhat annoyingly, the 'I'm charging' red button doesn't go out once charged. You can always turn it on to see the charge level, but this is something they really should address - the charging button on the little brother miniFumpa pump does go out once charged. An indicated charge of 50% after about an hour was good for three 23mm tyre-to-100PSI inflations, then a final gasp of 40PSI before the battery was empty.

Fumpa explain that the motor inside - and therefore the battery - run at 12V, not the standard 5V that USB delivers. This need to step up the incoming charge voltage means a power conversion circuit is needed, which generates heat, which needs dissipating. Hence they deliberately limit the charging current to keep things sensibly warm. They could make charging faster, but with my electrical engineer hat on that would likely require a cooling fan or large heatsink, so to keep things small and light they've opted to go with a slower charge - fair enough.

One point to note is that if you leave the Fumpa turned on it drains the battery pretty quick - from full to zero inside nine hours. Apparently it's down to the LED display being on, and given there's no auto-off timer or cover over the sliding on switch, you'd best pay attention when putting away after using or packing in a bag or toolbox.

Fumpa say they have had batteries in use by customers for four years now, with no complaints about longevity - and they do promise to replace any batteries free of charge if returned.

The machined alloy head is reversible for use with Schrader valves, and the rubber insert can be replaced, a pack of two costing £7.90. A 1.5m locking dual-head extension hose can be had for £11.90, if you need more space to work with. They also sell a needle insert for inflating sports balls.

In the month or so I've been living with the Fumpa Pump It's been rather handy. Having a number of bikes in the shed means checking tyre pressure reasonably often, especially tubeless as the weather warms up, days lengthen and I'm riding more. There's a huge difference in performance and feel between even 35 and 45PSI (35mm supple tubeless is the future folks), and with all tyre types air does leak eventually. Being able to carry the Fumpa Pump easily in a pocket whilst roaming the house / garden sorting various bikes to exactly the right pressure has been pretty handy - especially with bikes hung from wall hooks, not having to take them down amongst the clutter of a garage/shed just to use a track pump has made the weekly topping up of tubeless systems easy and fast. For people flying anywhere it's a no-brainer - at 377g and fitting in your hand, the Fumpa Pump negates the need for a large, relatively heavy trackpump. Yes you could use a minipump, but that chore gets old real fast. If you're dealing with any sort of back/shoulder/arm ailment, using a track or minipump might not even be an option. If you want to go really small/light, check out the 185g miniFumpa.

For those wondering, no this isn't a solution to mounting tubeless tyres - there's simply not enough inrush of air to do that. If your tyres can seat with a normal trackpump maybe - and as tubeless standards evolve that's a definite possibility. I did find it very handy to have on the workbench a few times whilst sorting out / topping up tubeless wheels, being able to use one-handed which is definitely not an option with a manual pump.

Back in 2014 John reviewed the now-discontinued £50 B'Twin hand compressor and was rather taken with the concept, despite some foibles. For many years mechanics on the pro cyclocross scene have used Bosch or Craftsman handheld battery compressors to help quickly and easily deal with tyre pressure in often hectic, muddy service pits - unfortunately both are now discontinued. There's a veritable plethora of inflators now available online for around the £50 mark, of the inevitable quality, weight and size variability - most are well over a kilo and the size of a large cordless drill. The Fumpa Pump clearly wins out here, and with the promised warranty support for the battery is likely to last you a lot longer too.

Yes, £139 is a lot of cash for a trackpump replacement, and whether the Fumpa Pump is for you will depend on your use case. If you suffer from an ailment that makes using a manual pump hard, if you need to travel and have weight/space constraints, or need to service lots of bikes in tricky-to-reach places, it might be just the ticket.

Verdict

A really easy way to get tyres of any size inflated, fast, saving the hassle of carrying/using a track pump.

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Fumpa Pump

Size tested: One

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?

It's for people needing to inflate any sort of bike tyre, quickly and with zero effort, due to injury or any other reason.

Fumpa say:

Engineered specifically for cyclists, our Fumpa Pumps are simple to use, effortless, light weight, and very very fast.

Fumpa has been designed for accuracy and speed. Use Fumpa before you go out for a ride

Used by road cyclists, triathletes, mountain bikers, BMX and casual riders.

Contains a patented compressor design, which compresses surrounding air at remarkable speeds to fill your tyres.

Utilises brushless motor technology to provide incredible power to the compressor.

Relies on a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, which is easily charged using the supplied micro-USB cable.

Incorporates a patented casing design, which provides strength, reduces vibration and thermally stabilises the internal compressor.

Intuitive push-button start.

Fumpa also includes a digital pressure sensor to present accurate pressure readings to the user (in psi, kPa and Bar units).

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

Size: 42x73x87mm

Weight: 380 g

Inflates 6 tyres on a single charge

Accurate digital pressure gauge

Accepts Presta and Schrader valves

120psi max pressure

0-100psi: 20-25 seconds (700x23c tyre)

USB rechargeable

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

It's artisanal-grade build here - oozes quality.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

For the size, it packs a punch you wouldn't expect, both speed and capacity-wise

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

Seems really solid, and the offer of battery replacement is a great add-on

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

It's less than 1/3 the weight of a track pump, if this matters.

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

It gets hot, for sure, but only during multiple inflations. Easily held by even small hands.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

This is the only drawback - for that price you can get a seriously nice floorpump with tubeless tank included.

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

Can't fault it - it puts lots of air in, fast. Just make sure you remember to turn it off.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The ease of portability and use.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Only the charging, really - they should fix that for the next version, with a charged-light-off setup, and maybe a timer to turn it off to prevent accidental discharge.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It is indeed a premium bit of kit at a premium price, no escaping it. But for the size/weight, I can't find anything to match.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes-ish

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Being a fairly unique product, it's hard to gauge against competition, as there isn't really any. I'm calling four stars based on speed, ease of use, size, weight, warranty support and generall all-ruond design goodness.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 45  Height: 183cm  Weight: 72kg

I usually ride: Merida Ride 5000 Disc  My best bike is: Velocite Selene

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking, Dutch bike pootling.

Living in the Highlands, Mike is constantly finding innovative and usually cold/wet ways to accelerate the degradation of cycling kit. At his happiest in a warm workshop holding an anodised tool of high repute, Mike's been taking bikes apart and (mostly) putting them back together for forty years. With a day job in global IT (he's not completely sure what that means either) and having run a boutique cycle service business on the side for a decade, bikes are his escape into the practical and life-changing for his customers.

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16 comments

Avatar
KiwiMike | 4 years ago
2 likes

Below is a personal view sent to me by Caroline Stewart, posted here to add a professional's opinion:

=======================================================

A bit of background, my name is Caroline Stewart, I’m the mechanic for the Bianchi Dama women’s cycling team, an elite national level squad in the UK, I’ve previously worked for the Matrix Pro Cycling team and in several bike shops in the South East of England. I was also the lead instructor at Cycle Systems Academy when it was based in London.

Having read Mike’s review of the Fumpa, I asked him a few questions about its suitability for doing large numbers of small (top up) inflations with the view of working out whether it would be a worthwhile investment for me to use on our race programme, which includes the UK National Road Series, some international UCI races and some guest rides at the OVO energy Tour Series. Being a decent sort, Mike offered to send me the review pump for a month, covering a trip to Belgium, The Lincoln Grand Prix and four rounds of the Tour Series.

My first impressions were very good. The pump is well constructed, robust and well finished. It arrived fully charged (thanks Mike) and, on first use, it attached solidly to the valve with a snug, push on, fit. On its first proper outing in Belgium the bikes were prepared the night before, tyres inflated with a track pump as normal, and the Fumpa was used to set race pressures and pump up the race spares on the day. Having read Mike’s review, I pumped the tyres over pressure by about 10psi and let the value settle to the desired pressure, checking against my track pump for the first few as an accuracy check, all within 1 or 2 psi of the desired and indicated pressure. My only concern was that in bright sunlight the display was not easy to read, though moving around to shade it solved this problem. 

The first day also gave me a chance to check two other things, firstly the speed at which the battery drains if one leaves the switch on (within an hour or so) and the time to recharge from zero (around 3 hours this time). 

I’ve used the Fumpa at every event over the month with a maximum of 7 race bikes plus 4 sets of spare wheels and it has never dropped below 44 percent battery on completion, bearing in mind, in most cases the tyres in question (700c x25mm) were inflated from around 40-60 psi to race pressures around 85-100 psi depending on the riders and conditions. This leaves plenty of charge to replace tubes in the team car if needed, as the team uses clinchers, and the option to top up the battery from the USB in the car whilst rolling behind a race. In this usage scenario there have been enough breaks moving between bikes and wheels, that the pump has never hit the thermal cut out - though it does get quite warm in the hand. Inflation time is faster than most “non flash” track pumps and it is small and convenient to carry around a row of team bikes lined up pre-race. The small head size and push on nature means that disk wheel valve access should not be a problem, unlike most track pumps which need some form of adaptor to fit into the space.

Functionally, it has been brilliant. I would like to have some kind of case for it, having used it at the very rainy Durham round of the Tour Series and carrying it in a musette for pit use meant popping it in a plastic bag as the power connector does not have any blanking cover and the manufacturers website clearly says to protect it in the rain. 

I think the most noticeable thing I found was, without fail, at every event at which I have used the Fumpa, it has attracted the attention of team mechanics, Sports Directors and members of the public alike. Many of them took the details of the pump to investigate further.

The best endorsement I can give the pump would be the fact that as soon as I sent the review model back to Mike on Monday, I ordered myself a Fumpa from their UK website.

 

Avatar
ktache | 4 years ago
4 likes

Valve caps are not always necessary, and there are push on rubber ones, and the Schraeder valve does not need unscrewing.  I don't need an e-bike at the moment, and hopefully not for a very long time, but I might do.  When my back has gotten really bad, when riding was never bad but getting on and off a nightmare, using the track pump could be a horror, and not a great time to be using latex tubes.  I am glad that somebody is developing these things.

Avatar
workhard | 4 years ago
1 like

Dang that thing's small.

Could be a handy bit of kit for a Captain, or TEC, of a group ride to haul around. 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to workhard | 4 years ago
1 like
workhard wrote:

Dang that thing's small.

Could be a handy bit of kit for a Captain, or TEC, of a group ride to haul around. 

They also do a smaller model that from the pictures on their website, looks smaller than 2xCO2 cartridges.

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
5 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

They also do a smaller model that from the pictures on their website, looks smaller than 2xCO2 cartridges.

The review of the miniFumpa should be along any day now. It’s pretty darn good too. 

Avatar
workhard replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
0 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:
workhard wrote:

Dang that thing's small.

Could be a handy bit of kit for a Captain, or TEC, of a group ride to haul around. 

They also do a smaller model that from the pictures on their website, looks smaller than 2xCO2 cartridges.

Says it only does two tubes on a charge though; which would rule it out for me, in the context of Tail-End-Charlie duties.

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 4 years ago
3 likes

"In a non-scientific workshop test it took me about 23 seconds and thirty strokes of a typical trackpump to get a 23mm tyre to around 90PSI. It took the Fumpa pretty much exactly the same time, but obviously with no more effort than holding down the wee button and watching the gauge."
Isn't this the equivalent of looking for the nearest parking space to the gym door? Embrace the extra bit of exercise in using the track pump.
 

Avatar
StraelGuy replied to don simon fbpe | 4 years ago
2 likes
don simon fbpe wrote:

"In a non-scientific workshop test it took me about 23 seconds and thirty strokes of a typical trackpump to get a 23mm tyre to around 90PSI. It took the Fumpa pretty much exactly the same time, but obviously with no more effort than holding down the wee button and watching the gauge."
Isn't this the equivalent of looking for the nearest parking space to the gym door? Embrace the extra bit of exercise in using the track pump.
 

 

Or people endlessly circling the supermarket car park for hours instead of getting off their fat lardy arse and walking to the door getting a wee smidgen of exercise in the process .

Avatar
kil0ran | 4 years ago
0 likes

Oh, right - it's tiny. Now it makes more sense. Review photos could have been better to make that obvious.

Avatar
janusz0 | 4 years ago
3 likes

Fumpa Pumpa On One's Pompino?
If it's just for garage use, why not offer a mains powered version with cooling fan?
For carrying on a bike the miniFumpa Pumpa sounds better.
It's hard to see why you'd need more than a track pump* at home and a miniFumpa on a ride.
* with a reservoir if you use tubeless tyres.

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to janusz0 | 4 years ago
0 likes
janusz0 wrote:

...It's hard to see why you'd need more than a track pump* at home and a miniFumpa on a ride.

For many people, I'd agree. For the rest, it's really the physical 'can you use a track pump' or 'have you got space to use a track pump'.

 

...Or 'can you be arsed using a track pump'  1 .

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to KiwiMike | 4 years ago
2 likes
KiwiMike wrote:
janusz0 wrote:

...It's hard to see why you'd need more than a track pump* at home and a miniFumpa on a ride.

For many people, I'd agree. For the rest, it's really the physical 'can you use a track pump' or 'have you got space to use a track pump'.

 

...Or 'can you be arsed using a track pump'  1 .

My grandson could use a track pump at the age of 9, how many adults couldn't use one, you can lean on the handle and that would be enough weight to push the handle down

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 4 years ago
8 likes
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
KiwiMike wrote:
janusz0 wrote:

...It's hard to see why you'd need more than a track pump* at home and a miniFumpa on a ride.

For many people, I'd agree. For the rest, it's really the physical 'can you use a track pump' or 'have you got space to use a track pump'.

 

...Or 'can you be arsed using a track pump'  1 .

My grandson could use a track pump at the age of 9, how many adults couldn't use one, you can lean on the handle and that would be enough weight to push the handle down

That's great, for your grandson. Hooray for able-bodied people. However, there are people out there with diseases like Parkinson's, who can hardly walk or hold a cup of tea - but can ride a bike.

This pump is a perfect solution for them, and for others with different ailments. Using a track pump one-handed, especially to high pressure, even able-bodied, sucks. 

Please, commentors, no more shade on the use case for people less-able than yourselves. Recognise that cycling is a broad church, no-one's forcing you to buy anything, and not everyone has your value mindset.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to KiwiMike | 4 years ago
0 likes
KiwiMike wrote:

That's great, for your grandson. Hooray for able-bodied people. However, there are people out there with diseases like Parkinson's, who can hardly walk or hold a cup of tea - but can ride a bike.

This pump is a perfect solution for them, and for others with different ailments. Using a track pump one-handed, especially to high pressure, even able-bodied, sucks. 

Please, commentors, no more shade on the use case for people less-able than yourselves. Recognise that cycling is a broad church, no-one's forcing you to buy anything, and not everyone has your value mindset.

I don't follow your comments. Given the disease leads to tremors and motor control issues, how do they get the dust cap off or unscrew the value or fit the pump on ?

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
4 likes
hirsute wrote:
KiwiMike wrote:

 

That's great, for your grandson. Hooray for able-bodied people. However, there are people out there with diseases like Parkinson's, who can hardly walk or hold a cup of tea - but can ride a bike.

This pump is a perfect solution for them, and for others with different ailments. Using a track pump one-handed, especially to high pressure, even able-bodied, sucks. 

Please, commentors, no more shade on the use case for people less-able than yourselves. Recognise that cycling is a broad church, no-one's forcing you to buy anything, and not everyone has your value mindset.

I don't follow your comments. Given the disease leads to tremors and motor control issues, how do they get the dust cap off or unscrew the value or fit the pump on ?

With difficulty?

Parkinson's isn't the only affliction that would affect someone's ability to use an ordinary pump (e.g. frozen shoulder, broken hand etc.), so KiwiMike's point is perfectly valid.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
4 likes

Is it wrong for me to giggle at the name? Sounds like a chocolate factory slave

 

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