Fumpa Pump

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.