Giant Control Tower 0 Floor Pump

Giant's Control Tower 0 is a sturdy, solid feeling, easy-to-use track pump – especially thanks to its digital display – and it's a pretty good deal too.

• Pros: Comfortable handle, leak free head
• Cons: Not the sturdiest base

The 2-inch digital display is positioned at the top of the pump, which makes it easy to read without having to stare down at the floor, and it displays the pressure in bar, PSI and kg/cm2. There is also a battery life indicator.

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Tested against a dial pressure gauge I use on the car, the Giant is pretty much spot on, with about a couple of psi in it.

When attaching it to the valve there is no need to faff around with the head of the pump. It uses what Giant calls the AutoHead and it seamlessly switches between Presta and Schrader valves with ease.

Clamping onto the valve, it doesn't feel that firm a connection but it never leaked even when going from completely flat up to 100psi. (Under the screen it says that it'll cope with a max pressure of 180psi, should you ever need it.)

With a 1.2m hose it doesn't matter where the valve is sitting on the wheel, either.

The Control Tower 0 uses a steel barrel and base which creates a solid feel throughout the pumping action, although the feet could do with being a little wider in my view to really get a good purchase on with your shoes. It has a rubber section underneath the base which gives it extra grip and should stop it marking tiled or wooden flooring.

The handle has a grippy feel to it, and being flared backwards it's a comfortable shape to use. It's strong, too, so no flex issues.

It has little pockets at each end too, to hold some accessories like a ball/bladder adaptor and there is a valve core removal tool in the other.

The Giant delivers 355cc of air volume per stroke and pumped up a 25mm tyre from flat to 80psi in 19 strokes, and 100psi in 25 strokes, which isn't long at all.

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Priced at £59.99, it's way cheaper than the last digital pump I tested, the Truflo Digitrack at £99.99. Mind you, that was three years ago and it's still in daily use.

When it comes to good value track pumps, I highly rate models from the Topeak Joe Blow range, and this Giant has the same quality feel as the Elite that I tested a little while back. That one uses a dial gauge rather than a digital one, for £49.99; Topeak doesn't use digital gauges on any of its pumps.

Overall, the Control Tower 0 is well made, feels sturdy and has a precise gauge for what isn't a huge outlay.

Verdict

A simple-to-use, leak-free pump with a precise gauge and quick inflation