Topeak Road Master Blaster frame pump

Topeak's Road Master Blaster is a well-thought-out frame pump that's a reliable companion for longer excursions. Well built and capable of high pressures, it's a great touring or Audax pump.

The Aluminium-barrelled, plastic-ended Master Blaster has a sprung handle and comes with a strap to keep it snugly attached to your bike; there's four sizes to fit pretty much any frame. Once removed you can lock the handle and pump either Presta or Schraeder tubes (via interchangeable internals) to a claimed 160psi. As usual this is a wildly optimistic maximum, but I stuffed 100psi into a 700x23c tyre in just over 100 strokes without any problems at all. I managed nearly 120psi before my arms fell off. The pump has a high/low pressure switch to save time in the early stages, so tyres go up quicker than you'd think.

Other nice features of the Master Blaster are the solid and positive metal thumblock, and the dust seal on the head to stop it silting up in the winter. Overall it's a well thought out and user friendly bit of kit, and streets ahead of a mini pump in terms of performance. This is much more than a get-you-home pump, it's capable of restoring tyres to full pressure out on the road with the minimum of fuss. If you're on any kind of ride where limping home on 80psi isn't an option, it's a worthwhile buy.

Verdict

Well designed, well made frame pump that's a good long-distance companion