Pumps For Electric Bikes

Bicycle pumps come in all different shapes and sizes but most modern pumps are a compromise between functionality and size/weight. Primarily, you're looking to make sure that the pump head, i.e the bit you attach to the inner tube, is of the correct type for your inner tubes. This would normally be Presta or Schrader.

Presta and Schrader are the two most commonly seen valve types although there are some manufacturers still making Woods/Dunlop type valves. Presta valves offer the highest level of pressure sealing capacity and so these are more commonly found on road bikes where pressures of as much as 120psi are used. On mountain bikes, you'll be more likely to find a Schrader valve, which is exactly the same type used on vehicle tyres and normally used where 50psi or less needs to be held back although we are seeing more Presta use in mountain bikes because most tubeless valves are of this type. Woods/Dunlop valves are a very old design but still appear occasionally and can be inflated using a Presta designed pump. Most pump models have a reversible head or plug fitted inside, allowing users to inflate both Presta and Schrader without the need for separate pumps.

CO2 inflators are a brilliantly compact and lightweight "get out of jail free card" at the side of the road or trail, but don't replace a proper bicycle pump. This is because pure CO2 (compressed into little metal "bulbs" at around 850PSI), has much smaller molecules than the air you breathe and this leaks through the tube and tyre walls at a far faster rate than Nitrogen, which makes up 78% of the dry air in our atmosphere, and which you pump into your tyres. If you were to only use a CO2 inflator systems you'll find that over the course of a few days, your tyre will be flat again. Its best used to re-inflate after a puncture to continue your ride, but should be replaced within 24-48 hours with ordinary air to ensure the tyre remains at optimum pressure.