Hello internet

Well, I must admit, I am a little bummed now that the Olympics are done.  Two weeks of high’s and low’s and the adrenaline rush associated with Olympic glory brought the icing on the cake: the Men’s Hockey final which, which seemed to unite a nation.

So although their is less exciting stuff on TV now to keep me entertained while I’m on the trainer, on the plus side, one look outside has me back to my over energetic self!  The weather is great and the official start to cycling season is upon us.

As I mentioned in my previous review of the Lezyne Alloy Drive pump, i promised that further pump reviews would be coming for the road bike enthusiaste crowd.  Today we’ll be looking at the Blackburn Airstik LongNeck, which is a new model for 2010.

Blackburn has been around around for over 30 years designing innovative cycling specific products.  Starting off with producing racks and pannier bags designed for rigurous bicycle touring, Blackburn quickly expanded their product line to include a lot of industry firsts such as first use of a dual stroke mini pump and, the first use of aircraft aluminum in construction of pannier racks to list a few.

The Airstik LongNeck continues on that innovative design trend with a lot of well thought out features.  The first thing you will find that stands out from any other pump you have used in the past is the detachable pump head.  By being able to pump up your tube independently of the main body of the pump you will be dramatically reducing the stress that is being put on your valve stem.  This is especially true of lighter weight road bike tubes which, in some cases, will use a thiner rubber to reduce tube weight and somtimes (depending on the rim), a longer valve stem, forcing you to to be a little more careful when inflating or changing a tube.

The detachable head incorporates a thumb lock which seats the pump head nicely around both schraeder and presta valves.   To switch between the two valves you simply have to uncrew the end cap and reverse your rubber gasket and adapator as Blackburn has done with all their pumps in the past.  If this sounds a little tricky have no fear, a great set of instructions are included with the pump.

Pump measures up pretty small so it can easily be stowed in your jersey pocket, Camelbak or used the included frame bracket and attach it right to the bike via the water bottle bolts.

The other important thing in any pump suitable for road bikes is the amount of PSI that pump is able to put out.  Most road tires 0f 18-25c range will run at about 110-120 nominal pressure but other brands will run higher pressures up to about 160 PSI.  The Airstik LongNeck has you covered because it will pump to  max of 160 PSI (it may take a lot of pumping to get their but..you’ll get their).  No although im reviewing this pump because i think it’s a great pump for roadies, it doesn’t have to be just your road bike pump.  Blackburn gives you the ability to switch between two modes on the pump, LOW for low pressures, high volume and HIGH for high pressures, low volume.  That means, say for example your mountain bike, would be pumped up on the LOW setting typically running 40-60 PSI while your road bike would benefit using the HIGH setting with a pressure of 110-120 PSI or more.

A few more things top off this sweet piece of cycling gear:  An all aluminum construction, Rebuildable internals (that means you can get parts down the road if needed) and a Lifetime Warranty.

Blackburn has been getting it right for over 30 years and it looks like they’re not stopping anytime soon intuitive products like the AirStik LongNeck.

A new helmet from Bell is on the horizon for my next post so stay in the loop.

P