Lezyne Essentials: Mini Pump - Multi Tool - CO2

I have to admit a certain reluctance to adopt new things.  I still think that square taper cranks are good stuff. Steel makes for a fine rigid bicycle.  Wool jerseys rock.  Now I am no retro grouch.  I love disc brakes.  Full suspension does good things for the ride.  But I carry a bike pump that I have owned since the 90s, most likely.  I forget exactly.  Most guys I ride with just carry those little cartridges that look like they came out of a jet pack for a hamster.  CO2, ya know.  Who carries a pump anymore?

The thing is, carrying a bike pump makes a lot of sense.  CO2 is fine as long as you have one or two flats.  How about three flats with two cartridges?  Or maybe you just have bad luck with the CO2 deal and it all goes into the atmosphere and not the tube, creating all kinds of global warming, no doubt.  So I always carry a pump...too much time in the back country to do otherwise.  But that old pump is not exactly small and now I find that I am going to be forced to go all modern and everything since my pump does not fit into some of the hydration packs I have been using lately.  I needed a smaller pump and, I can hardly believe I am going this far, perhaps even a CO2 based inflator system. 

I had always liked the way that Lezyne designed their products I had seen in the ads in magazines, etc; metal barrels, rebuildable parts, nice looking.  So when I stepped into the Lezyne booth at Sea Otter I was expecting to see a couple of pumps and some multi tools.  I did see that and a lot more; lots of multitools, lots of pumps, and even hydration packs and tool bags. Wow!

I thought that they would be a good start into the modern age of a more portable pump and CO2 based inflation.  As well, the multitool I had did not offer a T25 Torx and the new SRAM XX is all about T25 Torx screws.

Soon a box of goodies arrived including a new, well...mini pump is not quite right.  Is there a 'midi' pump? There is now.  The pump by itself weighs 204 grams and the entire setup, clamp and pump, are 219 grams.

How cool is that?  As well, a sleek multitool and a tiny CO2 valve/dispenser dealie were in the bubble pack of goodness.   

To begin with, the pump:  The Micro Floor Drive HV. When I first saw this, I thought "Now THAT is a mini pump after my heart".  Cool looking with the foot peg, the long hose, the long stroke...gimmicks?  We shall see.  First thing to know, it is not that small (12 inches long).  I have to say that it pushes the line of mini pump into the newly designated by me (all copyrights reserved) 'midi pump' zone.  In fact, I was also thinking it may not fit into my hydration pack at all.  It did...barely but if it does not, it comes with a water bottle boss mounting bracket that has a velcro strap keeper to help the clips keep the pump in place.  That avoids the plastic clips breaking off or just letting go and the pump becoming trail debris.  Been there done that.  I prefer to keep my pump in the hydration pack, as I move between too many bikes to have it mounted.  Also, I don't want the pump there to tempt thieves or get all mucked up in bad weather.  For a video look at the pump, see below.

To see how well it worked, I deflated the front tire on the SS Jabberwocky until the Presta valve was not hissing any more air out of it.  I then inflated the tire with my normal floor pump till the gauge read 25psi.  It took 32 strokes to get there.  I dumped all that air out and did the same thing with the Micro Floor Drive HV. It took 120 strokes to get to 25psi.  Not too bad considering it is a 2.2" 29er tire.  The hose is quite long and the fitting that threads onto the valve adapts to either Presta or Schraeder.  I did get some discomfort where the end of the pump handle pressed into my palm.  It took a bit of grip adjusting to find a comfy way to hold it while inflating the tire and wearing cycling gloves while using it was a plus.

On the trail, I let a buddy use it to add some air to his low tire.  Eezy-peezy using the extension hose and the foot peg.  Muuuuch better then the way my old pump clamped the pump head directly to the presta valve...too easy to bend the valve.

The mini tool, the V10 model, replaced my separate allen combo and chain tool.  It is lighter than the old set-up but does lack some of the leverage that the older set up gave me with the longer allen extensions.  Still, It was OK for all the bolts I tried it on, even if it took some hand strength to get 'er done. It comes with a slip cover, but I replaced it with a section of inner tube to keep it wrapped down a bit tighter.  That, and I love using old inner tubes for stuff.

The CO2 Trigger Valve worked just fine.  It was better if I kept my long fingered gloves on as the cartridge frosts up a bit when the CO2 is dispensed.

If you can deal with the size of the pump, it is a fine tool so far.  If the size is an issue, Lezyne has lots of other options.  As far as weights, here is the tale of the scale:  I gained 55 grams overall with the pump, multi-tool, and CO2 set-up, but that is compared to the old pump, a multitool with no Torx bit, a separate chain breaker and no CO2 at all.    

Overall, I gained a few grams in my kit, but I have more inflation options, a multi-tool with the Torx driver I needed, and the pump now fits into a pack like the Osprey Raptor 6 I have been testing. That is a win for me.

Check out Lezyne.com and see what they have to offer.