Bike Accessories Reviews

By Michael Frank

This space is often devoted to brand-new stuff we've ridden briefly and liked, but this week I'm focusing on items I've ridden for at least six months - with one exception for today's column on Topeak's Joe Blow Ace ($99).

The reason I'm making that exception is that I've been using the Topeak Twister ($85 original retail) for over two years without a hiccup. And during that span, I've been through three cheaper floor pumps, which makes me think the investment in the Twister was worthwhile.

The Ace is an upgrade on the Twister for a few reasons. It has three settings designed to make inflating both at high pressure and high volume, easier. For high volume, when, say, you need to inflate a fat MTB tire, two barrels let you move a lot of air with each pump. Between 60 PSI, to 120 PSI, a single barrel works at higher pressure. Above 120 PSI (up to 260 PSI!), a small barrel enables you to push a small trickle of air into your tubular/track tubes.

The Ace also has a rebuildable SmartHead (same for Presta or Schrader) with a built-in bleeder button so you can lower pressure slightly in order to get the exact PSI you're aiming for. My favorite feature is that the body of this pump is tall, so you don't have to stoop as much to get the job done. INFO:

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