Extended and ready for action

Chuck tucks away when not in use

Wildly optimistic gauge

SKS Puro mini pump £25.99 (aluminium finish)

If nothing else, a ‘road’ pump must be able to inflate its recipient tyre to a decent pressure. If 100psi is a ball-park riding figure, then 80psi is surely the minimum get-you-home pressure if pinch flats are to be avoided. A get-you-home inflation pressure is, almost by definition, insufficient for sustained fast riding; sadly, even this is beyond the pretty-looking, technically advanced and beautifully finished Puro pump from inflation specialists SKS.

Bearing the legend ‘Pure Road’ on its silvery flanks, the aluminium version of the Puro comes complete with clip bracket for mounting under a bottle cage. In closed mode, it is neat and unobtrusive with an all-up weight of a gnat’s over 80g. Getting it ready for action requires a twisting action to release the plunger and another to eject the Presta-only chuck.

The Puro opens to reveal a gauge inside the transparent shaft. The gauge reads up to 140psi. Unfortunately, the only time it is going to see this pressure is when the pump is pushed onto the valve of a tyre inflated that hard. Our tests involved both trying to inflate a tyre from flat and, when this proved unimpressive, trying to get a semi-hard tyre harder. Fitted to a tyre at 80psi, which it previously failed to reach, the Puro simply let enough out to get the gauge to 80 and then, dispiritingly, stayed there despite frenzied attempts to get it higher. As an mtb pump, the Puro is probably just the job; purely as a road pump, however, it falls short of adequate.

Also available in carbon (£39.99) and black (£19.99) versions.