Review: Cannondale Precise Floor Pump

Cannondale’s Precise Floor Pump has a long stroke and wide bore that makes fast work of filling tyres but its standout feature is a really big gauge that makes reading the pressure easy. It’s one of the best track pumps you can buy.

The Precise Pump’s main selling point is its very large gauge. It’s very easy to read, especially compared with many pumps with floor-level gauges whose manufacturers need to include a baby telescope in the box. Cannondale is cheating a bit to claim it’s 5in (12.5cm) across, though. That’s the size of the whole gauge; the window that shows the pointer is 7.5cm across, which is still a whole lot bigger than the 4.5cm gauges on my other two track pumps.

Track pump makers have two options for where to position the gauge. If it’s at or near the top of the shaft, it’s easy to read but vulnerable to damage if the pump gets knocked over. It’s safer at the bottom of the shaft, but harder to read. By placing a large gauge at the bottom of the shaft Cannondale solves the visibility problem while keeping the less-vulnerable placement. Chapeau!

This is a hefty piece of kit. At almost 2kg, it’s one of the heavier track pumps we’ve reviewed in the last few years. For most cycling gear, low weight is prized, but in a track pump, heft is a good thing as it implies sturdy construction and especially plenty of robust steel in the build. The surround and handle of the chuck are also metal, so that should help with durability. And, blimey that gauge is a big ‘un, missus!

The gauge is marked with ranges for different riding types: 5-30psi for mountain biking; 30-60 psi for gravel; 45-70psi for urban riding, and 75-125psi for road riding. The gauge tops out at 145psi so if you need insane pressures for, say, track racing, it’s back to the SKS Rennkompressor for you, I’m afraid.

To inflate my 25mm test tyre to 90psi took just 21 strokes with the Precise pump. My Specialized Air Tool Sport SwitchHitter II took 29 strokes, while an SKS Rennkompressor needed 31.

> How to choose the best bike tyre pressure – balancing speed, comfort and grip

There are two reasons for that. The Precise pump has the largest bore of the three with a main shaft that’s 34mm across against 31mm for the Specialized and 30mm for the SKS. It also has the longest stroke at 54.5cm versus 47cm for Specialized and 45cm for SKS. It simply pushes more air per stroke than the other two.

The downside of that is that smaller and especially lighter riders might struggle to get to high pressures. Pressure is force times area and the practical limit to how much force you can exert on a pump is your body weight. My household’s teenage waif struggled to get to 90psi.

A clever feature of the gauge is that it has two levels of precision built in. You can see in the photo that its markings are wider between zero and 40psi, and closer together above that. For the low pressures of mountain bike tyres and fatter gravel tyres that’s great, as it’s easier to really fine-tune your tyre pressure.

The chuck is self-adapting, which means there’s no need to faff about changing it from Schrader to Presta, and it worked brilliantly on every Presta or Schrader valve I tried it with.

There’s a bleed button on the chuck so you can inflate your tyres past your desired pressure and then drop it down to exactly the pressure you want. If you’re a tyre pressure obsessive (which probably means you’re riding mountain bikes or gravel) that’s a handy feature, but the button is very sensitive. It needs a delicate touch or you just blow all the pressure and have to repeat the process. It’s also easy to press it accidentally when you’re pulling the chuck off a valve. Cannondale might want to take another look at how this works and make that button less sensitive.

Value

There are vast numbers of track pumps to compare it with, but let’s home in on three that we’ve scored highly over the years.

It’s pricier than the Topeak Joe Blow Sport III, which has gone up to £46.99 since we reviewed it in 2019 and is generally excellent, but lacks the Precise Pump’s big gauge.

> Buyer’s Guide: 10 of the best track pumps

The £70 Lezyne Sport Gravel Drive (reviewed on off.road.cc last month) and Lezyne Alloy Floor Drive (up to £80 since we reviewed it in 2015) are both a bit posher, and have large gauges, bt you’re paying more for them.

That makes the Cannondale a serious contender if you’ve about £50 to spend on a track pump, and almost a no-brainer if you can find it for under £40.

Who should buy the Cannondale Precise Floor Pump?

Who shouldn’t? With its pressure recommendations for various types of riding, Cannondale presents this as one pump to rule them all, so if your household bike fleet covers road, urban and off-road cycling, it’s an excellent choice. Only trackies and possibly time triallists are excluded by the 150psi maximum pressure.

Verdict

Excellent track pump that gets tyres up to pressure quickly, aided by the large, easy-to-read gauge