SKS Revo MTB Bicycle Pump Review

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(More customer reviews)According to the USA distributor, I had one of the first SKS pumps imported into the United States.It has just lain on my bicycle frame from 2005 to 2010.I just didn't have a use for it during all that time.Flats occurred but riding mostly on city and suburban streets,I'd just call someone and they'd pick me up.Then, in April 2010, I'm out on a wilderness pathway.Tire goes flat.No taxi ever gonna make it out here!No problem.I've got wrenches, patches, and my trusty SKS air pump.Wrong!First real need that I had for the pump: It failed.A plastic pivot pin shattered as soon as I tried to use it so the locking lever flew off and the pump was useless.Because of the multi part design of the locking head, there was no way to make it work with only human hand pressure.I had to walk for miles with my bicycle limping beside me.Oh, yeah. Bikers passed me.No one had a pump.

No warranty is stated on the package (which I had saved).Called the factory.They said warranty was 5 years.I don't know if it is or not.I did complain about the failure at first real useage of the pump.It was tested once when purchased and then it just lay there, dormant,on the frame.The bike is always stored in a garage or a basement.It's never out in the weather except when I ride it infrequently.That pump could not have experienced milder conditions for storage.I told the factory (distributor) my tale of woe.I heard excuses about the plastic degrading over 5 years time and blah, blah, blah.Really?99 44/100% of its 5-6 year life was indoors out of the sunlight and yet they say the plastic degraded?Pretty far fetched, if you ask me.

Anyway, I complained.They offered to send me a current model pump if I'd pay $10.Yeah, I hear you.You are right.I should just consider it a total loss and a lesson learned and I should have said, "no."I hear you telling me that and I certainly knew better but the lady sounded sweet and sincere.I bit.$10 on my credit card.A couple of days later, the black plastic Revo is in my mailbox.I thought that Miss sweet and sincere said she'd send the alumimum bodied pump but I guess I was wrong.The plastic one has arrived.

Took it to the garage.Let the air out of my tire.Then, tried to pump it up with the Revo.100 pumps.200 pumps.Now I'm barely able to reach 30psi after way more than 500 strokes.Another 100 pump strokes.Another 100 pumps.Another 100 pumps.I'm clicking off so many groups of 100 strokes I've lost count.All I know is that by now I'm way over 1000 strokes.I'm barely pushing past 40psi.(It's got a built-in air pressure gauge of sorts.)I need to get to 50-60 psi.Can't get there.Pump, pump, pump.There's no audible leak even though I'm in a quiet garage.However, the stroke volume of this thing must be only a few cc's so it's not surprising that I hear nothing.It's barely moving any air at all.It could be leaking internally so that the sound of a few cc's of air rushing past a seal or piston or whatever is just muffled inside the pump body and I can't hear it.No matter what is wrong, I can tell you it certainly isn't pumping air.Yes.I can release the lock and air discharges from the stem.I'm sure the Shrader is depressed when I'm pumping.Just to be absolutely sure, I removed the Scrader from the stem.Again.I'm over 1000 strokes.My arm is tired.It's only up to about 35 psi and won't budge farther.

I check all the connections.I disassemble and reassemble the head to be sure it's set for Schrader instead of Presta.Yep.All is assembled correctly.All is tight.

So, the first SKS pump failed when I needed it.Now, the U.S.A. SKS distributor has sent me a replacement and it, too, has failed upon first use.

I called again to complain.She sounded sweet and sincere again.What a fool I am.I'm letting them send me another pump of a different design.I'm not a total idiot.I figure it's going to be a real hassle to get them to credit me with the $10 unless I send this defective replacement back to them.If they make me send this defective POS back to them, it will cost me almost $10 for shipping.So, I'm committed for $10 since the first day I fell for sweet and sincere's compelling voice.I might as well try again to maybe get something this time that will put 50-60 psi of air in my tire for my $10.

So?What if the 3rd one comes and seems to be reliable? Well, if that's the case, I'll come back to edit my review.I think Amazon allows editing and updating.I'll try the 3rd SKS pump when it arrives.

Actually, I've bought another pump of another brand that I think I can rely on.The 3rd SKS, when it arrives, will go on my wife's bike.She will never use it.She doean't even know how.She's always with me when we ride and I'll be using the "Bell" pump I just bought to fix any flats on her bike and mine, too.That SKS will just sit there for years and years like the last one.

However, no matter what the third SKS pump is like, you have to consider that my experience is possibly not an aberrant condition.I had two different models over a span of 6 production years and each failed upon first use.If you tend to ride where a taxi cab can't retrieve you, maybe you'd rather look at pumps with a more reliable reputation.

SKS has left me alone in the dark.(It was totally dark by the time I walked 6 miles back to my car with my limping bicycle when the thing went flat on a wilderness trail.)SKS has also replaced the failure with another failure.No matter what they send now, I can't trust it.(And, just think.It cost me $10 to get the second failure in April of 2010.I can't remember what I paid 6 years ago for the first failure but it was probably between $10 and $20.)

So?I've got to ride and I'm really enjoying wilderness riding.I need a pump that I can depend upon.So, I bought a simple pump by "Bell."It's a very simple design.If its locking lever fails, I can hold it onto the Schrader stem with hand pressure.This simple little Bell doesn't rely on some high-tension multi-segmented mechanism supported only by a flimsy plastic pin or lever.This simple little Bell is plastic and it doesn't hide the fact.If its piston seals weaken, I think I can disassemble it on the road and spit into the bore to seal the thing well enough to get a tire filled and get back to civilization.If the locking lever breaks, I can simply push the valve depressor/head onto the inner tube stem to seal it well enough to put air into the tire while I operate the pump with the other hand and then get back on the road.

Some of these SKS pumps have snazzy carbon fiber bodies or aluminum bodies but it seems they all have some sort of Achilles heel that totally disables them.No matter how exotic their bodies may be, you've got to look out for the little pin or lever or seal or whatever that will bring the entire contraption crashing towards total failure when you need it most.

My first pump had a plastic pivot pin that broke.Other parts of it appeared to be precision molded ABS and impressively machined aluminum pistons and such but when the call to action brought it into service, it was nothing more than a dismal failure when the main plastic pivot broke.Then, that pretty, high-tech looking "Revo" replacement came.It is all plastic in every respect but it, too, is impressively beautiful.However, it, too, is a total failure.

So, all I can say is, if you buy one, look for other reviews and be sure you see that lots of people are able to rely upon these things.Based on my experience, I'd have to say you'll be better off with almost any other brand.SKS seems to look good but it doesn't function.(If you're just adding eye-candy to your Trek, then SKS is for you.Go all out and get the carbon fiber models.)

However, if you need a pump that will get your precious carcass back home from a wilderness ride?I'm thinking that SKS will probably sacrifice your well-being while it sits there looking pretty.

SKS leaves you stranded even though the pumps carry a relatively high price tag.Their design does not lend the pump to repairs on the road using duct tape and baling wire, paper clips,and such.If an integral component of an SKS pump fails, you are stranded--period.There is no way to make the thing work even half way.It's just dead.

The little $15 Bell plastic pump I just bought?I've pumped up the tire about 5 times in the garage to test it.Way less than 100 total pumps brings the tire to 55 psi--right where I like it.I can hold the head on the stem and pump up the tire even without flipping the lock lever.It isn't a high tech beauty but it will save me when I'm stranded.There's a lot to be said for that.Also, it looks as though short of running it over with a car to crack the body, there doesn't seem to be much that will break down in an emergency.

Stranded is okay if you're in the city where you can call AAA or a cab.However, if you ride in places where civilization is somewhat distant, maybe something besides an SKS pump is more likely to get you back home.

Like I say, don't rely totally on my review.I'm the first to review this pump at Amazon.Maybe the SKS failures I've experienced are truly not the norm.But, I certainly want to warn you--be sure to find many, many glowing positive reports about SKS pumps before you plunk down your cash to buy one ... unless, of course, you just want a useless carbon fiber adornment to beautify your carbon fiber mountain bike.

Me?I've just got a steel bike.A plastic pump is fine as long as it gets my fleshy hide back home in one piece.Carbon fiber...Read more›

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Product Description:
Revolutionary Technology.The REVO pump, with its integrated pressure gauge is breaking new ground in the bicycle pump industry.Super innovative NEW product.REVO also features twist top valve connection lock that engages and clamps the valve securely.Head reverses for Presta/Schrader connection.

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