Specialized Air Tool MTB Pump - Review
Sometimes you buy something, use it for a season and think, “This thing is alright.” It doesn’t automatically rocket to the top of your “best thing ever” list, per se. Instead, it just quietly goes about its business. It’s only after a couple more seasons that you look back and realize, “Shoot, this thing is actually kind of awesome because I’m still using it and I don’t really want to use anything else anymore.” That, right there, sums up my experience with this floor pump, the Air Tool MTB, which retails for $80 and is worth every damn cent of it. Specialized / @Specialized
There are no fewer than nine Air Tool floor pumps in the Specialized line for 2016—there are ultra-high pressure models for the skinny-tire set, shiny, polished aluminum models that probably look good in a garage, nestled next to some mid-life-crisis-edition sports car and bare-bones budget models for Top Ramen aficionados on the other end of the economic spectrum. This model—the Air Tool MTB—sits right in the middle of the range and makes the most sense for most mountain bikers. It ticks off all the boxes that actually matter.
Specialized's SwitchHitter II pump head automatically adjusts to fit either Presta or Schrader valves. Bonus point: it doesn't leak and get crappy over time.
The gauges on a lot of floor pumps are...What's the word? Oh, yeah--crap. They are crap. This one, however, has proven surprisingly accurate over the years.
In the Shop
The Air Tool MTB is designed to inflate tires fast. Real fast. So very fast, in fact, that you are supposed to easily seat tubeless tires with the thing. In truth, my success rate in getting those tubeless beads to pop satisfyingly into place is about 50/50, but a lot of that also boils down to the tire and rim combo in question. Thanks to its fat (508—cc) aluminum barrel, this thing does, in fact, push out a whole lot of air with relatively few strokes. It’s a low-pressure pump aimed squarely at fat tire types, so if you’re looking for a pump that will do double duty with skinny tires, there are better options. Something to consider.
Specialized equips this floor pump with their auto-selecting “SwitchHitter II” pump head that automatically fits both Presta and Schrader valves—no need to fumble about with the chuck to get the job done. The Air Tool also sports a pressure gauge that’s big enough to easily see from a distance, which is a good thing since it’s located at the base of the pump. I prefer my gauge to be a bit higher, but I can still make out my happy place on the base-mounted gauge and I’ve got the keen eyesight of Mr. Magoo.
On the upside, this pump is also very stable. The massive aluminum base ensures that the thing doesn’t get all floppy and tippy when you’re humping away on the thing. Finally, the build quality is good. It’s not a gold-plated Silca track pump—you probably won’t be grudgingly handing this thing over to your grandkids on your deathbed—but I’ve beat the crap out of it for three seasons and haven’t encountered a single problem to date. Win.
The Air Tool MTB is designed to inflate tires fast. Real fast. So very fast, in fact, that you are supposed to easily seat tubeless tires with the thing. In truth, my success rate in getting those tubeless beads to pop satisfyingly into place is about 50/50, but a lot of that also boils down to the tire and rim combo in question. Thanks to its fat (508—cc) aluminum barrel, this thing does, in fact, push out a whole lot of air with relatively few strokes. It’s a low-pressure pump aimed squarely at fat tire types, so if you’re looking for a pump that will do double duty with skinny tires, there are better options. Something to consider.
Specialized equips this floor pump with their auto-selecting “SwitchHitter II” pump head that automatically fits both Presta and Schrader valves—no need to fumble about with the chuck to get the job done. The Air Tool also sports a pressure gauge that’s big enough to easily see from a distance, which is a good thing since it’s located at the base of the pump. I prefer my gauge to be a bit higher, but I can still make out my happy place on the base-mounted gauge and I’ve got the keen eyesight of Mr. Magoo.
On the upside, this pump is also very stable. The massive aluminum base ensures that the thing doesn’t get all floppy and tippy when you’re humping away on the thing. Finally, the build quality is good. It’s not a gold-plated Silca track pump—you probably won’t be grudgingly handing this thing over to your grandkids on your deathbed—but I’ve beat the crap out of it for three seasons and haven’t encountered a single problem to date. Win.
My brushed-aluminum, test pump is a good three years old--the current version has all the same features, but comes in this violent shade of green, which should make finding it in a dark garage that much easier.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Reliable, stable and capable of seating tubeless tires, the Air Tool MTB pump has been around a long time because it flat out works. |
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yo homie, you may be pro to the core,
So you keep on messin on the skinnies of the shore,
But yo! You still gunna take my precious blow,
Cuz it ain't no first time that I killed the Stans Flow
So you say that you're pumpin! But I'm jumpin! So High you can't see and whippin so mean. It's my ego I am rubbin, right into ya face, while am Scrubbin
Slaaaayeeeeeeeer!!!!!
The first photo it shows rust on the pump..
Don't forget, the Big S also makes most of the trusty, soft bite valve bottles we all know and love. Those and the air tool are quite the contrast to their ever changing, constantly hyped line of bikes.
we used them in 2 Specialized Concept store workshops and also found them bomber reliable - always the true test of a track pump's durability; we'd easily get 1 year from a single pump which was good value compared to many, many other pumps which would last weeks or a few months in a busy workshop
I got it when I bought my first FS bike, a Specialized FSR The Orange SLR is also still going strong and is being ridden by a very hot 24 year old hippy girl in Mendocino CA.
Now if I can just get @xignigenax to stop tapping the gauge with his foot when he's using it. This one doesn't need that, you wanker. stop kicking my pump.
m.pinkbike.com/photo/13426953
"Sorry son but I've blown all the equity on meth and hookers,but on the bright side I've bequeathed you my old pump."
www.lezyne.com/product-fpumps-hv-clscovrdrive.php
Best pump I have ever used. Beautiful, indestructible, reliable, ageless.
www.sks-germany.com/en/products/rennkompressor
Less useless now...
Next thing I like is the big volume for bigger tires (I ride 29"), maybe the Specialized pump is similar, but the SKS Rennkompressor definetely not.
Personally I really dislike heads like this one, it usually bends presta valves all the time, and after 2 years it always starts blowing off the valve around 6 - 7 bars, while my road bike tyres need a minimum of 8 bars (preferably 10 bars) in them.
For half the price of this one you can get a super fancy Lezynd with a superior screw-on head that will never blow off or leak air and won't die on you after 2 years. Also the Lezyne pump looks like a beautiful piece of aluminum art, where as this thing looks much cheaper.
Also, is that rust leaking out of the pump on the top photo???
More likely to be a 10k push bike ?
BTW, who ever gets the reference, you're awesome.
& heck, they warrantied my old air tool comp after 12 years for the gauge being inaccurate, so if it isn't, just take it back to the shop & get a new one!