Sam,

You’ll find many of your fellow cyclist with floor pumps tucked away in their team vehicles as well as the official RAGBRAI bicycle shops that provide support.

Many of them will gladly let you use their floor pump to air your tires, so I’d suggest leaving yours at home.

Enjoy, you’re in for a real treat.

Sam, you might check the cycling catalogues or your local bike shop to see if a vendor sells anything like a floor pump that is designed to be carried by your bike (other than a frame pump.) A frame pump should do you just fine, though. I’ve been carrying one for years and it’s been quite satisfactory for me. I’ll be carrying one again this year. I remember seeing a “frame pump with a built-in air pressure guage” in a cycling catalogue recently, but don’t remember which one. Sorry ’bout that. Cheers. :-?

It sounds like knees is describing the “Topeak Road Morph”. It’s a frame pump that has a fold out foot, the handle folds over to make it easier to pump, the hose extends and it has a small inline gauge. (I wouldn’t trust the gauge to be 100% accurate, but it’s workable)

I’ve used them for years, and at one time it was my substitute for a floor pump. You might want to check it out.

Steve

As long as you have room in your bag, take your pump! Pumping your tires every morning is the best way to avoid flats!!!

Maybe I will bring a few extra CO2 cartridges.
Really do not feel like taking the pump, but I will keep it in mind and might change my mind later.

I second the recommendation for the Topeak pump. A great small pump that is a great design. But I only carry that when on the touring bike. The road bike (for RAG) has a much smaller “emergency” pump just to get me going until I can find a floor pump in the next town.

Sam…I carry a frame pump (a Zephal hp 2) on my bike at all times. It’s quite a few years old (maybe this type of pump is considered “old fashioned” by some) but it can be used over and over again, is very light weight and is compatible with both type of valve stems (Presta or Schrader) that you would find on any bicycle. I understand that the cartridge system is very handy while out on the road, but I also have heard that they can be used only once and then they’re done and have to be disposed of…a problem if you have more than one flat per day and you have only one cartridge with you. Just a thought for you as you decide what may be best for your riding. Cheers. 8)

I’ve carried my own pump in my bag just to top off my tires each morning.
I also carry a small frame pump on my bike in case of a flat out on the road-
and I bring 2 tubes along. If I find it necesary to use 1 then I replace
it ASAP.

One thing to watch out for- if you have a pump out in the morning, you will
suddenly become VERY popular with everybody within 100 yards. There was
1 morning where I my patience got a bit thin as people actually started
lining up to “borrow my pump”.

knees36:
Sam…I carry a frame pump (a Zephal hp 2) on my bike at all times.It’s quite a few years old (maybe this type of pump is considered “old fashioned” by some) but it can be used over and over again, is very light weight and is compatible with both type of valve stems (Presta or Schrader) that you would find on any bicycle. I understand that the cartridge system is very handy while out on the road, but I also have heard that they can be used only once and then they’re done and have to be disposed of…a problem if you have more than one flat per day and you have only one cartridge with you.Just a thought for you as you decide what may be best for your riding.Cheers.

Knees — I use an HP4 myself; it the same as yours — the 4 just meant it was longer to fit a larger frame sized bike.  It may sound like heresy, but I replaced a Silca framepump with a classic Campy head (the one with the legs) with it, and have never regretted it.  I especially liked the way you could twist the handle to lock-out the spring in the pump, allowing one to deliver more effort to the pump stroke itself (and more air into the tire) rather than using some of the energy to compress the spring first.

So it’s older technology.  So what?  As the saying goes — it something ain’t broke, it don’t need fixing.

-“BB”-

There is no need to carry a floor pump. There were alot around at the traveling bike shops and elsewhere. But you do want whatever you normally carry to fix a flat on the road, spare tube, patches and a mini or CO2.

Leave the floor pump home. The bike shops will let you use theirs. We have three topeak road morphs on three bikes. I love them. Personally, I often go a week before I add air to my tires. I give the tires a pinch each morning and each evening and if OK I leave them alone. “Bicycle Blasphemy” some might insist but it works for me. Pinch flats you say??? I had one about five years ago when I hit a ridge at the junction of a bridge and the trail just north of Herndon. I hit that ridge at high speed along with three others and two of the others had pinch flats at the same time.

RIDE RIGHT

Ditto the suggestions to leave it at home. You’ll find many sources of hot air (forum members included). If not at the start, the bike shops setup along the route, and it’ll give you a reason to stop a bit!

Yep, Beebs, I also have a Zephal hp 4 for my old Trek 728. I bought a pump peg for the Trek and did a “JB Weld installation job” of the pump peg on the its head tube many years ago so the pump fits nicely under the entire length of the top tube. I still use the “4” for pumping my tires up while I’m here at home since the longer stroke of the pump seems to make it easier to fill the tire up to about 100-120 psi (or maybe it’s just my imagination.) Anyway, the “4” gets a workout every week during the summer. The “2” fits under the top tube of my Borthwick, my main bike for about 20 years. The pump peg for it is welded to the bottom portion of the top tube so the shorter “2” is what I have to go with now for it. That’s probably the only thing I’d change on the Borthwick if I had a “druther.” Cheers. 8)