Customer Reviews

Topeak JoeBlow Max II Floor Bike Pump

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've had this pump for about a month.

Pumps up tires/tubes with Shrader valves OK.

The Presta valve side of the twin head does not work properly with short stemmed Presta valves. It seems that the pump nozzle has difficulty in forming a good seal with short stemmed Presta valves. The pump will only pump up to around 75 PSI into the tire/tube. Pressures beyond 75 PSI appear to "seal" the valve, which prevents further tire/tube inflation. The extra pressure just pressurizes the pump hose only!

Pumping to higher pressures is a bit difficult. Especially when compared to easier working pumps such as Specialized and Blackburn brands which I have also.

Overall it is an average pump.

Not recommended for use with short stemmed Presta valves.

When the pump arrived, it was larger than the impression I had from the picture in the ad. Nice quality of construction. When you place it on a level surface, it stands instead of falling over like many other pumps. The action is very smooth on this pump. On mountain bike tires, each time the pump was stroked a full cycle, it added about 4.5 lbs. of pressure to the tire. Not bad. So if the tire is low, at say 20 psi, it takes only about 7 pumps to bring it up to 50 psi. (This will be different on different size tires, expect to pump a lot more strokes on a car tire). The pressure gauge has a movable collar not visible in the photo that has a red arrow on it. Align the red arrow with the desired pressure, and just pump until the needle is aligned. The valve connector worked well and locked in place without any air leakage. Storage of the hose is well thought out. After clipping the hose in place, it also holds in the handle from unwanted extension if picked up by the handle or laid on its side, also protecting the polished rod by keeping it inside the cylinder. For the money, it looks like you can't go wrong!

If you want a simple, reliable, and economical floor pump, you don't need to look any further. It's easy to use, works like you'd expect, and I've not had any problems with it at all. On top of it's basic utility, it also provides the means to store its accessories (alternate hose tips) directly on the pump so that you don't need to risk losing them.

I've had a Joe Blow Sport pump for 5+ years and it was great. Decided to get a 2nd pump, one for home & family use and one to leave in the car. Based on my old pump & positive general Joe Blow reviews, I bought a Joe Blow "Max" from the LBS last week, and it blows !
Once I get up to 80 psi, I really have to LEAN on it for each stroke to get up to 110. I mean my feet just about lift off the ground ! (I weigh 170)

I got my old Joe Blow pump out and tried it ... zip zip zip right to 110 no problem.

I am on my way back to the shop to return it.

This pump is OK for inflating mountain bike tires to 60 lbs (and the gauge is fairly accurate up to that point), but forget about higher pressures unless you weigh a couple hundred pounds yourself.

Beyond 70 lbs I had to push down on the pump handle and jump off the floor at the same time to force the handle down, three jumps to complete one pump! That worked for a couple of pumps, but at about 80 lbs the handle refused to budge with all of my weight on it (a bit under 150 lbs). The gauge was not accurate and read much higher. I tried several tires thinking I might not have the head seated correctly, and yes I bled the presta valves, but I got the same results.

I ended up filling road tires to 100 lbs with the compact emergency road pump I've been using up to this point. I think the "fast, high pressure" and "max 120 psi" advertising is misleading; I wouldn't recommend this pump for higher tire pressures at all. Niagara's return policy says they only accept returns in unopened, original packaging, so I guess I'm stuck with it.

I've had this pump for over a year, and it works great. The reversible head never pops off like some others do. The handle is plastic but it seems sturdy enough.

I've had other Topeak products for many years, and several times I have contacted them (via email) for small parts, and they have sent them for free.

For the longest time, I had to take my bike to the local gas station to pump my bike tires to 90lbs. I had a small electric air pump that couldn't get to that high of a pressure. This hand pump was able to get my tires right back up to 90lbs.

I bought this pump to replace a Schwinn standup bicycle pump I bought in 1975 that finally broke...at least, the hose did. The all-metal construction of the rest of the pump probably would've lasted another three decades. I bought the Joe Blow based on price and good reviews here on Amazon.com. First thing I noticed upon unpacking it is that materials ain't what they used to be. The pump is mostly plastic; the metal compression tube is thin metal -- I think that may be the only metal part of the entire machine. The cheapness is borne out by the manufacturer's unbelievable pride and confidence in their product by offering an astounding 90 day warranty. That last sentence was satire; hopefully you got it.

On the plus side, the pump has a dual schrader/presta nozzle, which is handy. My old trusty Schwinn was schrader, so I had to keep a presta adapter handy for my bike. Unfortunately, this dual nozzle makes it bulky, and I had trouble fitting it over the schrader valves of my cars to inflate the tires because of the tight clearance between the valve and the rims. Also, the gauge on the Joe Blow is hideously innaccurate. Not even in the ballpark on the two bike tires and eight automobile tires I inflated, then doublechecked with my AccuMaster tire gauge ("Best stinkin' tire gauge in the entire Universe" according to Click & Clack, and I don't doubt it...). So far off as to be utterly useless.

One more complaint: It's tough to pump. I have no idea why this would be, but I had a hard time inflating my bike tires to proper (120 lbs. psi) pressure. All-in-all, I'm very disapointed in this merchandise.

UPDATE: In this product's favor, I have now been using it for over a year and it's still working. I don't use the built-in gauge to measure tire pressure -- it's just too inaccurate. The most annoying feature is the difficulty in pumping up bike tires to recommended pressure. I'm a pretty strong guy, and I can just barely do it when thrusting down with all my might. Not a recommended product, but as I said, still working in it's most necessary capacity.

I've gone through 3 Joe Blow pumps in 9 months. The overall pump is sturdy but the valve falls apart with only minor use in a very short period of time. Lucky for me my local bike shop let me swap them out for free. It's really a crying shame that this company doesn't get it, the valves are just cheap plastic and not on par with the rest of the pump.

I ran out to buy this pump after using one belonging to a friend. I really loved it because it makes inflating your tube so easy - no need to crank down hard on the handle. Unfortunately, about a year later, it failed to inflate the tube at all. I took it back to the bike store and they told me that after a year this is a common problem with this pump. Oh well. Now I'm debating whether to get another one or try something different.