Chuck's Tech Opinion: Bicycle pumps, pressure gauges: Can you trust their measurement?

Can you believe in the pressure measurement of your pump or tyre pressure gauge? Here are a couple of handy gauges: Schwalbe digital gauge on the left and an analogue AccuGage on the right:

Digital Schwalbe: 35g
Analogue AccuGage: 86g
Many pumps, both big and small, have gauges these days. L to R in the photo below: Lezyne Floor Drive (steel), Topeak Joe Blow Sport and Topeak Turbo Morph G: 

So, with these pumps and gauges, I decided to gather some data to see what I could find out. Using a large volume presta valve MTB tyre (Maxxis Ardent), a Challenge Grifo cyclocross tyre, and a Continental Ultra Sport road tyre, I set various pressures using the Joe Blow Sport. I chose that one simply because it was new and the gauge nice and clear: 

The protocol was to set a pressure with this pump, and then with the other pumps and gauges to check what reading they gave. So the Joe Blow acted as the reference value. Of course, we don't know which of these gauges gives the best absolute measurement. 

Absolute means closest to the actual correct standard unit measurement. Contrast with precision, which is about how repeatable a measurement is. 

Here is a close up of the gauge on the small Morph: 

I didn't expect the small dial to allow precision in measurement. And finally, the Lezyne dial, which has a crack in it: 

The clear issue here is what looks like a zero error. With no tyre attached to the pump, it reads about 20psi. (I could not find a way to zero its gauge). I did my best to minimise air escape while switching between gauges. 

OK, with that description, here are the results in a graph (units on each axis are psi):

The x=y line is the Joe Blow "reference" value. You can see that the AccuGage ('+') and the Schwalbe digital ('solid dots') followed that line very well up to about 50psi. For higher pressures, the Schwalbe still followed that line well, but the AccuGage fell a bit below it (~5psi at 80psi). Remember, we've just randomly selected the Joe Blow to act as the reference. The Morph ('open circles') seems to be reading generally 5psi higher than Joe Blow reference and the two stand alone gauges. Most obviously, the Lezyne ('x') reads consistently ~20psi higher than the Joe Blow, AccuGage and Scwhalbe. 

The other thing that came out during this test is that ease of use is a big deal. The Lezyne and the Joe Blow are the easiest pumps to use. The Morph is rather awkward in comparison, and reading the dial is not easy. Both of the stand alone gauges require a bit of practice to use efficiently. With the knurled nut of the Presta valve slightly open, you push the gauge down over the valve and the instrument measures and holds the reading. Out of the two, the AccuGage was much nicer to use because it was easier to slide over the knurled nut of the valve. This seems to be down to its external shape and the size of the opening. The needle stays where it is until you press the very convenient air release button. No batteries, no switching on or off. The Schwalbe has a smaller hole, so tends to contact the knurled nut on a Presta valve more and allow air to escape. Also, the oval shape doesn't give the hands as much purchase on the tool. Perfectly functional, but compared to the AccuGage it was a little irritating during use. On the other hand, the digital gauge is lighter and fits better in a jersey pocket.

It seems reasonable to conclude that because three gauges were pretty consistent with each other (Joe Blow, AccuGage analogue and Schwalbe digital) that these are the closest to measuring the absolute pressure value. That conclusion is consistent with the Lezyne simply suffering a +20psi zero error.

I will continue to use the Lezyne, despite what appears to be its lack of absolute accuracy. All I need to remember is that it reads 20psi high consistently across the usual tyre pressure ranges. This is purely a systematic error. The Morph gauge reads about 5psi high, but its dial has poor resolution anyway. Its utility is in its portability and the fact that for its small size, it can pump up pretty hard. For off road and remote use (e.g. with a pocket pump), the stand alone gauges would get the nod. I'd use the Schwalbe when I need to be able to differentiate between 1 or 2 psi (cyclocross) or if I need to carry a gauge in my pocket. That said, the ease of use of the AccuGage is a big attractor. 

Yes, you can trust your pressure gauge measurement, BUT only if you really understand what it's telling you!

Park Tool Derailleur Hanger Alignment tool DAG 2.2 - Review

Why didn't I buy this earlier?! Yes, it's relatively expensive, but within a year I've used it on 6 bikes and am very happy with the results. Why? Because it improved rear mech changing performance hugely. In some cases, transforming a noisy, crunchy, chain-scruncher to a beautifully efficient "click-whirr"! In my view the tool has easily paid its way already.

I had bought the tool for when the bike may have pranged on something, or fallen on to the drive side, putting the hanger visibly out of alignment. But to my surprise, it's been very helpful for new bikes too. Which tells me that alignment is not always (hardly ever?) checked when a new bike or frame goes out the shop-door to a customer!

The purpose of the thing is to ensure that the rear mech is well-aligned with the sprockets on your back wheel. More precisely, the tool ensures that the plane of the cassette's sprockets is normal to the rear mech fixing bolt hole axis in the derailleur hanger.

If you have trouble adjusting rear mech cable tension to get smooth shifting in both directions, or an otherwise sub-standard rear transmission, just take a quick look at the alignment of your rear mech pulleys and the sprockets. If they are not coplanar, then use this tool to fix it. In the past, I tried realigning by hand, and while it can improve things, the tool allows you to align accurately. Once that alignment is decent, the rear mech can do its thing properly. Suddenly, your transmission works beautifully.

Although it's a simple-looking tool, I can see that a lot of thought has gone into its design. There are various factors to consider in the design of such a tool:

1. Robustness and longevity. The lever needs to be stiff enough, and the attachment to the hanger strong enough. This is because the lever is used to manually bend the hanger. No problem here with the Park Tool. The lever is strong and the rotating bolt is a good tight fit in the heavy housing. Moreover, the threaded end bolt can be removed (it has an allen key socket in it) and replaced. Here's a photo of the main bolt pin removed (need to remove a grub screw):

2. Must fit. Look at a bunch of bikes in a shop, and you'll see a variety of positions of the derailleur hanger bolt hole with respect to rear dropouts, wheel axle, etc. So, the tool has to be able to attach to all these types. I've had no issues with this so far, and I think this is because the part of the tool that houses the bolt is fairly narrow diameter.

3. Ability for the indicator to be moved in and out without losing the setting. The tool has to be used while on the bike (because the hanger is on the bike!). Therefore, the indicator has to be moveable to get around at least, the chain stays and then any other parts hanging about, such as racks, mudguard arms, or even the derailleur itself (if all you've done is unbolted it and let it hang free). The indicator on the tool achieves this with a small knob, and small O-rings to keep the setting as you move it in and out.

Tips and Learnings

1. What I've learned recently, is that even small improvements in hanger alignment can cause big improvements. These kinds of misalignment are not that easy to see with the eye alone, but the tool can detect it. I suppose this is because the indicator looks at the rim positions which is a long distance from the sprockets.

2. I put something on the wheel in the bottom dead centre position, e.g. the tyre valve. Throughout the testing and alignment process, I ensure that the valve remains in that spot.

3. Take off the rear mech. If the hanger is removable, unbolt it and clean it. Grease the bolts and refix it securely before you start the alignment procedure. Sometimes, the issue is not alignment, but rather hanger tightness!

3. CAREFULLY screw the tool into the mech hanger hole - really really really don't want to cross threads here!

4. The procedure I've used that has worked well starts with first using the indicator to look at the top and bottom of the wheel rim to work out which way the hanger is bent in or out from the wheel. (This requires sliding the indicator housing, because the rear mech hole is not in the wheel centre). Then look at the back of the wheel rim and front of the wheel rim (which requires maneuvering the indicator around the chainstay) to figure out which way the hanger is toed in or out from the wheel's plane.

5. Then, spend a few seconds (minutes?!) to visualize how the hanger is aligned with respect to the wheel in your mind BEFORE you bend anything.

6. Make the first bend. So far, I have gone for a horizontal and vertical approach: (1) with the lever horizontal to correct toe-in/out, and (2) with the lever vertical to correct push-in/pull-out. In other words, I get the alignment satisfactory with the lever vertical or horizontal, then get the alignment satisfactory in the other direction (lever horizontal or vertical).

7. I try to minimize the number of bend attempts, because metal fatigues! A couple of mm difference in the indicator positions at the rim doesn't seem to make much impact, so it doesn't seem worth bothering to get mm perfection. Remember that whatever the "gap" is on one side, you only have to bend the hanger half that amount to get it aligned.

8. After correcting both vertically and horizontally, I go back to 4 above and quickly recheck all is good and that the hanger plane is close to parallel to the wheel plane.

9. The knob on the indicator slider and the small O-rings on the indicator work fine. However, I've found that the O-rings will disintegrate over time. I need to get more of them, but at least O rings are easy to find online and cheap.

10. Clean and grease the main bolt pin (see photo above), or perhaps a drop of oil every now and then to keep the bearing smooth. A good idea to keep it easy to screw into the mech hanger hole.

Here's a video from Park Tool of the thing in use.

Park Tool have done a super job with this tool and I recommend it highly. Just get a small bag of replacement O rings.