When I got home from my month away, I went down to the garage to pump up my bike tires. I clamped my crummy five-year-old Bell floor pump into place on my first tire and started pumping. My first thought was, "jeeze, that's a lot of air escaping," so I unfastened the pump, reattached it and tried again. Even more air. I checked again, and the pump nozzle came clean off the tube, which had rotted right through.
So I sent an e-mail to my local bike shop and asked them to set aside a new pump for me, since I was already picking up some stuff for my new bike. I didn't know what kind it would be, but I trust my shop to carry quality stuff. What I got was a Park Tool PFP-6 with both Schrader and Presta heads, a more accurate gauge, much smoother action, and overall a much higher quality product than my old department store pump. I am not a shill for Park Tool, but they do make a good product.
