Blackburn AirStik SL Ultra Light Pump

Blackburn AirStik SL Ultra Light Pump

Looking for a ultra light weight pump for your road bike? The Blackburn AirStik SL has proven itself for me over the years. At about $25 @AMAZON, it’s worth it for anyone who wants a very light weight pump for infrequent road-cycling use.

See pricing at Amazon @AMAZON.

I stow mine in an underseat bag, but the AirStik SL comes with a mounting kit for attaching to the water bottle mount under the water bottle cage.

I ride tubular (sew up) tires exclusively, and since I flat one about every 800-1300 miles, I have absolutely no need to carry a full-size or even medium size pump, especially since my first action is to try tire sealant which inflates the tire.

Since tire sealant works 90% of the time, a pump is a last resort whereby I remove the glued-on tire from the rim, install the pre-glued spare tire, inflate with the pump, then ride carefully home.

I’ve used the Blackburn AirStik SL for 5-6 years now (an older model), and it works just fine for a road tire; I can usually achieve 80-90 PSI without too much effort, which is ample pressure to continue riding.

Weight

I weighed the AirStik SL on one of my OHaus lab scales good to 1/10 gram. I was amazed to see that the pump weighed 59.0 grams, exactly the claimed weight (these days, most manufacturers cheat 5-10%). The plastic frame attachment adapter weighs another 13.6 grams.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you can save a paltry 8 grams with the AirStik SL Carbon (51g), but it’s double the price of the 59g version. That’s nucking futs, but if you must have that carbon look, go for it.