Specialized Air Tool MTB Pump

Innovation and iteration represent the yin and yang of technological progress. Innovation brought us the dropper post, which opened the door for our seat tube angles to steepen through iteration. There can be setbacks along the way, though it seems like few poorly thought-out “innovations” make it to market these days. When iteration goes awry, it can give us products like Specialized’s horrendous Wu dropper post, to stick with the seatpost theme.

When iteration goes well, it’s often not even newsworthy. But it still represents a step forward and, hopefully, a slightly better experience for the user.

I reviewed an older version of Specialized’s Air Tool MTB pump a couple years back, and told you how well it’s held up, and how effectively it does its one job of filling mountain bike tires with air. This is basically the same pump, but a little better.

For starters, it checks all the essential boxes. The head works automatically with both Presta and Schraeder valves, no flipping of gaskets required. A spare rubber seal for the head comes with the pump, which is pretty standard fare. What’s less expected is the longevity of the head: I haven’t yet had to use the replace the seal on either this new pump or the older version which I still use.

Bleed valves have also become standard issue for all except the most basic pumps, but far too many position the release valve on the head—not exactly the most convenient spot. This latest Air Tool MTB, like its predecessor, puts the bleed button right where your hands already are, on the top of the handle. Speaking of, the handle is plastic, with an ergonomic winged shape. Wood or metal would be nice at this price point, but I’d bet that placing the bleed valve on the head would be much more costly with either of those materials. Utilitarianism is prioritized throughout, with plastic used just about everywhere aside from the base and barrel. Would more metal be appreciated? Yes. But realistically, the plastic parts will probably outlive the wear components several times over.One of the few metal pieces—the base—is nicely shaped, with plenty of foot space and a wide enough stance to keep the pump stable, and grip tape keeps it tacky underfoot. What defines this as a mountain bike pump, though, is its focus on volume. The 508cc aluminum barrel forces enough air with each push to seat most tubeless tires, and gets an already-seated one to 20 PSI with very little effort.

The gauge is where the iteration happened. The one on the previous Air Tool MTB went all the way up to 70 PSI. That was useful for those of us who also inflate commuter bike tires, but only a third of the gauge was useful for mountain bikes. Now, it stops at 40. That means that the numbers are bigger, with more space for each 1 PSI increment, which makes it possible to tell the difference between 23 and 24 PSI from 6 feet above. I tested the gauge’s accuracy against both a digital gauge and the old pump’s gauge. The new Air Tool MTB consistently read 1 PSI below both of the others—good enough for a hack such as myself.

What initially wasn’t good enough was the pump’s ability to hold the pressure consistent when not pumping. A slight hiss and a slowly descending pressure reading indicated that air was escaping somewhere. After a bit of loosening and tightening of various things, I checked the torque on the bolts on the ring that secures the air conduit to the base. They were a little loose, and tightening them resolved the leakage.So, it’s not exactly a revelatory product, but not everything has to be. It’s better than the last version, and seems to be just as reliable. And better, it turns out, is really good.

Post time: Mar-17-2020