Test: Technical development does not stop at hand pumps - while these used to be large, unwieldy and not very powerful, they have not only shrunk over the years, but also offer more and more technical refinements. In recent years, more and more pumps have come onto the market that have two modes for high pressure and high volume. Many manufacturers want to cover voluminous MTB shells and narrow, bulging RR tires. Blackburn takes a different approach with the Airstik 2Stage tested here: Although it has two modes, it is still intended for racing bikes.
The Blackburn Airstik 2stage – key data
[easy table th=“0″]Length, 170mm
Weight.85g
Valves,Presta valve
Maximum pressure.11 bars
application,Street
[/easy table]At first glance, of course, the considerable size of the Blackburn Airstik 2stage is striking: With a length of 17cm and a large circumference, it is significantly larger than most other racing bike pumps - after all, it is still relatively light at 85g. Everyone has to measure for themselves whether it fits in their jersey pocket – but Blackburn also supplies a frame mount if necessary. The processing of the pump, which is mainly made of metal, is extremely successful - the red anodised piston rod also makes a very high-quality impression.
The special feature of the pump are its two modes, which can be selected using the toggle switch on the underside. In volume mode, it delivers up to 58cm³, in high-pressure mode it is only 23cm³, but the manual forces required drop considerably. When pulling it apart, we notice a second peculiarity: for the first centimeter, you have to overcome quite a lot of resistance - this is intended to ensure that the pump does not come loose by itself when it is pushed together. This works well, but the stop takes some getting used to.
But how useful are the two pumping modes in practice? Well, we can say - it's a real pleasure to inflate a tire with the Airstik 2stage. In volume mode, we fill the tire (whether 23mm or 28mm) in no time at all, as soon as the manual forces increase too much, we switch to high-pressure mode and bring the tire to the desired pressure without much effort. Excellent!
