During the course of the year I ride with several different cyclists, both male and female, and I always like to hear their opinions about bicycle products. I am a MAMIL (middle-aged man in Lycra) and it seems like nearly all bike products were made with men like me in mind. Last year one of the ladies I was riding with gave me a 30-minute lecture on how most companies don’t understand the needs of female cyclists. To be quite honest, it was a subject I had never given much thought to before. However, when the folks at Serfas sent me one of their Women’s Bicycle Floor Pumps to review I realized that some companies do understand female cyclists after all.
While there are some very tall women in the world, the bottom line is that, on average, men are taller than women. A bicycle floor pump designed for the average man is going to be too tall for the average female. The Serfas WFP-200 Women’s Bicycle Floor Pump is 22″ tall, which is eight inches shorter than the standard floor pump I have in my garage. This lower stand over height allows for people of short stature to use the pump with ease—the shortened barrel provides greater leverage.
Another nice feature of this pump is the easy to read dial—it sits up at the top of the pump instead of near the floor (the older you get the more you will appreciate this). This pump is rated to go up to 160 psi, but since I don’t have any bike tires that need that high of a pressure I only tried the pump out to 120 psi. This pump has an alloy barrel with sturdy alloy base and weighs 3.35 pounds (1460 grams).
In addition to the pump head that adjusts to both Presta and Schrader valves, this floor pump also includes a needle so you can also use it inflate volleyballs and basketballs, along with an adapter so you can inflate a beach ball. The ergonomic handle on this pump makes it very comfortable to use. Ladies, even if you don’t like the pink color and floral design of this floor pump, you will have to appreciate the fact that your husband or boyfriend won’t be borrowing it!
The Serfas Women’s Bicycle Floor Pump retails for $45 and is available from the Serfas Website and most bike shops in America. You can also find this floor pump at a few places you might have expect, like Sears and Camping World (catalog and Internet sales only). This product comes with a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects in material and workmanship.
While this product functions flawlessly, I don’t exactly need a pink floor pump in the Man Cave (my garage). So, I have one Serfas Women’s Bicycle Floor Pump in perfect condition that I am going to give away to some lucky reader. To enter the contest for the floor pump pictured above all you have to do is pick a number between 1,000 and 1,250 and enter it in the comment section below (you don’t actually have to make a comment). The contest ends at midnight (CST) on Friday, March 8, 2013. After the contest closes I will use a random number generator to pick the winning number. If no one has the exact number the person with the number closest to, but not over, the winning number will get this Serfas Women’s Bicycle Floor Pump. In case two or more people chose the same number the first person to pick the number will be the winner. This contest is for U.S. residents only and only one entry per household allowed. When the contest is over I will publish the results in the comments section of this article. I will send this product to the winner via U.S. Mail at my expense.