Roadbikerider tests NUDA minipump
If you are like me, you probably have a love-hate relationship with pumps. First of all, using a pump usually means we’ve had a flat tire, and nobody likes those. (Fortunately that happens very rarely these days.) I guess I should love the pump at that point, since it gets me going again. But most pumps I’ve tried were hard to love.
The worst was a minipump specifically designed for wide tires. It had an extra-large barrel to pump up big tires with relatively few strokes. Fewer strokes is a bad metric when those strokes take so much force that pumping becomes a chore. It’s like suggesting that it’ll be easier to ride in a bigger gear, since you’ll turn the cranks fewer times for a given distance.
That pump came with a hose that had multiple connections, so you could use it to inflate Presta or Schrader valves. But often the wrong connection unscrewed when removing the pump from the valve, and all air was lost. And since all my bikes use Presta valves, the multi-valve compatibility wasn’t of any use for me.
The final straw was when the threads for the hose—made out of plastic (!)—stripped as I was inflating a tubeless tire that had lost air when the sealant dried out. I tried to hold the hose in place with one hand while operating the pump with the other. That didn’t work, so I continued on a tire that was getting softer with every pedal stroke. I made it back with all of 10 psi in my rear tire—leaning way over the handlebars to put as little weight onto the rear wheel as possible, and taking corners very gingerly.
When I met Natsuko, she showed me her NUDA pump. It was small, simple, superlight and foolproof. I liked it so much that I borrowed it time and again—until I lost it. I tried to find one to replace it, but without any luck. I finally persuaded the maker to restart production as an exclusive for Rene Herse. I figured if Natsuko and I liked it that much, our customers would, too. It’s become one of our best-selling products.
With everything we make, we wonder whether others will like it as much as we do. Preferences can vary, so we’re always happy to hear what others say about the things we develop. We were excited when cyclingnews.com did a big minipump test and called the NUDA “The best road mini pump for weight weenies.” They tested 16 pumps and concluded: “Considering it is made entirely from carbon fibre and titanium, you might expect the Rene Herse NUDA to come with a crazy price tag to match the astonishing weight. Fortunately, thanks to an extremely simple design, this isn’t the case.”
Now Roadbikerider.com has tested the NUDA as well. And for them, that means living with the product and experiencing how it works in daily use. Tester Stan Purdum shares my aversion to pumps with multiple screw-on connections. He explains that one of his main considerations for a pump is: “How much air pressure am I losing when detaching my bike tire pump?” And he happily reports that, with the NUDA, the answer was ‘none.’
Stan tested how well the pump inflated the 28 mm and 35 mm tires on his bikes, and found that pumping them up to rideable pressures was no chore. He reports: “With the NUDA, the strokes were fast and easy until reaching the upper PSI numbers, where the resistance increased a bit, but not so much that I couldn’t continue. What’s more, since no air pressure was lost disconnecting this pump, none of the strokes were wasted.”
His conclusion: “The NUDA is now the pump I carry on my rides.” That is probably the highest praise you can get from a product tester.
More Information:
- Roadbikerider.com test of the NUDA
- Pumps and other tools in the Rene Herse program
