The Topeak Road Morph G complicates the great debate between cyclists…to take along CO2, or the painful-to-use mini pumps.

The C02 can be quick and easy, but once you use up your cartridges, you’re out of luck.

The mini pumps are known to take 80-150 pumps to fill up the tube and require insane coordination to keep the pump on the stem. All this while worrying about putting too much stress on the stem.

The Topeak Road Morph G seems to solve a lot of these problems, and has become the favorite among many cyclists.

Some of the more notable features of the Road Morph G:

• Supports both Presta and Shrader valves
• Built-in gauge up to 140psi (Topeak claims it can pump to 160psi)
• Fold out foot pad
• Head has a rubber hose, acting more like a floor pump

As you can see in the picture, the pump looks like a compact floor pump with the foot pad, and the hose. The hose swivels quite freely, and doesn’t put very much stress on the stem. It can take some wrangling to get a good connection on the stem, but it’s not too bad.

It comes with an adequate, if not underwhelming bike mount. I ended up purchasing a different mount (to mount on the side of the water bottle mount), but it’s not necessary.

Compared to most mini-pumps, this one is quite sturdy, but it does have more moving parts (foot pad, and hose) so there’s always more risk of something breaking.

The Road Morph G can be found at most stores for around $30, which is a bit more expensive than the average mini-pump, but does offer many more features, and ease of mind.

Is it ready to replace your floor pump? Not really, but it’s not designed as such. The good floor pumps are much more accurate, powerful, and sturdy. This is a great pump for emergencies, and definitely recommended over the smaller mini-pumps, and the riskier (but much lighter) CO2.

Note: disregard this review if you are a weight weenie, in which case, a single CO2 cartridge is probably too much added weight. ;- )

(source: roadcycler.com)