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IB15: Velowurks introduces premium floor pumps, premium tube & tubeless sealant

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Velowurks Prime Indy and Element premium alloy bicycle tire floor pumps

A premium tubeless tire sealant? From the technical specs, yes, Velowürks seems to have come up with a great formula. But first, their new floor pumps.

On the top, both literally and figuratively, is the Prime, followed by the Indy and Element. All feature long braided cover hoses, oversized displays, rebuildable bodies, and extra tall shafts so you won’t have to hunch over to pump up your tires. Where they differ is in materials and the finer details. Both the the Indy (left) and Element (right) have a steel shaft with plastic handle, dual valve (Presta and Schrader) head, 160psi/11bar max and their triangular base. The Element gets a pressure bleed button on the valve body to help you fine tune tire pressure, a longer hose (not shown on this pre-production floor model…it’ll be the same as the Prime), 3″ gauge and an industrial grade HNBR rubber plunger.

The Prime goes even further…

Velowurks Prime premium alloy bicycle tire floor pump

Getting all the same features as the Element, the Prime upgrades to an alloy body that’s hard anodized inside and out, steel handle and a cast aluminum valve head with investment cast alloy lever.

Velowurks Prime premium alloy bicycle tire floor pump

The taller shaft means more air is pushed into the tires with each stroke, making your job a little quicker, too. The wide triangular base keeps the pumps steady. Each foot pod has non-slip, non-scratching rubber feet.

Velowurks Prime premium alloy bicycle tire floor pump

Max pressure bumps up to 250psi/18bar on the Prime. Retail is $130, which is inline or better than many other “lifetime” floor pumps on the market.

Velowurks fiber based tube and tubeless bicycle tire sealant for cold and hot temperatures

The new Velowürks sealant comes in two versions, one for tubes and one for tubeless. Both are latex free and use a low viscosity blend of emulsifiers and microfibers to flow quickly and clot at the holes, up to 3mm. And they have an operating temperature range of -30ºC to +70ºC (-22º to +158º F), making them perfect for anything from winter fat bikes to summer racers.

The tube sealant has an in-use life of two whole years, virtually a set-it-and-forget-it product. It’s available in a self-use pouch to cover two tubes, or a shop-sized pump that makes for a great upsell service.

The Tubeless Tire Sealant has a still very respectable 6-month in-use life and comes in a 1-to-2 use 90ml pouch, a 500ml refill pouch for multiple bikes and a shop/team sized pump holding two liters. The low-temp capability means it should also hold up to quick inflations with C02.

WurksGlobal.com

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thesteve4761
thesteve4761
8 years ago

250 and 160psi? Who needs to pump that high?! Sure, about 10 track riders, but besides them? I’d much rather see a pump that tops out much lower, with a more accurate gauge at the lower pressures. Maybe a version up to 60, and a version up to 120??

Ryan
Ryan
8 years ago

I was thinking the same. Some pumps address this, but not many.

Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen
8 years ago

I got an AirTool Pro for this reason. 0-100 redline, and 140 top end is more than enough. It’s granular enough I can use it to roughly guess at where my fatbike tires need to be before narrowing in with a digital gauge.

What is the sealant’s base? Ethylene Glycol?

Ydnar
Ydnar
8 years ago

More is always better right?
They took it to 11.

Smokestack
Smokestack
8 years ago

Just not buying into this whole expensive pump thing. Sure do look nice, but I’ve had the same Zefal Husky for about 15 years, which I got from a customer at the shop who wanted to ‘upgrade’ as he had it for over 10. Got the rebadged version from SKS (Rennkompressor) from yet another customer wanting to upgrade and again, no issues. I tried to talk them both out of it, but their minds were set on the matter. The Renn retails for about $60, cheaper by mail order, and both feature cast steel bases and steel shafts and components with wood handles. That’s with weekly use by four riders in the house, with multiple bikes each. In that time I’ve replaced head seals twice, and they were easily found from a number of wholesalers for cheap. Given that, I don’t see the value in spending that kinda coin when there are many other options that are durable as all get out, serviceable (when needed), and have good parts availability from near any shop (also when needed). Not to slight their product, as it looks well made, but I don’t see what they’re bringing to the table is valuable enough to fork over that kind of coinage.
Since I laid out the salt, I have to lay out some sugar to balance. The sealant has my interest. Liking the idea of microfibers in the mix. I can see that helping stop a leak in short order.

Rixter
Rixter
8 years ago

Where are the floorpumps made?

Velowurks Marketing
8 years ago

Hey all some answers for your questions:

thesteve4761 and Rayn
The prime is a premium level floor pump that was targeted to a pretty specific audience. The number of people that need 250psi is limited (mostly track) however we wanted to make sure that they are covered by our premium level product. Both the element and Indy top out at 160 which is not unusual for an all purpose floor pump. We are currently in development of lower pressure models at this time that might better fit your needs. Stay tuned.

Eric Hansen
Velowurks Tubeless System Sealant employs glycerin, a non toxic antifreeze
instead of commonly used propylene glycol or ethylene glycol.

Ydnar
1 more than 10…

Smokestack
Some valid points – Does anyone need a floor pump over $40? – Unless you are using it many times a day, every day, over an extended period, probably not. This is why we’ve introduced the Indy and the Element. However, there are plenty of people who will spend more, please don’t hold it against us for wanting to create a product that caters to that customer. In the case of the Prime we wanted to create something that took on a different visual approach than what has been currently trending from other manufactures for the last decade, at the same time working to improve details in construction that are wear oriented and pressure facing to create a product that has longevity.

Rixter
Design and engineering happens in the US. The pumps are made in China – Production is carefully monitored and controlled by our product department that makes regular trips to the factory to both assess and adjust to ensure product quality standards.

Smokestack
Smokestack
8 years ago

Marketing, nice answer, and no, I won’t hold it against you at all. For every 20 Camry or Accord there is one Porsche. Not everyone treats themselves to a nice bottle of scotch or mezcal, but I do every so often. And sometimes for more than the price of your pumps. There are needs and there are wants, and I appreciate your candor on the matter.

Alan
Alan
8 years ago

Made in China.
That’s a deal breaker for me.

Cheese
Cheese
8 years ago

At $130 they certainly can’t afford to pay US labor rates.

Cousin It
Cousin It
8 years ago

I am always amused by folks that say made in China is a deal breaker. Show me a 24 year old American girl who wants to work on an assembly line and do so for long enough that the effort to train her to do so pays off.

A quality product is a quality product regardless of its place of origin.

Rotomon
Rotomon
8 years ago

We have the pumps on the floor, They are really nice pump for the cost. I wouldn’t say they are quite a Silca but but for $100-$130 its about as close as you can get without spending $450 It is much nicer than the SKS Airmenius for roughly the same price. The gauge on this pump is pretty damn accurate and at a slower stroke the needle doesnt bounce around like most pumps so you can fine tune the pressure once you get it close to what you want.

I do agree it would be nice if they had a lower pressure one, I personally use a Joe Blow Mountain as it works well with my fat bike and mountain bike. If i had a road bike then id probably snag one of these Velowurks for my stable. (then again i could just use the one we stock when needed :P)

Marketing
8 years ago

A correction regarding the sealant:
Our blend utilizes less than 4% Laytex, very low relative to current industry standards, however not Laytex free.

Alan,
We understand.
We also understand that you aren’t alone in this sentiment for a number of reasons, some based upon the economy, the trade deficit and wanting to see more domestic job creation. And, yet others based upon the perception of quality that China is capable of.

If your reasoning is the former…
Cheese’s comment is more or less spot on.
Producing a product with this level of quality and being able to make it available at this price point domestically is currently not possible for us at this time. We are always analyzing this however and should we discover something that changes this situation in the future, it will certainly be considered and pursued.

If your concern is quality…
We think you would be impressed if you could see the level of care and sophistication that goes into the manufacturing. We also think that if you held a Prime in your hands fanned experienced the action and the level of quality in the fit in finish first hand you might feel otherwise.

Last and perhaps most important, we stand behind our products.
If you have an issue, we handle it directly with an emphasis and concern on taking care of your immediate need. If the resulting information that we gather points towards something that is considered an improvement, it goes directly into the evolution of that product as a running change.

Rotomon,
Thank you for your support.

Rixter
Rixter
8 years ago

@Marketing, thanks for replying. I will pass if it’s made in China. I don’t care what the quality control is like, just tired of companies manufacturing over in China and assembling locally. Keep the jobs here. I’d pay $200 if it was made in the USA

mike
mike
8 years ago

is there a single pump that is made in the US, if so let me know, and I will stock them.

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