2 Reasons To Put Park Tools In Your Bicycling Toolbox

In any cycling discipline, tire pressure is a critical component to a fast bike set up. Generally, the rougher the surface, the lower the pressure. The smoother, the higher.

Now I've had many floor pumps over the years. An accurate pressure gauge is an important feature. Thankfully they're pretty much standard on models from all companies these days. What isn't standard is pump longevity.

I've found many of the cheaper (no-name?) models don't last. The O-rings in the air chamber fail after a year or two of use. And usually the rubber seals on the valve stem attachment start leaking within the first year.

So last year, I had it with the cheapies. I decided to splurge on my next floor pump. I bought a Park Tool PFP-4. Everything was great, until...

Even Fine Tools Can Fail

This year, the key component to the pump failed. The pressure gauge no longer returned to zero when not in use. It sat at about 40lbs. It meant I had to subtract 40lbs from any pressure I tried to pump my tires to. I wanted 120lbs? I had to pump to 160lbs on the gauge. The pump became virtually useless, or at least inconvenient for a gear geek like me.

That's when I discovered 2 key features to my Park Tool PFP-4 pump.

First, I found that the pump can be easily broken down into a number of replaceable components. Go look at the exploded view on their website: Park Tool PFP-4. They even have detailed instructions for replacing the key components, including the pressure gauge.

Okay, so now the engineer in me was getting excited. Replaceable components. Detailed instructions. But how easy would it be to get the components, and in my case the gauge? Like any decent company, I found Park Tool extends a limited lifetime warranty on their products. But were they all talk and no action? This led me to the second key feature about the Park Tool Co. and the main reason why you should be putting Park Tools in your bicycling toolbox: they indeed stand completely behind their products.

Let me explain what happened next.

Simple, Efficient Customer Service

I fired off a brief e-mail to the company. I explained the problem, and asked how I could get a replacement gauge. Within hours, I received a short, but pleasant reply: "Sorry about the problem, we will send a new gauge." In just over a week, the replacement gauge arrived in my mailbox. No charge to me.

It was a simple solution to the problem. It cost Park Tool Co. $2.50 in postage, and maybe $2.00 for the gauge itself. A small investment from their company bought them a lifetime customer in me, and this invaluable, unsolicited, word-of-mouth promotion.

Start Putting Park Tools In Your Bicycling Toolbox

If they don't indeed last a lifetime, know that Park will stand behind their products and you should be able to get any replacement component you might need. Begin filling your toolbox right now, with:
Fantastic Prices on Park Tools @ probikekit.com

At probikekit.com you'll find a convenient section dedicated to Park Tools.


Do you have a Park Tool story to share? Post it in the comments.

Photo by: Kevin Rokosh