Mini pumps are not the typical sexy item that people lust over, or spend lots of time obsessing about the best one. But when you are out in the woods with a flat tire, it had better be a product that works.
Spin Doctor is a brand name of mail-order house Performance Bike, and a good portion of their product are the stock offerings from the major foreign ODM factories. This means that the products are made in the same factories as big-name products, designed by the factory, and then private-labeled by Spin Doctor. This can mean these products have most of the technology and features of more expensive product, but save money on simple visual design and packaging. Stock product from ODM factories are really great options for people who want an affordable part that works well.
The MXV and RXP Mini pumps appear to be great values for the cost. Aluminum barrels and handles, switchable heads, and metal cam actuators are features typically reserved for pumps much more expensive. Click inside the post to see how these pumps stack up…
The MXV and RXP are a set of sibling pumps, with the MXV intended for mountain bikes and the RXP intended for road bikes. The MXV has a larger barrel that puts out more air per pump, but will also get harder to pump as pressure increases. Performance rates the pump with a max pressure of 65psi, where the smaller barrel RXP is rated up to 100psi, but puts out less air per pump.
To test out the two pumps, we used our base test tire, the Clement Xplor MSO 700×40 on Velo Orange RAID rim. Pressures were constantly checked with an Accu-Gauge to insure consistency.
- MXV – 100 pumps to 23psi
- MXV – 200 pumps to 55psi, started getting hard to use around 45psi
- MXV – 225 pumps to 60psi
- RXP – 100 pumps to 9 psi
- RXP – 200 pumps to 22psi
- RXP – 300 pumps to 34psi
- RXP – 400 pumps to 46psi
- RXP – 500 pumps to 55psi
- RXP – 545 pumps to 60psi
At $19.99, the RXP has all of the major features of a pump that costs $29.99 and is made in the same factory by a major brand. Interestingly, the RXP was also spot-on to the gram of their claimed weight, which is lower than most other pumps in this range.
The MXV also comes in at $19.99, meaning the only choice you have to make is whether to get the higher volume or higher pressure pump. This simplicity in choosing a product is not usually found in the more marketing-intensive brands, and is refreshingly easy to understand.
The head design is common and easy to understand. Just like the vast majority of pumps on the market, the head can be switched from presta to schrader by simply removing two internal parts, flipping them both, and putting it back together. The simple aluminum lever on top is flipped back to compress the gasket around whichever valve is used.
The MXV has been mounted to the Winter Commuter Project, and will be entering long-term testing through a Minnesota winter. The Spin Doctor pumps present a great value, and if they stand the test of time, would be an excellent choice. We will take them through testing, and report back with a long-term review in the future.
