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

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??

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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