Once, while working at a bike shop, I was trying to sell a floor pump to a British woman. “This is the Joe Blow” I said. “Oh my, really, ‘Joe Blow,’ what an unfortunate name” she replied. Apparently “Joe Blow” means something dirty or weird in England, but there’s nothing dirty or weird about the new JoeBlow X.O.. The X.O. stands for “extraordinary,” and, judging by the looks alone, it is. The 2011 Topeak JoeBlow X.O. is one silver gleaming tire-pumping machine. The smooth handle, the wide, stable base, and the barrel (which can handle 200 psi) are all precision machined out of highly polished aluminum. The pump is austere, modern, and elegant, so much so…I think I’m going to ask my wife if we can display one on our mantle as art. When people come over, they might ask me if they can use it and what would follow would probably go something like this:
Me: Look…still has the tag on it, never even used it.
Guest: [Points finger] You’ve never used…?
Me: Don’t touch it!
Guest: Well, I wasn’t going to touch it, I was just pointing at it.
Me: Well don’t point! It can’t be used.
Guest: Don’t point okay…can I look at it?
Me: No. no. That’s it, you’ve seen enough of that one.
The pump also has a braided metal hose long enough to reach bikes mounted on workstands (cool!) and a head that automatically adapts between Schrader and Presta valves. For photos, specs, and a Youtube video of Lego people acting out the above-referenced Spinal Tap scene, click more…
- Head – SmartHead ThreadLock
- Barrel – Highly Polished Aluminum
- Gauge – Oversized Base Mount Analog
- Hose – X-Long Braided metal
- Pressure Tuning – Air release button
- Handle – Highly polished aluminum
- Capacity – 200 psi/ 13.8 bar
- Base – Highly polished aluminum
- Added Features – Ball/Bladder head, Dunlop valve adapter, Hose dock
- Weight – 1.66 kgs/3.65 lbs
- Msrp – $139.95
“Its smooth action and long, powerful strokes easily reach pressures up to 200 psi (13.8 bar) to fill even high pressure track tires.”
Okay, now I feel a little dirty and weird.
Below: Topeak’s SmartHead ThreadLock all valve solution.
Schrader mode.
Presta mode.
Don’t let the scale of the hose in the photos fool you, this is the same hose. It automatically adapts from one valve type to the other.
More info on Topeak’s website.
