Truflo's Airess has a slender aluminium barrel and a tough, die-cast base. It all looks great but, as there’s noticeable play in the plunger assembly, it does rattle a little in use. The long hose means that you’ll never be short of reach though.
The varnished wooden handle is basic but fits comfortably in your hands and contributes to the pump’s classic aesthetics. It’s stable in use too – the base may look small, but its splayed feet keep things solid. And though at 67cm tall it is harder on your back than the 74cm Airace, this is only really an issue for very tall cyclists.
The head’s anodised valve assembly is a thing of beauty, with switching between Presta and Schrader valves a simple matter of unscrewing and reversing it. The pointy lever looks good too, but it’s fussy and a bit smaller than it ought to be. And although there is a bleed valve for fine tuning, it lacks the positive action of the Airace. Spare parts for the head are not available.
It took the Airess 32 strokes to get a 23mm tyre to 100psi. The gauge goes up to 240psi and isn’t the most accurate, but it is large and easy to read, with a pressure marker that rotates easily.
