The Specialized Air Tool Comp is a perfect do-it-all pump at a competitive price which will suit those who have a range of bikes with a range of tire volumes, pressure and valve types.
Inflation is quick and easy, and the dual-scale gauge makes it easy to get the right pressure on both gravel and road tires. The adaptable head easily attaches to both Presta and Schrader valves without the need for any adjustment, all of which makes inflating your tires a little less frustrating.
Reasons to buy
+
Stable and easy to use
+
Head automatically adapts to valve type
+
Easy to read dual-scale gauge
Reasons to avoid
-
Not designed for tubeless tires
-
Gauge reads ~ 5 psi high
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With so many different volume and pressure tires using different valves, a single floor pump that suits all the bikes that you and your family own is an extremely valuable asset.
We put the Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump to test against all the road, gravel, MTB and kids bikes we could find to see how fared and compared to other best bike pumps we've tested recently.
(Image credit: Rachel Sokal)
Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump: construction
Everything about the Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump is oversized; the handle, foot plate, head and cam, even the colour is massive. Aesthetically this can feel a little in your face, but practically it makes the Air Tool incredibly easy to use (and due to it's fluro-orange colour, very easy to find in the back of the garage).
The Air Tool Comp delivers 365cc per stroke up to a pressure of 120 psi. It’s designed to be used on both road tires which require a lower volume of air at a higher pressure, and gravel bike ones which take a higher volume but at a lower pressure.
The base measures around 26 (wide) x 20 cm (deep). As well as textured / drilled out metal there’s also skateboard grip tape. The size and grip combined makes it incredibly stable to use and it’s well balanced even with just one foot on it. Similarly the wide (26cm) and ergonomically shaped handle is easy and comfortable to grip. At 65cm tall the pump is pretty standard height.
The gauge is nicely designed with both road and gravel tires in mind. There are two sections on the gauge which are different scales, one for 0-30 psi and then 30-120 psi to suit gravel and road tires respectively. At 75mm / 3” across the face is incredibly easy to read, particularly when it comes to the increments between the lower numbers which is great if you’re picky tire pressure person like me.
The SwitchHitter II head fits both Presta and Schrader valves. What’s really useful – and pretty unusual – is that it does this automatically without the need for a double-sided head or for you to change the orientation of the rubber insert. Convenient features like this are all the more welcome when you’re late for work and find you need to sort a puncture before you commute to work.
A nice extra is the spare rubber seal that comes with the pump if you mangle the original one. Spare heads and hoses are also available.
(Image credit: Rachel Sokal)
Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump: The ride
The Air Tool is really stable in use and pumping is quick and easy. My MTB tires have pumped up quickly enough and I’ve had no issues getting my road tires up to the max 120 psi pressure the pump can handle. I’ve have also managed to seat tubeless tires with the Air Tool but not consistently.
The gauge was really easy to read although, in comparison to readings from a Topeak digital gauge, were a little higher: Air Tool 40 psi = Topeak 35 psi, 60 psi = 54 psi, 80 psi = 73 psi. As the variation was pretty consistent across pressures then it’s one that’s easy to adjust to.
The downside of a do-it-all pump is that – relatively – you’ll need a few more pumps to inflate a gravel tire and a bit more oomph for higher pressures in a road tire than if you have a specific pump. But neither of these things have been an issue, the Air Tool Comp handles it all with ease.
If you did want a pump that was more orientated to one end or the other of the volume:pressure ratio, Specialized do the Air Tool Floor Pump in HP (high pressure; 252cc stroke volume, 145 psi max) and MTB (508cc, 40 psi max pressure) versions.
The SwitchHitter II head does the job it’s supposed to do and has worked effectively on both Presta and Schrader valves. The massive cam lever on the head makes the pump really easy to attach and remove from your valves. I’ve had no problem with getting a tight fit and no leaking whilst pumping.
The only wheel / valve I couldn’t get it to work on was on a child’s 20” wheeled bike where there’s not enough room between the spokes to fit the head. This is likely to be a problem with any track pump (I’ve not yet found one that fits), I tend to use a mini-pump with a hose on these wheels.
I’ve not run this particular model long enough to comment on longevity but I do have a previous version of this pump which is now about 15 years old and I’ve never had any issues with it.
(Image credit: Rachel Sokal)
Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump: Value and conclusion
At $70 / £50 the Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump is competitively priced against other floor pumps like the Cannondale Precise ($65 / £55).
The do-it-all convenience of Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump makes it an ideal pump for general use. It’s incredibly easy to use: there’s no faffing around with different ends of the head for different valves, it’s secure and stable and easy to achieve the pressures it’s designed to do.
Specialized Air Tool Comp Floor Pump: specs
Dual-scale 3" (76mm) oversized gauge has 0-30 PSI (2.2bar) zone for gravel tires, and 30-120 PSI (8.2bar) zone for road tires.
SwitchHitter II head automatically switches between Schrader and Presta valves.
Steel base and aluminum barrel construction.
Ergonomic wing handle is overmolded for comfort.
Includes spare rubber seal for head.
Max pressure: 120 PSI (8.3bar)
Volume-per-stroke: 365cc
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Rachel has been writing about and reviewing bike tech for the last 10 years. Cynical by nature, Rachel never really trusts the marketing hype and prefers to give products a mighty good testing before deciding whether they're worth buying or not.
Rachel's first riding love is mountain biking where she's been European and UK 24hr Champion on more than one occasion. She's not just confined to the trails though and regularly rides - and occasionally races - on gravel and road too.
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