Crankbrothers Sterling With Gauge

The Crankbrothers Sterling With Gauge is a neatly designed, mostly well made small pump that reads accurately up to a theoretical 100psi (maybe The Rock could tell you, but I lack the biceps). The switch from low to high pressures is quick and effective, but the rigid head and demanding struggle at anything over 70psi means valve damage is a risk, and the alloy inner barrel is soft and prone to scoring. It empties you of air quicker than it fills a tyre.

With its steel and aluminium build, sturdy plastic head and that big, easy-to-read gauge, this pump is fairly heavy for its size. At 160g it's at least a third heavier than similar pumps that lack a gauge. However, if pressures are more important than weight, it's a gauge worth having. Comparisons with others show it's accurate and consistent, and it's easy to read.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

While the Sterling could probably survive a few tumbles – the plastic is stiff and robust, the body is alloy and the all-important valve latch is steel – it's not going to fall from its mount. It's extremely secure.

The pump clips into the plastic mount firmly, and is secured with a chromed steel bar on a silicone strap. Unusually, the head's dust cover is attached to this strap instead of the pump, which could be fine, but actually isn't. Gather round and I'll explain.

The strap holding the dust cap is effectively a spring – it's corrugated and forced to stretch – and aligned at an angle the pump can't physically manage on the frame. This has the effect of twisting the steel locking lever into your down tube. This is fine until you hit anything rough enough to jostle the head, at which point the silicone strap fires it back into your paint.

This is easy to get around (ignore it or snip it off, though at the risk of unwanted extensions), but the easily damaged inner barrel is a trickier issue. The smooth clear coating over the matt alloy is soft and easily scored, with our barrel rapidly scratching at the end of the compression stroke. It still slides fairly smoothly, though I'm not confident about it staying smooth long term.

The dial on the base switches modes (0-40psi or 40-100psi) positively, and there's a big, noticeable difference in how much air it's shoving.

That sturdy steel latch works well too, but I found it tricky to attach while pressing the pump on at the same time – the barrel spins away in your hand.

Combine the force needed near maximum pressure in either mode with the immovable head and, inevitably, you put a lot of sideways force on your valves. I never damaged one, luckily, but on occasion the air would stop going in – I'd obviously flailed hard enough for the valve to close.

With a 28mm tyre, three minutes of pumping gets me to around 60psi, and I find anything past 70psi pretty hard going. Getting to 100psi with the Sterling would probably be harder than picking the bike up and walking home.

> How to choose the best tyre pressure

At £45 the Sterling is expensive, though it's potentially cheaper than a regular pump and a separate gauge – and gauged mini-pumps are fairly rare. The Topeak Roadie DA With Gauge is £27.99, though, with a sturdy build that's around 30g lighter too.

The choice of gaugeless pumps is huge around £30, and while Topeak's standalone digital SmartGauge D2 is £29.99, the LifeLine Digital is just £13.

The Sterling is also available without a gauge for £10 less at £34.99.

> Buyer’s Guide: 7 of the best mini-pumps

The Sterling With Gauge offers an accurate readout, some impressive design touches and a mostly solid build, but the easily scored inner barrel and general unwillingness at high pressure, combined with the high weight, make it an uncompelling choice.

Verdict

Accurately gauged and generally well-built pump, but high weight, low puff and suspect longevity disappoint