Lezyne Micro Floor Drive XL 2017
Reviews / Pumps
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At A Glance
Purveyors of fine pumps, Lezyne know how to turn the mundane into the desirable. With a range of tools and accessories which wouldn't look out of place on the mantlepiece, their style is well developed and well known.
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The worry with tools that look so good, is whether they will hold up to the test of time and trail, or whether they may be style over substance. The Micro Floor Drive XL, shows Lezyne are better at looks than names, but the slightly oxymoronic name just about describes this classy piece of a pump. It's a micro version of their well know Floor Drive track pumps, but the XL refers to the volume of the chamber, rather that it's stature, which although chunky, is still small enough to go in a backpack.
Developed for fat bike tyres, it will take your rubber up to 35psi maximum, but for mountain bikes running more 'normal' tyres, that's plenty for the majority of riders. The metal construction oozes quality, it has a long hose with a Schrader and Presta compatible valve which uses a screw in system. The foot peg folds out to give a firm base for the mini track pump to do its thing with a large handle on the top. The whole pump weighs in at a not very svelte; 367g
On The Trail
Finding opportunities to use a pump isn't a task to relish with much enthusiasm, but the workshop provided plenty of initial testing of the speed and capability of the pump. The valve attachment is a screw on type, so there is always the risk of unscrewing valve cores, but this failed to happen on any valves during testing.
Once attached it won't go anywhere and the long hose then allows for the pump to be positioned on the nearest patch of flat ground and start pumping. The large handle is more comfortable than it's smaller sibling, the standard Mirco Floor Drive which I have used previously.
The inflation rate is exceptionally quick and compared to a traditional handpump they are barely in the same league. Pushing into the ground is far more efficient and if you need to get a load of air into a fat bike tyre then this is definitely the sort of pump you want to be carrying.
Even for plus or standard tyres, which are getting large and larger, having a pump that can perform is a must, and although it's a bit big and heavy when you have to use it, it makes the whole situation so much better.
Spending some of my time as a mountain bike guide, nothing can keep people smiling more than a super quick puncture fix, and if you expect a lot of flats on a day out, then this is exactly the sort of pump I would carry - and now do! As a test, I managed to get 30psi into a 29er 2.35 tyre in 50sec. I also managed to seat a new tubeless tyre onto the rim.
Durability has been good, and there is no sign of any issues, the pump is still running smooth and the valves and hose have no leaks. The screw to tidy the valve away is on the foot of the pump and is a bit fiddly to put away on the trail, and as it's on the bottom of the pump it gets full of mud. It would be great to see a clip here to hold the valve and hose instead.
Overall
It's big, and it is clever. I'm hard pressed to think of a quicker way to get tyres inflated on the trail without using CO2, but all this performance comes with a weight and size penalty. For high volume tyres this is a must, and for those trips where you can predict a lot of flats, the Micro Floor Drive XL is definitely the tool for the job. Not one for the enduro set perhaps, but for those who want a proper, reliable pump with a massive set of lungs it's just the ticket.
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By Ewen Turner
Ewen Turner is a self-confessed bike geek from Kendal in the Lake District of England. He runs a coaching and guiding business up there and has a plethora of knowledge about bikes with an analytical approach to testing. His passion for bicycles is infectious, and he’s a ripper on the trails who prefers to fit his working life around his time on the bike.
