Last night, my (previously) trusty TPS-2 bike pump failed with a large POP. At first, I thought the bike tube had blown but I quickly realized the hose on the bike pump had split open. I didn’t think to take any photos, but (deleted) had a nearly identical problem, check out (deleted)’s photos others on the internet seem to have had similar problems. (Note: For some reason, the site I noted deleted my comments on their blog. No idea why, but I won’t bother them with any incoming traffic.)
If your TPS-2 fails like this, try the following:
Step 1: Call Blackburn and request a replacement under their lifetime warranty. I called this morning and was promised an Air Tower 2, since they no longer make the TPS-2 nor stock parts for it. You’re entitled to a replacement, even if you have some success with the following steps, who knows when the hose will fail again.
Step 2: If you’re like me, think about whether you might be able to fix it and dig the old pump out of the trash.
Step 3: Remove the hose from the pump itself by turning the knurled knob where the hose attaches. I had to use channel lock pliers to get this loose.
Step 4: Examine the knob and hose. The hose feeds through the knob housing and pushes onto a barb fitting inside the knob. You might be able to push the hose/fitting out the wide end of the knob with a screwdriver. In my case, I picked at the torn end of the hose with pliers until it came loose from the fitting, which then just fell out.
Step 5: Remove any remaining hose remnants from the barb fitting.
Step 6: Cut the remaining hose (with the valve attached at the other end) straight across beyond the damaged area.
Step 7: Push the cut end of the hose through the small end of the knurled knob. Then press the barb fitting into the cut end of the hose. Be sure that the hose is pushed completely onto the fitting, past the barbed end of the fitting and up to the flat area.
Step 8: Pull the hose gently to get the barb fitting back into the knob and then screw the knurled knob back onto the pump housing. At this point, I was able to use the pump, but had some slow leakage from the knob causing the gauge to quickly drop to zero and some pressure lost from the tire.
Step 9: If needed, use pliers or a strong grip to tighten the knurled knob completely to the pump housing.
I think that the original build of this part of the pump may have included some sealant where the hose enters the knob. At the moment, my TPS-2 is not leaking, but I may try sealing this area with Goop or Gorilla Glue if I have leaks in the future.
Once you get the torn rubber from the hose removed, you will see that this all goes together very simply. Tightness of reinstalling the hose and knob appear to be the keys to getting a (mostly) leak free operation.
