My cheap but previously dependable Nashbar Earl Grey pump has been struggling to operate. It behaves like it’s trying to pump air into a clogged tubeless valve even when inflating normal inner tubes, meaning there’s a lot of resistance and the pressure shoots up before settling down slowly on every stroke. I haven’t a clue whether the pump body is defective or just the head. When unattached, air flows easily.
I switched to a Cycplus AS2 Pro for most inflation needs even before this started happening, but figure I should reduce wear and tear leading to inevitable e-waste by at least sometimes using a floor pump. How do I diagnose the issue and are there repair/parts replacement options, or is it easier to buy a new pump?
I am about 80 percent positive your Nashbar pump is made by Giyo, a large OEM/ODM bike pump manufacturer out of taiwan. Some specialized pumps and some Silca pumps are made by them. I have doubts on successful spare part acquisition, given the Nashbar you bought it from doesn’t exist anymore, finding another used Earl Gray (for parts) may be difficult, and it’s not typical one gets aftersales support from an OEM/ODM.
i would recommend finding a new or used pump that was designed to be serviced with service parts that have been in the supply chain for at least 5 years. I am personally partial to certain pre-Poertner Silca floor pumps, but Topeak makes very serviceable pumps.
Thanks for the info @meow . Luckily it turns out that my feeling of the pump getting blocked as though I were always pumping through a clogged tubeless valve turned out to be close to the truth. Knowing nothing about pump internals, it only just occurred to me that I could unscrew the Presta-side cap of the pump, and of course I immediately found a sealant wad blocking much of the head. Cleaning it out seems to have gotten it back to working again.