Crankbrothers Sterling Floor Pump Review

Before a race, a triathlon, or a simple training ride, a good pump-up is always necessary. For precise pressure and efficient inflation, a floor pump is an essential part of any cyclist’s or triathlete’s gear. This mission was brilliantly accomplished by the Crankbrothers Sterling Floor Pump after several months in our garage.

By Pierre-Maxime BRANCHE. Photos: 3bikes.fr

When you find yourself a few minutes before the start of your race or in the bike park of a triathlon early in the morning, there’s nothing more annoying and stressful than having to inflate your tires with bad equipment. Even before a simple training ride, inflating your tires can sometimes be a pain if your pump is defective.

What do we ask of a floor pump: to inflate well (obviously) with an efficient seal, to be reliable in pressure measurement, to have a good lever arm to push air, and to be stable so as not to struggle, or even get injured, by losing your footing.

High Pressure or High Volume Switch

On the test bench today, the Crankbrothers Sterling Floor pump. This beautiful tool, available for €70, features a triple-foot base made of light alloy for stability, an aluminum body for corrosion resistance, and a wide plastic handle. Dimensions: 64 cm high, 109 cm total with the lever arm fully extended, 15 cm footprint for each of the three feet, 23 cm wide handle, and 72 cm hose. On the scale, this Sterling floor pump weighs 1.25 kg.

On the technical side, it features a high pressure/high volume switch at the base, a compatible nozzle for Presta or Schrader valves, an analog pressure gauge indicating bar or PSI, and two small adapters (needle or plastic valve) hidden in the hollow of the handle. Ingenious!

Great Stability

Visually, the finishes are beautiful, and the materials appear robust for long-term use. On the ground, the Sterling is very stable thanks to its triple-foot base, each of which also has a small non-slip rubber pad.

So there’s little chance of it slipping under pressure. We do note that the feet are fixed and non-retractable. Stored in the garage or in a large garden shed, this didn’t pose a problem for us. However, we had to be more careful in the car trunk during various trips because the alloy base can easily hit and damage your frame. The handle is comfortable because it’s wide enough for small and medium hands. Large hands will still be slightly cramped. We also notice a non-slip design on the top of this handle.

The available hose length allows for easy pump manipulation. No need to be too close to the bike. You will still need to move a few centimeters to inflate your two wheels one after the other.

Once the valve head is pushed on, the aluminum lever securely closes the seal on the valve. The clamping is strong and very airtight (with a healthy seal). No air loss was noted during our manipulations, which is very pleasing. Presta or Schrader valve compatibility is quick, as you just unscrew the nozzle and flip the seal to switch between the two.

Efficiency and Speed

Each pump stroke efficiently sends air into the tire. This is even more true thanks to the switch located at the base, which offers two inflation options: either a large volume of air to start your road, tubeless, or mountain bike inflation, or high pressure to finish and achieve precise inflation.

This switch can be operated with your foot by placing your toe underneath to lift it: lift it for high volume and push it down for high pressure. It’s not always easy to lift depending on the type of shoes or sneakers you’re wearing. No problem barefoot.

Thanks to this switch, inflation is extremely easy. Whatever the tire (road/MTB/city) or tubeless, you start with the high volume option to send a large volume of air, even easier thanks to the 46 cm lever arm, then you engage the high pressure option to finish and adjust to the correct pressure according to your habits, the type of tire, and outside conditions. All without too much difficulty: in high volume mode, you still need to use your body weight slightly; however, in high pressure mode, the movement remains easy and fluid. To put 7.5 bar in our Schwalbe tubeless tires, we needed 29 “high volume” strokes to reach 6 bar, then 12 “high pressure” strokes, which took barely 1 minute.

The high volume option allows you to inflate large MTB tires in no time and even allowed us to mount tubeless tires by seating the beads on the rim.

On the analog gauge, the pressure indications in bar (blue on black background) or PSI (white on black background) are large enough to be legible. In the inflation position, the needle perfectly indicates the tire pressure. A small adjustable pressure marker could have been useful.

Efficient, stable, and ingenious, the Crankbrothers Sterling floor pump is an easy and powerful tool for all practices. An investment of €70, but one that will quickly be forgotten by the efficiency and peace of mind this pump will bring you if you need to inflate in a hurry before a start.

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