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Lezyne Grip Drive HP

8
£35.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Very efficient mini pump with great build quality and neat design touches
Decent road pressures achievable
Efficient for such a small pump
Durable quality
Handle is a little on the short side
Gets warm quickly
Weight: 
114g

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Even in this medium size, the Lezyne Grip Drive HP Mini Pump is small enough to fit in a frame bag, rear jersey pocket or rucksack while still having the oomph to get a decent amount of air into a high-pressure tyre away from home or the workshop. The hose provides handy extra length and puts less pressure on the valve connection – and your back.

The Grip Drive HP is available in two lengths, this medium at 231mm and the small at 186mm. I'd say the length of the medium is about right, with a body long enough to get some decent purchase on while pumping and delivering a decent amount of air per stroke.

If I'm being picky, I'd like the 65mm handle section to be a little longer, as my hand can overlap the end and get pinched between it and the start of the body section.

2022 Lezyne Grip Drive HP - 4.jpg

Fully extended the Lezyne grows by around 160mm, and the pump remains relatively straight and stable. At full extension some pumps can have a fair bit of play, but that isn't an issue here.

2022 Lezyne Grip Drive HP - 3.jpg

Inside the handle you'll find a 155mm-long flexible hose under the rubber cap, which screws into the base of the pump. The hose has a Schrader head fitment one end and Presta the other. It's a slight shame that the rubber cap has to stay open when the hose isn't in place, as the edge of the hole where the hose is kept can dig into your hand as the stroke count gets higher.

2022 Lezyne Grip Drive HP - 7.jpg

I like the inclusion of a hose with a mini pump, as opposed to a pump that latches straight onto the valve, as it allows a bit of movement between the pump and the valve. The extra length the hose gives to the whole setup also saves your back when you're inflating the tyre.

Both hose ends screw onto their designated valves, which means you don't have to hold in in position.

2022 Lezyne Grip Drive HP - 8.jpg

On a 28mm tyre, after 100 strokes I had achieved just over 50psi, which is pretty efficient and easily enough to get you home. By that point the pump is starting to get warm, which can make your hands sweat if you aren't wearing gloves and can then slip. The bottom part of the Grip Drive is knurled, which helps, so it'd be nice to see the same on the handle.

The HP part of the name refers to 'high pressure' and Lezyne claims 120psi is achievable. I got up to 75-80psi and that was about as far as I was interested in going – that's enough to ride on and the pump was hot by then. Pressures above that are going to require a fair old push.

> How to choose the best bike tyre pressure – balancing speed, comfort and grip

The rrp for the Lezyne is £35, and you get a frame mount included in the package.

You can spend less – the Birzman Swift hand pump is cheaper at £26.99, up from £24.99 since George reviewed it in 2020, but the Lezyne looks to be much more efficient.

> Buyer’s Guide: The best mini pumps

More comparable on performance is the Specialized Air Tool Road Pump which I reviewed last year. It also delivered 50psi into a 28mm tyre in 100 strokes. It's machined aluminium alloy like the Lezyne and costs £28. It is a lot longer than the Lezyne, though, at 268mm, so it's frame mounted, rucksack or frame bag carrying only.

Conclusion

For its size, the Grip Drive HP Medium is one of the most efficient out there, which is the main thing. Stuck on the side of the road or gravel track in the dark or rain, you are going to want to be back on the move as soon as possible. There are a couple of little tweaks that could make it perfect, like a longer handle that could cover more of the body without making the overall pump any longer, but the hose and the build quality justify the price.

Verdict

Very efficient mini pump with great build quality and neat design touches

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Lezyne Grip Drive HP

Size tested: Length: Small - 186mm / Medium - 231mm. Weight: Small - 102g / Medium - 114g.

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Lezyne says: "Compact and super efficient high pressure bicycle hand pump featuring a knurled barrel for superior grip while pumping. Its proven engineered design with an overlapping handle is constructed from machined aluminum, providing superior durability, minimal weight and all of the style."

It's an efficient pump that fits easily into a jersey pocket.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Lezyne lists:

Max: 120psi

Small: 186mm | 102g

Medium: 231mm | 114g

ABS Flex Hose

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
6/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It gets the air in quickly.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Very efficient.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The handle is quite short, which means you can pinch your fingers.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's a bit pricier than a lot of the opposition, but not by much, and justifies it if you take performance and size into account.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

The Lezyne is one of the quickest mini pumps I have used, yet it packs down small enough to fit in your jersey pocket. A couple of little tweaks could make it perfect but on the whole there isn't much here to dislike.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the Tech Hub here at F-At Digital, our senior product reviewer Stu uses the knowledge gained from putting well over a 1,000 products through their paces (including hundreds of bikes) to write in-depth reviews of a huge range of kit. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 160,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. Although, as he spends a fair bit of his time reviewing ebikes these days he's becoming an expert in letting the motor take the strain. He's also waiting for 23mm race tyres to make a comeback!

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1 comments

Avatar
ktache | 1 year ago
0 likes

Will the chuck remove tubeless valve cores after all that effort though?

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