Skip to main content
added 766 characters in body
Source Link
Chris H
  • 60.8k
  • 2
  • 94
  • 261

I'm on my second Road Morph Road Morph(or third, I can't remember whether the stolen wasone was thea Road or Mini ) Road Morph), and I had a couple of issues with the first (second?).

The gauge partially stuck, causing me to blow out a tyre (a studded winter tyre rated max 85 psi, with the suggestion to run close to the max if there's no snow). I pumped it until I was sore and blew the sidewall out a few minutes later. Later testing suggested I'd got well over 100psi and the tyre was far from new. When I opened up the gauge it was full of rusty water and the spring was rough with rust. That had been left on my bike all winter and our winters are wet.wet.

While on a long tour, I found however hard I worked I couldn't get my tyres as firm as I'd like, barely enough to ride on. At a campsite, I stripped it down and regreased the O-ring in the main barrel, which sorted the problem . A couple of years later I replaced the O-ringring*, and a couple of years after that went to regrease it but stripped the (rather fragile) screw thread that retains the output tube. It no longer sealed there, andbut I salvaged parts from a Mini Morph to repair it. Be gentle in that area of the pump.

The reason I replaced it in the end is that I destroyed the top cap trying to strip it again for cleaning/greasing. You can use the T handle to unscrew the cap that it bayonets into for storage, and withdraw the piston, but only if it's not jammed. This was jammed and my other tools trashed the plastic.

So in summary, every year or two depending on conditions, strip and regrease the main O ring. Test the pump and gauge occasionally by pumping a tyre to full pressure with it, using either another gauge to check, or a thumb and common sense.


* I couldn't find a replacement O ring for that pump, but managed to find one in a set meant for plumbing

I'm on my second (or third, I can't remember whether the stolen was was the Road or Mini ) Road Morph, and I had a couple of issues with the first.

The gauge partially stuck, causing me to blow out a tyre (a studded winter tyre rated max 85 psi, with the suggestion to run close to the max if there's no snow). I pumped it until I was sore and blew the sidewall out a few minutes later. Later testing suggested I'd got well over 100psi and the tyre was far from new. When I opened up the gauge it was full of rusty water and the spring was rough with rust. That had been left on my bike all winter and our winters are wet.wet.

While on a long tour, I found however hard I worked I couldn't get my tyres as firm as I'd like, barely enough to ride on. At a campsite, I stripped it down and regreased the O-ring in the main barrel, which sorted the problem . A couple of years later I replaced the O-ring, and a couple of years after that went to regrease it but stripped the (rather fragile) screw thread that retains the output tube. It no longer sealed there, and I replaced it.

I'm on my second Road Morph Road Morph(or third, I can't remember whether the stolen one was a Road or Mini Morph), and I had a couple of issues with the first (second?).

The gauge partially stuck, causing me to blow out a tyre (a studded winter tyre rated max 85 psi, with the suggestion to run close to the max if there's no snow). I pumped it until I was sore and blew the sidewall out a few minutes later. Later testing suggested I'd got well over 100psi and the tyre was far from new. When I opened up the gauge it was full of rusty water and the spring was rough with rust. That had been left on my bike all winter and our winters are wet.

While on a long tour, I found however hard I worked I couldn't get my tyres as firm as I'd like, barely enough to ride on. At a campsite, I stripped it down and regreased the O-ring in the main barrel, which sorted the problem . A couple of years later I replaced the O-ring*, and a couple of years after that went to regrease it but stripped the (rather fragile) screw thread that retains the output tube. It no longer sealed there, but I salvaged parts from a Mini Morph to repair it. Be gentle in that area of the pump.

The reason I replaced it in the end is that I destroyed the top cap trying to strip it again for cleaning/greasing. You can use the T handle to unscrew the cap that it bayonets into for storage, and withdraw the piston, but only if it's not jammed. This was jammed and my other tools trashed the plastic.

So in summary, every year or two depending on conditions, strip and regrease the main O ring. Test the pump and gauge occasionally by pumping a tyre to full pressure with it, using either another gauge to check, or a thumb and common sense.


* I couldn't find a replacement O ring for that pump, but managed to find one in a set meant for plumbing

Source Link
Chris H
  • 60.8k
  • 2
  • 94
  • 261

I'm on my second (or third, I can't remember whether the stolen was was the Road or Mini ) Road Morph, and I had a couple of issues with the first.

The gauge partially stuck, causing me to blow out a tyre (a studded winter tyre rated max 85 psi, with the suggestion to run close to the max if there's no snow). I pumped it until I was sore and blew the sidewall out a few minutes later. Later testing suggested I'd got well over 100psi and the tyre was far from new. When I opened up the gauge it was full of rusty water and the spring was rough with rust. That had been left on my bike all winter and our winters are wet.wet.

While on a long tour, I found however hard I worked I couldn't get my tyres as firm as I'd like, barely enough to ride on. At a campsite, I stripped it down and regreased the O-ring in the main barrel, which sorted the problem . A couple of years later I replaced the O-ring, and a couple of years after that went to regrease it but stripped the (rather fragile) screw thread that retains the output tube. It no longer sealed there, and I replaced it.