Best List: Magic Flute bike pump by Portland Design Works
The magic of the Magic Flute is its ability to do two things with equal aplomb.
On the one hand, it is a solidly built hand pump that lets you fill your bike tire the old-fashioned way. On the other, it is a handy CO2 cartridge adapter that lets you fill your tire quickly without the need for elbow grease.
For a guy like me, who likes to double-flat (or even sometimes triple-flat), this is a security blanket I don’t ever want to be without again. Luckily, its lightweight alloy construction and composite bracket make it easy to bring along on every ride.
The Magic Flute is made by Portland Design Works, an Oregon company that crafts beautiful bicycle accessories that take function and aesthetics into consideration in equal parts.
Get your hands on the Magic Flute. You will not be disappointed next time you blow a tire.
Price: $49
Buy from: Amazon, Portland Design Works
Cult of Mac’s Best List is a roundup of products to stop you from feeling like a dead duck. Read more Best List mini reviews.
Jim Merithew is director of content at Cult of Mac and Cult of Android. He is the former photo director of Wired and editor at large of Raw File, Wired’s photography blog. In more than 25 years as a journalist, including eight years at the San Francisco Chronicle, Jim has led award-winning teams and relentlessly spread the gospel of the bicycle. He also plays guitar in Pickle Horse. Follow him on Instagram (@tinyblackbox) and Twitter (@tinyblackbox).
2 responses to “Magic Flute bike pump is a magical tool you shouldn’t ride without”
Good: works with Presto and Schrader valves
Meh: $49 for a bike pump? Carrying that little gas bottle holder is easy enough
Bad: no hose. Connecting the pump directly to the valve is a pita. Each time you pump, you risk damaging your valve or at least pushing/pulling the pump off.
But what a POS website that company have.
They show the start page, but then immediately covers it with a popup trying to sell you on the very site it is preventing you to use.
Talk about giving script-kiddy designers enough rope to hang themselves, and a gun to shoot themselves free with!
Are their products designed the same way?
I always assume so, when visiting crappy sites.