The Vibrelli Bike Pump, an extremely popular choice on Amazon, is a totally adequate pump. It didn't perform at the top of any of our tests, but it does just fine at everything. We couldn't help but notice its construction is very similar to the Aergun X-1000, our Best Buy--the Vibrelli has a better gauge, a less exciting pump head, arguably more appealing coloring (black all over), and many similar/identical components. Both pumps are made in Taiwan, perhaps in the same factory. In our tests, the AerGun came out ahead in many ways, but the Vibrelli has its advantages as well.
Performance Comparison
Vibrelli's floor pump is an inexpensive and decent all-around generalist option
Stability
With a lightweight all-plastic base, the Vibrelli pump is not at the top of the stability rankings. It does have one of the wider bases at about 11 inches, however, as with most pumps tested, the tendency is strongest for it to tip over backward. Its base has nothing to prevent it from tipping backward; it does resist tipping forward onto the gauge, which would be more likely to cause damage. When standing on the base, traction is aided by small rubber nubs on the top. The base has some flex to it when pumping hard, but ultimately it's as stable as it needs to be for most pumping purposes.
Ease of Attachment/Detachment
The pump head uses a T-valve head (a similar design to our top pick JoeBlow Sport pump) with a dedicated Schrader valve on one side, Presta on the other. It's a handy design, and our testers generally preferred this layout to other pump heads with the two holes right next to each other. The two sides are labeled with an engraved P and S, although they are barely visible in the black plastic and most testers didn't even notice them.
The pump head uses a smart design but struggles with air leakage.
The Vibrelli's head struggles with some air leakage when connecting and disconnecting from valves, especially Presta valves. When pressing the head down on a Presta valve one must press down firmly, then immediately engage the locking lever to stop the rush of air escaping from the tire. This is not an insurmountable obstacle (and is a fairly common issue with pump heads), but it is certainly not ideal either. On the bright side, the locking lever is quite easy to move.
Gauge
Of the less expensive pumps we tested, this pump has the nicest looking gauge.
The Vibrelli's gauge is about 2 ½ inches across and features large silver numbering on a black background with an orange needle. It goes nicely with the black-and-white color scheme of the rest of the pump and has an attractive, straightforward design. Due to the large numbering and hash marks every 2 PSI, it's also quite easy to read. The silver numbers even stand out well in low light conditions.
The construction of the gauge is a little less impressive. It's plastic all over, like most components on this pump, and it feels flimsy as though it isn't solidly mounted to the barrel. The base design should prevent this pump from tipping forward in most cases, but we wouldn't put much confidence in the long-term survivability of the gauge if treated roughly. We did intentionally tip it forward and toss it around a bit during testing, and there was nothing beyond minor cosmetic damage to the gauge.
Inflation Speed
The Vibrelli's inflation speed, like the AerGun, fell right in the middle of the pack in our tests. It takes a few extra pushes to reach a given pressure when compared to larger pumps, as expected. The pumping motion stays smooth and easy at low pressures all the way up to well over 100 PSI.
Accuracy
In addition to its nice design, the gauge is quite accurate. It did struggle a bit at lower air pressures, where it was consistently off by 4-5 PSI, a little larger range than the margin of error for the most accurate pumps we tested, but not unexpected for an inexpensive model. At higher pressures it was perfect, matching its readings exactly with our independent gauge. The overall accuracy does take a hit due to its tendency to lose air when removing the pump head--it was somewhat difficult to gather accurate test samples when judging the accuracy of this pump, since a second or two of air loss corresponds with a big change in pressure. Overcome that issue though, and the gauge itself seems to give very accurate readings.
The easy-to-read gauge is quite accurate at higher pressures, but off by a few PSI at lower pressures
Best Applications
This is a good all-around pump that performs well and will suit most users' needs, whether they're pumping up a low-pressure mountain bike tire, high-pressure road tire, or anything in between. Due to some minor accuracy issues at low pressures, this pump is recommended more for high-pressure applications.
Value
A big part of the Vibrelli's popularity is certainly the competitive price; at about $35, it's a good amount of pump per buck. It looks nice in black, the gauge is attractive, everything works well enough. There are no major downfalls with this pump, and in this price range that's enough! We think you might be better off spending a few extra dollars on a more highly rated pump like the JoeBlow Sport, or the Lezyne Steel Floor Drive if you want to stay with something black. If you want to stay in the same price range, the AerGun's cost is about the same and it comes with most of the same parts and a superior head.
Conclusion
Vibrelli makes a perfectly good floor pump--they've been selling a ton of them for years, and they know what they're doing! It has its shortcomings, but none are very serious. We have some other models we prefer, but wouldn't fault anyone for purchasing this.
