papaki72

My 7+ year old truck pump has started having problems, mostly air coming our when the head gets tilted a bit when mounted on presta valves. I thought of repairing it, but I feel like it is time to go away from the cheapos and get me a quality one.
I am mainly eyeing two pumps, the expensive Silca Pista Plus and the much less expensive Lezyne Alloy. Do you think that it is worth squeezing out my budget for the Silca? Do you recommend something else (available in EU)?

bboy314

Silca pumps are beautiful, and for some reason I’ve always had terrible luck with their reliability. Personally I’d pick the Lezyne, I haven’t used their floor pumps much but do have good experiences with their frame pumps and other products.

But generally I tend to recommend the $50 Topeak Joe Blow, which has worked great for me for over 10 years, with one replacement of the rubber gaskets in the head during that time.

pdlamb

Any reason you've skipped over the Silca Pista floor pump for the ($60 more expensive) Silca Pista Plus? I've got a 20 year old Silca, similar to the straight Pista, that I pumped my tires up with yesterday.

Unlike @bboy314, I've had much worse luck with Lezyne. Actually the pump still works fine, but the gauge quit after a couple years, and the replacement gauge was nearly the price of an entirely new pump.

Crankycrank

SKS Rennkompressor is another good one. Super sturdy and replacement parts are available. Mines about 10yrs old and gets used around 3 times a week and is still all original. A little pricey these days at just under $90 and if you shop around maybe cheaper but you won't have to buy another one. Don't know if it's the best pump but certainly one of the best. Rennkompressor Floor Pump – SKS USA (sks-us.com)

RB1-luvr

^^ that looks nice.

smd4

I love my Silca Pista Plus with a Hiro chuck. Yes, this setup is pretty expensive (more so than when I got my setup a year or two ago), but it's the last I'll ever own. Every component is easily replaceable.

The regular aluminum chuck isn't bad. The Hiro is just so much easier to use.

And I'd rather have a leather gasket/plunger than rubber.

smd4

The base on the Pista Plus is better/more stable. Is the gauge on the Pista even replaceable? Doesn't look like it.

Iride01 

I've had my Zefal floor pump since prior to 2009. Cost me less than 10 bucks and sometime between now and then I put a 4 dollar hose/airchuck on it when the original air chuck went bad. And it gets used often.

For the price of a high quality floor pump, I could just buy a couple dozen of these cheapo's that last over ten year and be set for several lifetimes.

But if the quality of the build appeals to you then go for it.

pdlamb

Dunno. I suspect the design may have been tweaked in the last couple decades, but my 20 year old gauge still works, so I don't care if it's replaceable.

And I agree with you on the Hiro chuck. I got lucky enough to grab one on Silca's year-end clearance sale a few years back, and no other pump chuck comes close.

SJX426 

I went used on Silca pumps, Parts readily available. Had to refurbish the check valve. Over 20 years use.
P1040744 ,on Flickr
PXL_20221201_130323696
on Flickr

Also invested in Amazon.com: KUWAHARA HIRAME Pump Head Yoko with Hose Band : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelryj which is working extremely well.

papaki72

I saw it, but it seems like it will tip to the side with the single "flap" on its base. How steady is it?

veloz

Over 20 years ago I bought a Blackburn Track pump. Guaranteed for life and it got a LOT of use. About 10 years ago it began to fail and they replaced it without any hassle. Fast forward - about 2 yrs ago the newer head began to leak and parts were unavailable. They offered to replace the pump again but I just asked for an entire new pump head. They stand behind their products. Good company and good products.

mpetry912 

find a used silca pump on ebay, order the rebuild kit and new hose, and put a Hirame pump head on it.

probably not much less than a new one when you add in shipping

but will last just about forever

PS the best silca pump is the one with the wooden handle, it is slightly larger than the Pista.

/markp

pdlamb

I need a foot on the bottom to keep the base from coming off the ground on the pump upstroke anyway, and that foot holds the pump upright. I don't need to keep it standing free for a supported group ride, nor for a shop display, so it's not a problem for me.

John Valuk

I haven't used an alloy version, but I have been happy with my (steel) Lezyne Classic Floor Drive.

It's very much a matter of opinion and personal preference, but I have found that I really like the ABS-1 Pro chuck that they use.

SoSmellyAir

This does look sweet. Do you have any thoughts on the other ones? How about the Air Motion 12?

HillRider

+1. I have one of these chucks on a old Park PFP-4 floor pump that has been in daily use for 14 years. The Park pump has been great, it's OEM chuck, not so good. The Hirame chuck has been flawless and well worth the cost.

BCDrums

Plus one on the Hirame love. I have it on a ~1986 Silca Pista pump, Columbus tubing! It, and the Silca Hiro copy, are just wonderful. In fact, I'd argue that there's not much difference between pumps; if the chuck is easy to use, any pump is adequate. When I went to fatter tires with lower pressure, I replaced the original Silca pressure gauge, which went to 220 psi, with a 0-60 psi gauge, so I can pump to 40 psi, which was difficult to see on a gauge that went to 220.

My other pump is a 1974 Rampar-branded Medai. I replaced the original hose and chuck with one of the Shrader/Presta double heads, and mainly use it to air up the car tires.

I wish I'd bought the Hirame chuck when I first learned of it, instead of waiting until I was a bit more flush. For many years I used that Silca brass bell chuck, what a pain in the keester. But it was authentic Italian...

And yeah, the Pista just wants to fall over.

Crankycrank

Have never laid eyes on the Air Motion 12 but does sound good. For me the folding feet of the Rennkompressor were nice for storage in my dinky apartment.

SoSmellyAir

Looks almost same as Silca Hiro pump head?

BCDrums

Yes, and it preceded the Silca by decades. I have both and prefer the Hirame, but the Silca is excellent as well.

smd4

The benefit of the Silca Hiro is that it threads into a standard Schrader head.

tFUnK

Another vote for Lezyne. Have two pumps, an alloy one and a steel one. Had to replace the hose and chuck on the older one just recently after 12 years of service. Been happy with both of them. The threaded attachment is a huge plus for me even though it does require tightening the valves on tubes with removable cores first.

BCDrums

Do whut?

Shrader chucks don't have threads, do they? The ones I am familiar with, for bikes, are pressure fit, with some kind of lever that squeezes a gasket. But really, anyone who drops this kind of money on a chuck isn't likely to be looking to attach it to s Shrader chuck. At least I'm not.

smd4

The Silca Pista Plus has a THREADED Schrader valve at the end of the hose.




If you’ve seen just about any Presta adapter for Schrader valves, they’re threaded.

Silca Presta Adapter

Schrader valves themselves are threaded.

If you’re dropping this kind of money on a Hiro, it’s far easier/more elegant to thread it on to the end of the hose than using a hose clamp.