Any Silca floor pump fans out there?
01-16-23, 09:29 PM
#1
WV is not flat..
Thread Starter
Any Silca floor pump fans out there?
I just ran into a stack of Silca pumps. There are two in this lot that are not Silca. One is an older Schwinn and the other is the chrome Eber Cortina. Pretty good assortment and about half of them need to be rebuilt (already have the leather cups and oil ordered). Just looking to see who are the fans out here..
01-17-23, 06:52 AM
#2
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I very much appreciated they were the first pump manufacturer to put a gauge on their pumps and later returning to wood handles on some of their pumps.
01-17-23, 07:14 AM
#3
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I have two Silcas. I never owned another brand. I never needed to. I even use one of them on my car and hand truck tires.
Last edited by gearbasher; 01-17-23 at 07:17 AM.
01-17-23, 07:34 AM
#4
I don't know.
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my Silca was a Christmas present from my father in 1985. It's on its second gage and second leather cup thingy inside.
01-17-23, 07:44 AM
#5
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I've got 3. One pista with one footpad and a plastic handle in my office. One pista with one footpad and a wooden handle in the basement next to my trainer. One superpista with a wooden handle and the triangular double footpad in my garage. All 3 have had their leather washers replaced, one has had the inner plastic replaced, all 3 have had their hoses replaced for something longer/more flexible, all three have different chucks (the silca air compressor style at my office for quick changes to schrader to blow up my yoga ball when I decide - once again - to stop being lazy and sit on it instead of the chair, the garage superpista has the silca hiro screwed into a lezyne chuck with a bleeder valve, the basement has the hirame chuck). I appreciate how well they all work and how amenable they are to modifications/repairs. I know I've replaced the gauge on at least one of them, maybe 2 at this point, but the newest of them is probably 30+ years old.
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01-17-23, 08:09 AM
#6
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I have one of those orange ones from a long time ago. Still works great and have only replaced the rubber plunger gasket..
Problem is, it is very short and I have to bend over to use it.
Problem is, it is very short and I have to bend over to use it.
01-17-23, 09:34 AM
#7
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I love my Silca Pista Plus. With a Hiro chuck. I swapped out the gauge for something easier to read than the red/black one that came with it. Silcas are simply the most elegant floor pumps available.
01-17-23, 01:28 PM
#8
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BTW that 'older Schwinn pump' is not just some random old pump. It is the Meidai Top Super floor pump which is in its own way as iconic and venerable as the Silca pump. It is still being made today as the Sunlite Model M:
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01-17-23, 01:36 PM
#9
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I have one of the Schwinn pumps too--the best thing is the equalizing tank below the gauge.
01-17-23, 03:14 PM
#10
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Hey, the cylinder is a piece of Columbus tubing. How can you beat that? I've had mine for at least 30 years.
01-17-23, 03:18 PM
#11
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I don't think my Pista Plus uses Columbus tubing. However, it is finished much like a bike frame, even including clear coating over the decals.
01-17-23, 07:07 PM
#12
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I've used one for the last 40 years, don't see any reason to look for a different floor pump. It puts air into the tire reasonably fast, has a gauge and looks cool!
01-18-23, 05:20 PM
#13
WV is not flat..
Thread Starter
I thought it was pretty cool. It needs a hose, but that should be easy. Pump seems to work just fine. Pretty heavy construction.
01-18-23, 05:24 PM
#14
WV is not flat..
Thread Starter
I ordered 5 of the leather plungers and they were so easy to replace. Very serviceable. I'll probably even service the ones that seem like they are working now.
01-21-23, 06:34 PM
#15
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After two replacement hoses, countless replacement head washers, and 50 years of service, I replaced mine with an orange one by Serfas. The gauge stopped working after a couple years. They replaced the entire pump on warranty free of charge. I'm not looking back.
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01-21-23, 08:37 PM
#16
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I have no Silcas pumps of any sort, but both of my presta floor pumps have Silca 24.0 heads in place of the garbage ones they came with.
01-26-23, 01:35 PM
#17
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I have a Schwinn pump I purchased in the 1980’s Just grease the plunger every few years and it’s good a new! Schwinn quality!
01-26-23, 03:04 PM
#18
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01-27-23, 03:59 PM
#19
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Bought my first and only Silca Pista back when 18mm tires were the thing and I had to pump them up to 150psi to keep from getting a pinch flat. Silca was one of the few pumps that could do this easily. 35 years later, I still have and use that pump (it is the only one I have).
01-28-23, 02:14 AM
#20
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I have two Pista pumps that are 40 years old and still going strong. I also purchased the new Silca Super Pista Ultimate but it is the pump I grab last. I also have two Lezynes Floor Drives and one Joe Blow.
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