I’ll admit I’ve spent way too much time reading reviews of bike tires. I have experimented ad infinitum with tubeless tire pressures in relation to various width tires and various road surfaces and I know a couple pounds of pressure one way or the other can make a big difference in the feel and handling of a tire that is all of an inch wide. The reality is, tires are the most important part of the bike, not only from a safety standpoint–you have two small patches of rubber in contact with the road when you’re flying down that mountain at 40+ miles per hour after all–but from a performance, handling and comfort standpoint as well. If you are tuned into your bike to the point where it feels like an extension of your body then being mindful about tire pressure is just part of the zen.
And so, last week I finally got fed up with the seven year old Bontrager track pump I’ve been using. It had been leaking air for months and, though I had spent some time and effort trying to troubleshoot it, nothing fixed the issue.
It was putting a kink in my zen.
The Bontrager and I had seven good years together, yes. But it was an expensive pump and I really felt like it should have been designed to be repaired. Now it will wind up as one more piece of junk on our giant 21st century American garbage heap. It’s not even about the money, it’s about the fact that the decision-makers at some corporation decided it was ok to design something where a single point of failure (in this case probably a $0.10 gasket that is not replacable) will render the entire thing useless.
Those guys just piss me off.
All this to describe what led up to the purchase of what will no doubt be the last track pump I will ever buy.
Behold the Silca SuperPista Ultimate in all her glory:
This is now, hands-down, the nicest tool in my shop. I won’t go into every detail, but it’s obvious that a lot of thought and care was put into the design of this pump. The base is heavy cast zinc, the hose is braided stainless steel, the handle is turned purpleheart wood, the rest is machined aluminum with a steel chuck. No plastic! The guage is factory calibrated to 1% accuracy and every non-wear part is covered by a 25-year warranty. Also, just in case you were wondering, yes, it is completely rebuildable. But, honestly, I can’t imagine any part of this pump ever failing. It’s built like a tank.
Plus, the thing is freaking gorgeous.
Maybe this is a bit decadent. Do I need a pump this nice? Clearly no. But it is something I use almost every day and now, instead of a leaky piece of junk that made me frustrated at the start of each ride, I can actually enjoy the few minutes it takes to pump up the tires because I’m using a well-designed tool that wasn’t built to be thrown in the trash in a few years. In fact, I’m sure the Silca pump will outlive me.
Now I just need to figure out who will inherit her when I take that last big bike ride in the sky.
Cycling and Other Pastimes 