In a message dated 2/28/03 1:25:38 PM Pacific Standard Time, rononice@yahoo.com writes:
> My best experience with a Silca is 60 psi, enough to get you home usually,
> but still risky for light tubular rims. Try to push too much pressure with
> one and you can split the plastic body and rip you hand open, as did a
> friend of mine.
I used a Silca pump with a steel Campy head for 15 years before I got a Silca floor pump, and routinely was able to get 100 to 120psi. I was using nice old Clements at the time and let the tires down after every ride, so I had to pump them up every time I went out which was pretty much daily. In 30 years, I've never had a body fail on me, although I've seen some that had split. They tend to crack before they split, so if you inspect them every now and then you shouldn't be left stranded by a failed pump. If you hold them by the aluminum sleeve, you shouldn't have to worry about your hand if one does fail on you. The older flat headed pumps are a lot easier on the hand than the frame fit pumps. In my experience, the Silca and the Campy plastic heads are very much inferior to the Campy steel ones. Using a steel Campy head, the tricks are: 1) make sure the leather washer is well lubricated with a SOFT grease, not a stiff one. Every now and then put a LITTLE oil in it to revitalize the grease. 2) the pump head washer has to be reasonably fresh and you have to hold it VERY square to the valve. I wrap my thumb over the top of the tire, and my index finger around the pump head to support it (and act as strain relief to the valve) and my next two fingers around the pump body. Pump till hard or tired. Start with the back tire first. It's easier to get more pressure on the first tire you inflate because if you're built like a typical bike rider, upper body strength isn't your strong point. Doing the front tire second makes sense because it doesn't need as much pressure as the rear. If the pump head is fitted properly to the valve, the best technique to get it off the valve is to hit smartly, straight down with your fist, on the metal sleeve close to the head. Any other way risks breaking the end off the valve. If it leaks around the valve while pumping, either it's not square, not inserted far enough or the washer is shot. If it's not leaking around the valve, and you're not getting 100psi, you are either doing something wrong, need to check the washer, or need to eat more Wheaties or spinach ;-). The last inch of stroke is where all the work is. My arms got weak just thinking about it! I'm glad I have four (Silca) floor pumps!
The fault dear Brutus, lays not in our Silca pumps, but in ourselves!
Stevan "don't own no zee faal pumps" Thomas Alameda, CA
ps. no offense to anyone who like those zee faal pumps, so no zee faal zingers please!