I got my Hirame pump head, attached to my Deutche Telecom SKS field pump and started pumping away. The instructions were gratefully in Japanese and not in Chinese (item apparently made in the good old Japan - land of the rising sun). I was so pleased with ease of use, the lack of force needed to clamp and unclamp, the lack of air leaks that I happily pumped up three bikes. Very sweet item and attractive too.
Now, are you fellows fooling yourself about YOUR pump heads. I visited the great Ray Dobbins, owner of wonderful bikes, and asked if my friend Hakkan and I could use his pump to pump up a bike for a photo shoot. He handed us an el cheapo and what do ya know? ... it took both of us to pump up the tires, one to hold the chuck on and the other to pump. Saturday I went on a ride with my buddy Lou .. when we got to his house, I asked for some air and what did ya think? Yup ... it took two of us to pump up my tire. (He told me that the next day he pumped up a tire and it didn't leak - it leaks only sometimes, the same as my Silca pump head. All over the world, people of substance are suffering needlessly doing the one legged pump dance, trying to jostle a pump head with the toe of one foot while applying force to the floor pump ... or waking their spouses at 7:00 AM to help them pump up. This is unnecessary suffering. Get a Hirame and start living again.
Garth Libre in Miami Florida USA