Review of the Silca Super Pista Ultimate

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otoman
Posts: 553
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:25 pm
Location: Nashville

by otoman

So does the new Silca pump make that same "wockety wockety" sound that the old Silca pumps made? You can identify the classic Slicas from across the parking lot just by that somewhat decrepit sound....

I'm probably one of very few that was never impressed with the old Silca pumps after having one years ago. Low stroke volume, leaky heads... There! I said it! I feel much better.... :lol:

Personally I use an SKS air gauge and have a couple Blackburn pumps, one of which I replaced with that nice, heavy Topeak brass chuck. I have two Blackburns b/c of their lifetime warranty: the first one's head broke, they sent me the second fo' free. I replaced the head and now have a kid pump they can trash and a pump for me.

I agree air is air. The pressure is the point, not the process of getting the pressure there.... to each his own though. I'm glad someone supports these high end cycling companies lest we all ride Huffys
Age and treachery shall overcome youth and skill

by Weenie


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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

thprice wrote:My hunt for the perfect pump continues :(


Have a look to:
The new Topeak Joe Blow Elite (around 60 euro)
https://www.topeak.com/global/en/produc ... low--elite

no much reviews yet so try to see one live in your surrounding
http://road.cc/content/review/198227-to ... blow-elite

nemeseri
Posts: 794
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:40 pm

by nemeseri

BRM wrote:
thprice wrote:My hunt for the perfect pump continues :(


Have a look to:
The new Topeak Joe Blow Elite (around 60 euro)
https://www.topeak.com/global/en/produc ... low--elite

no much reviews yet so try to see one live in your surrounding
http://road.cc/content/review/198227-to ... blow-elite


I'm extremely pleased with the cheapest specialized floor pump I have. 4 years => no issues.

Valbrona
Posts: 1629
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:25 am
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

Look, no matter how good the Silca Super Pista Ultimate is ... it ain't worth the money.

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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

nemeseri wrote:I'm extremely pleased with the cheapest specialized floor pump I have. 4 years => no issues.


There are many pumps that works for people but the guy I talked to complains about bad Eyesight, therefore I draw his attention to a new model of Topeak with a gauge on top instead of floor level. :wink:

eaglejackson
Posts: 259
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:26 am
Location: PNW

by eaglejackson

Valbrona wrote:Look, no matter how good the Silca Super Pista Ultimate is ... it ain't worth the money.

True, but it's true for so much of the high end gear we ride. The Assos or Castelli clothing we wear? Think Super Record is worth the money over Record? Dura-Ace over Ultegra? Tune skewers? Lightweight Wheels? Colnago C-60 or Pinarello F8 or whatever your high end frame is?

For 99% of us a stock frame will fit just fine yet people buy custom made frames. Is it worth the money? People want something just for themselves or appreciate the craftsmanship that went in the product, even if it's "not worth the money."

Is a Porsche worth the money?

A nice watch or a nice house?

People enjoy nice things. They like spending their disposable income on items that make them happy. Sometimes whether it's worth the money isn't what matters to the person. I don't judge.

I put some lighter skewers on my bike the other day. Do I really think they are going to make me faster? Come on... But they look cool, give the bike a little bit of a personal touch, and increase my connection with the bike which hopefully translates into me riding it a little bit more.

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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Sorry your comparison is flawed.
The New silca pumps I don't consider directly as high end, but just as niche products.
Try to see the difference. . . .

A house, watch or Porche is not a good comparison at all. Try to see that too . . .
There is nothing new on this pump, the concept is from the stone age. Not renewing ideas at all. Gauge distance is not optimal for reading, to name something. Other guy here mention the knurling on valve is sharp. Spare parts are expensive, availability is poor.
In fact many pumps of different manufactures are prety much the same concept, only some details differ and can make a difference.

An American guy bought the name Silca. Made a niche product (old concept with smoother looks, overbuilt, used some fancy materials ) Sauced it with bullshit marketing and non existing heritage. And voila you have a product that is bought by people that have enough money and too little brains to see what it is really. They dont care, when its expensive and marketing says its unique they go for it, thinking its the best. (If you have the money why not?)

Then this pump is pushed by magazines and by others who write so called reviews for money (like my good friend Charles - Pez Cycling) That repeats only the same marketing and visualize it with loads of pictures to trigger your emotions.

(well this is the short version) :wink:

Real cyclists should know better and skip this kind of products.
And yes there is still room for improvement for existing pumps.
Example: The SKS Rennkompressor is built ok, works ok, spare parts are easy to get and cheap, but I also see room for improvement. In my views it must be possible to built a real ultimate pump for around 80 euro's street price.

srshaw
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:06 pm

by srshaw

RussellS wrote:I have a Silca Super Pista pump I have been using the past 15 years or so. Works great. Especially after I replaced the awful Silca chuck with a great Topeak hose and chuck.

https://www.topeak.com/global/en/produc ... pgrade-kit


I think mine is at least 20 years old. Was a lot cheaper than $325. Good idea to replace the chuck though, it's the only thing I don't like about it.

AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Try the old chuck with the new gasket - works nicely.

I think the watch analogy is spot on. This pump is the Rolex of pumps - lots of marketing, exclusivity (only due to price). As far as pumps go, it's like a piece of jewelery. Also, like a mechanical watch movement this pump uses the leather piston technology that is 100 years old which does have it's appeal.

eaglejackson
Posts: 259
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:26 am
Location: PNW

by eaglejackson

BRM wrote:Sorry your comparison is flawed.
The New silca pumps I don't consider directly as high end, but just as niche products.
Try to see the difference. . . .

A house, watch or Porche is not a good comparison at all. Try to see that too . . .
There is nothing new on this pump, the concept is from the stone age. Not renewing ideas at all. Gauge distance is not optimal for reading, to name something. Other guy here mention the knurling on valve is sharp. Spare parts are expensive, availability is poor.
In fact many pumps of different manufactures are prety much the same concept, only some details differ and can make a difference.

An American guy bought the name Silca. Made a niche product (old concept with smoother looks, overbuilt, used some fancy materials ) Sauced it with bullshit marketing and non existing heritage. And voila you have a product that is bought by people that have enough money and too little brains to see what it is really. They dont care, when its expensive and marketing says its unique they go for it, thinking its the best. (If you have the money why not?)

Then this pump is pushed by magazines and by others who write so called reviews for money (like my good friend Charles - Pez Cycling) That repeats only the same marketing and visualize it with loads of pictures to trigger your emotions.

(well this is the short version) :wink:

Real cyclists should know better and skip this kind of products.
And yes there is still room for improvement for existing pumps.
Example: The SKS Rennkompressor is built ok, works ok, spare parts are easy to get and cheap, but I also see room for improvement. In my views it must be possible to built a real ultimate pump for around 80 euro's street price.

Whether you call it high end or niche -- or they can be both -- the products I name and many more can't be justified by "they are worth the money". Just as with the marketing of the Silca pump, they capture someone's imagination that cause them to part with their disposable dollars to buy the product when a fully capable substitute is available for far less money. I hope you can see that. If not, no worries -- all that matters is that we have fun riding our bikes. And if some people get pleasure in ways that don't give me pleasure, or I don't think is worth it, so be it, I don't really care.

In many ways, the premise of Weight Weenies is that we spend disproportionate $ to get diminishing gains in the search for lighter bikes. Hard to really say "it's worth it"; what's worth it to you may not be worth it to me, and vice versa.

(FWIW, I have a 20 year old Silca pump -- made by the original Silca company -- and it's still going strong. And I have a Lezyne pump with a Silca Hiro head).

RussellS
Posts: 916
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

srshaw wrote:
RussellS wrote:I have a Silca Super Pista pump I have been using the past 15 years or so. Works great. Especially after I replaced the awful Silca chuck with a great Topeak hose and chuck.

https://www.topeak.com/global/en/produc ... pgrade-kit


I think mine is at least 20 years old. Was a lot cheaper than $325. Good idea to replace the chuck though, it's the only thing I don't like about it.


I know I bought mine on sale for WAY less than retail. Probably some close out sale by Bike Nashbar or maybe Bike Warehouse. They bought inventory from some place going bankrupt. $325 for a tire pump??? Due to Tuesday I realize we live in one of the most Fu--ed up places on earth. But $325 for a tire pump?

User avatar
BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

eaglejackson wrote:[Whether you call it high end or niche -- or they can be both -- the products I name and many more can't be justified by "they are worth the money". Just as with the marketing of the Silca pump, they capture someone's imagination that cause them to part with their disposable dollars to buy the product when a fully capable substitute is available for far less money. I hope you can see that.


O I try to follow you but still the comparsons you do are simply flawed.

A highly advanced sportscar needs an awful effort in R&D. Manufacturing also comes with a price.
In such a car comes all kinds of disciplines together. Electronics, hydraulics, mechanics, safetu rules and regulations etc etc and need to be fine adjusted too. Its a complex package. Building a home is the same thing.

Here we talk about a simple design manufactured with a concept that is simple and exists for many decennia. It's no comparison. The difference between a pump and your examples is so wide as the Grand Canyon. The effort to build a pump or a Porsche is in many ways not comparable. A Porsche is much more than an ordinary car and the Silca pump is in the end nothing more than an ordinairy pump.

:roll:

eaglejackson
Posts: 259
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:26 am
Location: PNW

by eaglejackson

BRM wrote:
eaglejackson wrote:[Whether you call it high end or niche -- or they can be both -- the products I name and many more can't be justified by "they are worth the money". Just as with the marketing of the Silca pump, they capture someone's imagination that cause them to part with their disposable dollars to buy the product when a fully capable substitute is available for far less money. I hope you can see that.


O I try to follow you but still the comparsons you do are simply flawed.

A highly advanced sportscar needs an awful effort in R&D. Manufacturing also comes with a price.
In such a car comes all kinds of disciplines together. Electronics, hydraulics, mechanics, safetu rules and regulations etc etc and need to be fine adjusted too. Its a complex package. Building a home is the same thing.

Here we talk about a simple design manufactured with a concept that is simple and exists for many decennia. It's no comparison. The difference between a pump and your examples is so wide as the Grand Canyon. The effort to build a pump or a Porsche is in many ways not comparable. A Porsche is much more than an ordinary car and the Silca pump is in the end nothing more than an ordinairy pump.

:roll:


Even with a Porsche, they have historically had the highest profit margins in the auto industry. Which means through their marketing, they've been able to create a mystique about owning a Porsche that allows them to charge massive premiums for their cars. Items with come standard on a $25k Hyundai, like heated seats or automatic headlights, cost thousands of dollars as options in a Porsche. Go build a Porsche online and see the rapacious charges for options. Are those options "worth it"? Heck no, but if you want a Porsche you have to pay. And if you want a car that performs as well or better than a Porsche, you can buy a Corvette. But Corvette doesn't have the mystique, so it sells for a fraction of the price of a Porsche.

All that said, if you don't want to pay so much for a pump -- and I don't either -- then don't. If someone else wants to, it's fine with me.

eaglejackson
Posts: 259
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:26 am
Location: PNW

by eaglejackson

eaglejackson wrote:
BRM wrote:
eaglejackson wrote:[Whether you call it high end or niche -- or they can be both -- the products I name and many more can't be justified by "they are worth the money". Just as with the marketing of the Silca pump, they capture someone's imagination that cause them to part with their disposable dollars to buy the product when a fully capable substitute is available for far less money. I hope you can see that.


O I try to follow you but still the comparsons you do are simply flawed.

A highly advanced sportscar needs an awful effort in R&D. Manufacturing also comes with a price.
In such a car comes all kinds of disciplines together. Electronics, hydraulics, mechanics, safetu rules and regulations etc etc and need to be fine adjusted too. Its a complex package. Building a home is the same thing.

Here we talk about a simple design manufactured with a concept that is simple and exists for many decennia. It's no comparison. The difference between a pump and your examples is so wide as the Grand Canyon. The effort to build a pump or a Porsche is in many ways not comparable. A Porsche is much more than an ordinary car and the Silca pump is in the end nothing more than an ordinairy pump.

:roll:


Even with a Porsche, they have historically had the highest profit margins in the auto industry. Which means through their marketing, they've been able to create a mystique about owning a Porsche that allows them to charge massive premiums for their cars. Items with come standard on a $25k Hyundai, like heated seats or automatic headlights, cost thousands of dollars as options in a Porsche. Go build a Porsche online and see the rapacious charges for options. Are those options "worth it"? Heck no, but if you want a Porsche you have to pay. And if you want a car that performs as well or better than a Porsche, you can buy a Corvette. But Corvette doesn't have the mystique, so it sells for a fraction of the price of a Porsche.

All that said, if you don't want to pay so much for a pump -- and I don't either -- then don't. If someone else wants to, it's fine with me.

Or to go back to some of the bike examples, is Super Record "worth it" over Record or Chorus? SR 8 piece groupset $2175, Record $1829, Chorus $1258. Do you think having SR instead of Chorus you'll now be faster? Or a pair of Assos T.Campionissimo_S7 bib shorts -- $460. $460 for a pair of bibs. People want the exclusivity or whatever, and the companies have built a brand that allows them to charge a premium. If Josh at Silca succeeds in building a brand for the new Silca that lets him charge a premium for something as pedestrian as a pump, good for him. Doesn't mean I have to buy it; there are plenty of good alternatives that are a lot less expensive, just as there are alternatives for Assos clothing, Campagnolo Super Record components, and yes, even Porsches.

uraqt
Posts: 1108
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:53 am

by uraqt

This is rich the guy bashing the silca pump thinks a "A porsche is much more than an ordinary car"..

Got to love the internet who needs facts.. this is my current favorite porsche issue..

Let build a car engine that is so bad that we can't fix it and have to completely replace it twice yes twice... pretty sure that means that they couldn't design it right the 1st two times.... oh and let put that engine in one of most expensive cars.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/some-porsc ... nes-again/

C

I have no issue if you don't see the value in the Silca pump, but please stop disparaging people who do.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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