Review of the Silca Super Pista Ultimate

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Andrewjn
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:54 am

by Andrewjn

Am about to quote the devil himself....." its all about the bike". How the air gets into the tyres is anyone's choice. If you get value out of a mega buck price unit then good luck.... perhaps we should be marketing high end refined air blessed by the Dalai Lama . Mind you I would have a porsche over a Hyundai if I intend to drive at mach 3 :D

by Weenie


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sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

boysa wrote:
uraqt wrote:
1. +/-1% accurate gauge
2. Magnetic dock manages the chuck
3. The base designed for cleats
4. Custom bearing designed and manufactured to "mate" to the Teflon coated piston rod.
5. No Fault 2 years warranty.


Thank you. Finally, after all that, someone took the time to list the reasons why they think it's a superior design. Tangible information.


1. Is there independent testing to validate superior accuracy against other pumps over time - that would be a benefit if true.

2. So what

3. No use to me

4. Something I don't need or want to pay for

5. Consumer protection legislation - at least here in the UK - provides that anyway.

2-5 are nothing I'd pay for and in some cases useless

Here's what this comes down to ... if it's genuinely more accurate than other pumps over time then it is a benefit, and we can all make up our minds as to whether we want to pay for it. I would certainly look into it
----------------------------------------
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

Hawkwood
Posts: 334
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:27 pm

by Hawkwood

goodboyr wrote:Lol. That's a low end espresso machine.......

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Rated as `entry level sector' by the manufacturer, built with the components of the company's commercial machines including an E-61 group.

gceniza
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:43 pm

by gceniza

sawyer wrote:
boysa wrote:
uraqt wrote:
1. +/-1% accurate gauge
2. Magnetic dock manages the chuck
3. The base designed for cleats
4. Custom bearing designed and manufactured to "mate" to the Teflon coated piston rod.
5. No Fault 2 years warranty.


Thank you. Finally, after all that, someone took the time to list the reasons why they think it's a superior design. Tangible information.


1. Is there independent testing to validate superior accuracy against other pumps over time - that would be a benefit if true.

2. So what

3. No use to me

4. Something I don't need or want to pay for

5. Consumer protection legislation - at least here in the UK - provides that anyway.

2-5 are nothing I'd pay for and in some cases useless

Here's what this comes down to ... if it's genuinely more accurate than other pumps over time then it is a benefit, and we can all make up our minds as to whether we want to pay for it. I would certainly look into it



We have quantitative (what we can numerically measure) analysis and we have qualitative (what we feel) analysis. With this product, at least for me, quantitative specifications do not capture why I like the product. An analogy ... in my professional life, I run R&D for a large software company. I have developed software my entire career. A tool for doing that is a computer. Qualitatively, I prefer using an iMac. I like the way the peripherals "feel" and I like the seamless ergonomics of the software and hardware. Quantitatively, I can build a PC that is spec-for-spec just as good for a 3rd the price. Will the the code I design be any better using one or the other? Absolutely not. Will I produce faster output on one vs. the other? Negligible differences. But I am willing to pay triple the price because I enjoy the experience more and I cannot measure that.

In the same analogy, I enjoy using this Silca product ... for qualitative reasons ... I like the feel of the rosewood handles. I like the soft patina of the metal. I like the way the magnet dock stores the chuck. There are no plastic parts and that makes it feel more refined. These things as a whole are not numerically measurable and something that is tough to fully realize without actually using the product. All of these things may seem like B.S. to some people (perhaps most) and a senseless extravagance. But to me, and the fact that I am now in the back half of my life, I appreciate these qualitative things more than I did when I was younger. Life is short and I want to be able to experience finer things.

sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

gceniza wrote:
sawyer wrote:
boysa wrote:
uraqt wrote:
1. +/-1% accurate gauge
2. Magnetic dock manages the chuck
3. The base designed for cleats
4. Custom bearing designed and manufactured to "mate" to the Teflon coated piston rod.
5. No Fault 2 years warranty.


Thank you. Finally, after all that, someone took the time to list the reasons why they think it's a superior design. Tangible information.


1. Is there independent testing to validate superior accuracy against other pumps over time - that would be a benefit if true.

2. So what

3. No use to me

4. Something I don't need or want to pay for

5. Consumer protection legislation - at least here in the UK - provides that anyway.

2-5 are nothing I'd pay for and in some cases useless

Here's what this comes down to ... if it's genuinely more accurate than other pumps over time then it is a benefit, and we can all make up our minds as to whether we want to pay for it. I would certainly look into it



We have quantitative (what we can numerically measure) analysis and we have qualitative (what we feel) analysis. With this product, at least for me, quantitative specifications do not capture why I like the product. An analogy ... in my professional life, I run R&D for a large software company. I have developed software my entire career. A tool for doing that is a computer. Qualitatively, I prefer using an iMac. I like the way the peripherals "feel" and I like the seamless ergonomics of the software and hardware. Quantitatively, I can build a PC that is spec-for-spec just as good for a 3rd the price. Will the the code I design be any better using one or the other? Absolutely not. Will I produce faster output on one vs. the other? Negligible differences. But I am willing to pay triple the price because I enjoy the experience more and I cannot measure that.

In the same analogy, I enjoy using this Silca product ... for qualitative reasons ... I like the feel of the rosewood handles. I like the soft patina of the metal. I like the way the magnet dock stores the chuck. There are no plastic parts and that makes it feel more refined. These things as a whole are not numerically measurable and something that is tough to fully realize without actually using the product. All of these things may seem like B.S. to some people (perhaps most) and a senseless extravagance. But to me, and the fact that I am now in the back half of my life, I appreciate these qualitative things more than I did when I was younger. Life is short and I want to be able to experience finer things.



How wonderful. You're right life is short, and I agree entirely with the aesthetic and wider point, but find outlets for it far more satisfying than ... a track pump ...

I'd have to have so much else in life optimised before I got round to that one ... :D

But it would be itneresting if the thing was actually more accurate, and particularly more accurate over time than other pumps

Though there appears to be no evidence it is AFAIK
----------------------------------------
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

sedluk
Posts: 412
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:10 am

by sedluk

I bought one and thought that it was a piece of shit.

I was also excited when I first bought mine, thought that it would be cool. I even considered getting it custom painted to match a bike.

I had numerous problems with mine and did not care for how they were handled. I later ended up buying the fancy $110 chuck then gave it to a friend to have the warranty work handled. I don't even think he uses it.

That fancy and heavy chuck does a great job of chipping your bike paint when it pops off the valve stem is another reason that I was happy to get that thing out of my garage.

I bought a new Serfas bike pump and could not be happier. Sure, the thing has plastic but it works better.

leej88
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:22 am

by leej88

$400 for a a pump! :shock:

I'll rather get ceramicspeed pulley wheels for some placebo/marginal gains than a bike pump.

It's weight weenies so more often than not we spend ridiculous amounts of money on items with marginal gains...

Let's see:
$400 gets you a pair of Time Xpresso 15 pedals.
$400 gets you a Berk Lupina Saddle with spare change.
$400 also gets you 2 pairs of tubular tyres.
$400 gets you an Exposure strada 1200 front light.
$400 gets you a pair of Giordano NXG bibshorts
$400 gets you a Topeka Joeblow track pump with money to spare for an industrial digital tyre pressure reader with change to spare.

There's a lot of things one can spend $400 on and for me, a track pump definitely ain't one.

User avatar
tommasini
Posts: 1460
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2003 6:48 am
Location: Central USA
Contact:

by tommasini

Incredible string. I can't speak for the value of the US rendition of silca pumps. But my silca pista pump (Merckx orange) started banging around in the team van around 1979. This pump has had a less stressful existence since my younger days but it was and still is (37 yrs and counting) a top notch reliable product.

My point being If the current version is judged inferior so be it. But if judged to be superior for /by some of us then do consider its long term "value" to you.

Jhong
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:58 pm

by Jhong

Looks so classic!
Is it easy to use for women?
Some pumps are hard to use..!

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3185
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

This is probably blasphemy, but anyone know where I can get a male to male schrader piece so I can use my Lezyne screw on pump head? I don't like the Silca one.

itguy
Posts: 162
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:43 pm

by itguy

Hi, I saw from a YouTube video about the pump that it needs lube on the leather thing inside the pump body. Is this true?

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AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

You just put a little grease on it. You don't have to do it often. Come to think of it I probably haven't lubed the leather on my Silca track pump in a decade.
Last edited by AJS914 on Sun Nov 26, 2017 2:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
dgasmd
Posts: 1953
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:10 am
Location: South Florida

by dgasmd

Had a Silca from like 25 years ago. Awesome pump that got lost in a move somewhere along the way. Went to source one later only to find out they had gone up in price by about $125 and couldn't even find one at the time!! Bought a large volume Blackburn and a few others since all of which have gone to chit! Last Serfas, the chuck broke, so I bought a Silca chuck and it has work fine since.

The one thing I do hate is that using liquid latex to preload my tubulars tend to gum up the core, which makes it difficult to pump into with the Silca chuck. Not so much with the level locking chuck in the other cheap pump

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