Sunday, August 16, 2020
Silca Pump Rebuild: 32 Years and Going Strong
Strangely, there's not a lot to say here beyond the post title. Parts are available directly from Silca. If you don't have one of their basic floor pumps, they'll be happy to sell you one for $99. As I've pointed out before, this is not a cheap price but then this is not a cheap pump either: 32 years, two rebuilds, and still as good a new, albeit with a nice patina and a lot of fond memories. But first, a picture:
So what parts did this overhaul require? The leather plunger washer was the main one, just because it's the heart of the pump. (Don't forget to buy the required leather oil that Silca also conveniently sells.) The rubbery washer in the presta chuck; those just wear with every use, and it stacks up over 17 years. Finally, the gauge. The old one from circa 1988 was plastic-bodied. It could flex when smacked on the side, which lead to the clear cover popping off sometime back during the first Bush administration, and eventually to the demise of the internal parts. It held air nonetheless, but it did necessitate a separate hand gauge (something you should have anyway; strangely, Silca doesn't sell these). The new one is metal, and there's a fair chance it'll outlast me. Accurate too. BTW, they sell a complete overhaul kit or the required bits individually. I opted for the al la carte route, since the air hose was still good from the last rebuild.
It's noteworthy that everything, and I mean everything, went together smoothly and all seals were air-tight on the first try. How often does something like that happen on a hard-used third-of-a-century-old piece of gear? You can get a cheaper – in more than one sense – bike pump down at the big-box store, but this is the real deal, the one you want.
Plug "silca" into the search bar for some of my other impressions of their pumps and customer service.
ps: I still can't get the right font in this crappy new blogger interface. Will continue with what we've got here for the moment, mostly out of inertia.
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