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Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Everyone needs to carry a frame pump. Perhaps you don't need one on every ride however it is the right stuff to have most of the time.
I've got two frame pumps that are equally awesome.
First up is the venerable and no longer made Silca Frame Pump. It is crazy light weight and used properly will reliably pump to 90 PSI especially using the XL sizes. Silcas come with a list of things you should and should not do in order to have them last. Follow the rule book and they will last forever.
Silca Rules:
Spit on the seal - no kidding, it preserves the rubber.
Never let the handle extend to full reach - if you do the pump handle will explode, not kidding.
Gently rock the pump head onto the valve and when done smack it off with a sharp hit - just do it
Once in a blue moon - regrease the leather washer with some goose grease.
Attachment 70464
Zefal HPX Traditional - This is probably going to win the discussion once the dust settles. Everyone has owned this frame pump. It is the pump ATMO handed to me when I thought my pump wasn't working. I've got a drawer full of them. Zefals pump to 90 PSI easily, are serviceable and can be used as weapons multiple times due to heavy construction. The only knock is that they weigh a lot, enough that we all have foolishly tried other pumps only to "re-discover" our HPX waiting patiently for a return to service.
Zefal HPX rules:
None
Attachment 70465
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
While I disagree not with both of the above, I've got to put in a plug for my Blackburn ... FP-1... ? Not sure because the lettering is rubbed off. I've had it for fifteen years, nary a re-lube, grommet or washer replacement. Gets up to pressure no problem.
Just one of those things that's so amazing because it functions without a second thought.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I haven't tried either one and being someone who's been riding for less than a decade, I'm new the frame-pump game. I have a toppeak master blaster. It's light enough and I can get to 90 psi pretty easily w/o any drama.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Like our ability to put a man on the moon or having the Space Shuttle, decent frame pumps are a technology that has been lost to humankind. I agree with the first two nominations as the stellar examples of the genre and will add that the Silca pump is best when equipped with the Campagnolo two-foot metal head. A mistake that people often make when using these is to not hold the pump properly so that the head remains straight on the valve....When cocked tothe side, the presta valve can be forced to remain open making inflation difficult/impossible or the pump can "backfire"....This is often blamed on a faulty pump, but it is a faulty operator....In the kinky suggestion department...In the late 70's early 80's Zefal made a pump called the "Z-Course" It was a great cross between a Zefal HP and silca as it combined some of the robustness of a Zefal with the lightweight simplicity of a Silca...They were rare back in the day and nearly nonexitent today...but if somebody encounters one in good condition that fits his frame, grab it...
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
The Silca picture provoked a flashback. My first "custom" bike was a Stowe, with a red>>yellow fade like what was popular on the Serotta frames at the time. The Stowe came with a Silca painted to match the frame. It was ridiculously light, almost toy-like, but it got the job done. Gave it away with the frame. Haven't tried a recent Zefal, but had an old one on the Serotta that replaced the Stowe. It also got the job done but I didn't care for the look of it on the frame and the clanking noise it made on the crappy NY roads. I skipped the pump peg option on my current bike but, who knows, maybe I'll have one on the next…..but only with the pump painted to match!
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Pet peeve: velcro straps around the top tube to hold the pump on. Fugly! The pump that comes in many sizes will win the war. I thank the Universe that an XL sized Topeak will fit tight on my Hampsten 57cm TT. Oh, and I also thank the Bacon Brothers for remembering to put a pump nipple on the back of the head tube on the Cinghiale. Back in 2001. Very progressive/regressive for the time. I used Silcas for years, Too Tall's rules above were well known, and Silcas suck the way misaligned 70s-80s Italian frames sucked. We just didn't know it at the time. Now, we do. ATMO.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
one more vote for the master blaster. multiple sizes and one end is shaped just so and of the correct material to fit competently into any corner of the frame from the tt/ht to the st/cs.
works so well I'm happy using at home when I find myself too far from my floor pump.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
HPX is the king. If it's cold and crappy and getting dark I'm no longer willing to indulge Silca foibles. Blackburn's good too. Planet Bike's fine. I did a group ride in the rain early this season and all around me were getting flats, every one eventually got pumped up with my frame pump after various mini pumps/inflators didn't work/yield enough pressure and if I'd had a Silca I'd have had to do all the pumping myself to avert catastrophe.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I am not sure it's the best of all time but Topeak road master blaster is my go to. I never had a problem and they are easy to find and buy.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Yep.....the Silica's are the pump to go for especially the ones with metal end, only got one left and that's on our tandem. I think the modern one to go for is the Topeak Master Blaster though not got one as not available in Germany. I use some well known make but for the life of me as write the name has'nt come to me.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Paint matched Silca still looks the best on a frame with smaller diameter tubes but out of place on a modern carbon wonder bike.
Zefal HP is a strong pump and useful for beating off muggers and wild animals.
Have had good luck with the Master Blaster (sometimes modified to fit on NDS chainstay for frames that wont take a pump under the top tube where it belongs).
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No contest whatsoever: Zefal HPX. Beats 99% of the floor pumps. :cool:
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Zefal rocks, been using for a lot of years.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I've had the hpx and it may be me but it doesn't hold a candle to a silca with a steel campy head, even given the quirks of the silca.
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I use whatever my buddies are carrying. A pump you don't have to carry is the best.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jonathan
I use whatever my buddies are carrying. A pump you don't have to carry is the best.
That's what everybody else on my group ride does. I'm enabling them.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Zefal HPX - All the above + survives dog training sessions.
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So you guys don't have a follow car with spare wheels? Who pumps their own tires these days.
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I'm curious to try out the Topeak, but you can have my HPX when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I have the new Park on my main bike, but there'll be an HPX on it pronto if the Park ever lets me down. I do have another bike with a Silca on the frame--and a CO2 inflator in the seat bag.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Topeak Road Morph for anything beyond a local ride, or a major adventure: Amazon.com : Topeak Road Morph G Bike Pump with Gauge : Frame Mount Bike Pumps : Sports & Outdoors
Got me happily across the USA and is serving me well here in MT this week.
Riding locally, I'm satisfied with the Lezyne line with flexible hose or a couple of CO2's.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Ok, serious reply this time. Like rosey, when local and not going on an "epic" adventure, I bring a lezyne and a CO2 for backup. When traveling or when the ride calls for a frame pump, I have a couple of the Topeak master blasters. I've been really happy with them.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Never found anything better than the HPX, and, while I hate the velcro straps, I hated losing my HPX on a ride in Texas once. Hit a bump, pump went flying and I never found it.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Another vote for Zefal HPx. Mine is 23 years old, and still works just fine. I’ve replaced nothing in it.
I give credit to having a pump peg on my head tube for never losing it. Sometimes the old way works best, no?
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I'm too new to cycling to have ever owned the zefal or silca models. but I have owned and used the park tools PMP-5, the blackburn version (no longer made I think) and the topeak master blaster. so I'll weigh in with my opinions on them:
park tool PMP-5:
- fitting most frames sizes with one pump is nice, but...
- ...don't get the benefit of pumping less on larger bikes
- had it rip valve core out a couple times
- is fatter than topeak or blackburn versions, and is more difficult than them at higher pressures
- flip out handle is nice
- rattles like crazy
blackburn frame pump:
- lightest of the three models
- rubber on both ends so doesn't budge
- doesn't have a proper hole for a pump peg
- flip-out handle is nice
topeak master blaster:
- seems to be the easiest of the three to get up to pressure; high pressures no issues at all
- solid build, doesn't rattle
- easy to disassemble, clean, have painted to match, etc
my pick of these is the topeak. it's just dead-simple, reliable, and has no issues that i've encountered. i will say though that if your frame lacks means to properly hold a frame pump, the lezyne road drive is a damn good replacement and in the times I've used it, I've never thought "wish I had my frame pump."
also, I'd like to second the opinion that having velcro around the pump sucks. (although I know of people having crashes related to losing the pump and it getting tangled up in the spokes...) and I'd like to state that frame pumps should never, ever, in any circumstances, be used on a frame with swoopy tubes (e.g. S-Works, Dogma, 90% of carbon frames). they just look god-awful, and since they require straps to secure them, are just losing all-around.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Quote:
Originally Posted by
chiasticon
<snip>
topeak master blaster:
- seems to be the easiest of the three to get up to pressure; high pressures no issues at all
- solid build, doesn't rattle
- easy to disassemble, clean, have painted to match, etc
my pick of these is the topeak. it's just dead-simple, reliable, and has no issues that i've encountered. i will say though that if your frame lacks means to properly hold a frame pump, the lezyne road drive is a damn good replacement and in the times I've used it, I've never thought "wish I had my frame pump."
Thanks, the Topeak seems to be the way to go. Cheap, purchasable, reliable, service parts available (currently).
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Here is a hansome fellow demonstrating TT's "sharp hit" pump removal technique at Ballers 2014.
I had never thought about the Silca rules... Someone must have shown me the tricks many years ago.
Attachment 70474
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Silca is first and mounted along bottle-boss-free seat tube and rattle free. 2nd place is the HpX which needs a strap to prevent rattles. Last place is the top peak which is quiet but gets on and off the valve stem with difficulty.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
The old pumps -
Silca vs. Zefal
Silca wins because it holds better on the frame. You can, or used to be able to, get different attachment pieces that screw into the top of the pump so you could mount it under the top tube, or along the seat tube, or seatstay. These little Silca attachment pieces have a rubber like coating on them. The Zefal is a good pump. I had one. It actually pumps up a little better than the Silca, but the little piece that mounts under the top tube that touches the seat tube is made out of plastic. Granted, very heavy duty plastic, but it scratched my paint. So, Zefal loses. Silca wins.
Fast forward to today -
The frame pumps of today, are the equal if not better than the two aforementioned pumps. I like the Blackburn and the Topeak. I think ability of the pump to stay on the frame over bumpy roads is often overlooked because people are so caught up in which pump is able to pump faster. Both the Blackburn and Topeak stay on the bike really well.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Silca. It's the only classic pump I've ever seen that could be painted to match your frame and look good (I've done that with a Lezyne mini frame pump and it looks pretty cool, but it still ain't the same). Silca only works with the classic steel Campy head -- not the plastic one and not the Silca knockoff. The steel heads do tend to rust, and the little tips tend to age or wear through over time. How many people here remember searching for blue tips as opposed to the white ones? God, I just dated myself.
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I bought a Blackburn last year and had occasion to use it for the first time yesterday. After years of using mini pumps it was so nice to be able to pump some real volume.
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Topeak Master Blaster - It's right there in the Hampco S.O.P.
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Actually, the round Campy chromed plastic head works fine on the Silca. Just as good as the steel head.
The original Silca plastic head was only a decoration.
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Does anyone know of a full size frame pump with a flexible hose at end to connect to tube valve? Thanks!
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Blackburn FP-1 (when the body was aluminum) is the best I've used. Similar in function to the Zefal, but doesn't rust to hell, much better than a Silca with Campy head and won't explode after years of sun exposure. Rubber coated, well formed ends work well on pretty much any bike in pretty much any location as long as one uses the appropriate length.
Attachment 70478
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I carry a frame pump all the time. I've used all the old school pumps, and the Park is a winner. $25.00 done and dusted.
Pesta or Schrader ( pump up the wheelbarrow tire ) works just fine. It's not as light as a Silca, or as fragile. Infrators are for Mtn bikes ; )
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Quote:
Originally Posted by
donevwil
Blackburn FP-1 (when the body was aluminum) is the best I've used. Similar in function to the Zefal, but doesn't rust to hell, much better than a Silca with Campy head and won't explode after years of sun exposure. Rubber coated, well formed ends work well on pretty much any bike in pretty much any location as long as one uses the appropriate length.
Attachment 70478
Is that an S&S condom?
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Zéfal HPx for the win. First pic about 2 weeks ago with the Serotta S&S traveler and the next pic a day or so after Ballers 2012.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/...91c0a53a_o.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5577/...a099f05d_o.jpg
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
I miss my Silca with a campy head in a steel painted to math sort of way, but I like mini pumps.
My Specialized mini fits nicely in my pocket and works great, my Lezyne is a little bigger and also works great.
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Re: Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Saab2000
Which is longer, the pump or those stems?
I kid, I kid…nice rides!