Frame Pumps: The Greatest Ever Made

[Too Tall]

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.
DSC06600.jpg

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
pu2-2.jpg

[monadnocky]

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.

[Brandon White]

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.

[El Chaba]

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...

[Bobonli]

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!

[ZenNMotion]

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.

[Jake Rosenfeld]

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.

[lumpy]

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.

[joosttx]

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.

[savine]

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.

[MarkC]

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).

[blasdelf]

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.

Zefal HPX rules:
None

Topeak Road Master Blaster rules:

[Jonathan]

Jaysus, cycling forums are ruined for me.

[Brandon White]

Jaysus, cycling forums are ruined for me.

Seriously - cycling in denim shorts?

[TTX1]

Anyone tried the Silca CO2 gear? I've been riding commando and fully expect that posting to this thread will ruin my good fortune, so best to be prepared.

I lost my Silca frame pump in the early '90s, replaced it with a Zefal that's still going strong at ~2 decades (how do they make money?), but alas does not fit my current frame of reference.

So I'm thinking CO2...

[Bobonli]

Anyone tried the Silca CO2 gear? I've been riding commando and fully expect that posting to this thread will ruin my good fortune, so best to be prepared. I lost my Silca frame pump in the early '90s, replaced it with a Zefal that's still going strong at ~2 decades (how do they make money?), but alas does not fit my current frame of reference. So I'm thinking CO2...

Haven't used the Silca gas but it sure looks nice. Expensive I think compared to others. I like CO2 but there is always the possibility of a double flat, or some other catastrophe that makes you blow through all of your cartridges. So I always carry a pump of some sort. My current favorite is one of the tiny mini pumps that can fit in a Jersey pocket. I'm hoping to someday reach the point where I go out with nothing; be one of those dudes with no seat bag, nothing in the jersey pocket except a phone to call a cab!.

[Justin@BlackOakVelo]

Anyone tried the Silca CO2 gear?

The new Silca EOLO is awesome. I don't really use CO2 but I have one of these and have used it a few times. It is definitely the best CO2 head I've ever used.

I'm hoping they'll bring to market a killer new frame pump or a really tops mini pump.

[joosttx]

Topeak Road Master Blaster rules:

I am switching to co2 cartridges and to zoloft.

[StR]

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.

everyone? nope, I have a sweet little bontrager what fits my jersey and gives me 7,5bar, enough air to go on....

things are different on a touring bike.

[Tom Kellogg]

everyone? nope, I have a sweet little bontrager what fits my jersey and gives me 7,5bar, enough air to go on....

things are different on a touring bike.

A good pocket pump will do the trick, but if you generally do group rides you'll get some eye-rolls when you pull one of them out. On our rides, I simply won't let someone pump up their tire with a pocket pump. I'll grab the wheel and take care of the issue myself with my Impero. At least that way everyone gets back on the road in a minute or so instead of waiting for the poor soul with the pocket pump to jerk off.