Full Circle

In the beginning, there was the Silca frame pump. It came in one size, had intricate decoration on its plastic handle, and was held in place with a fancy Campagnolo "umbrella clip." The elite riders would opt for the more expensive steel pump head with the little blue rubber feet on it to protect the frame. They worked pretty well. Then they came out with the frame-fit versions. These were sleaker, less decorated, and had to be ordered in just the right size to fit your frame. The steel pump heads became rare. I used these for ages. My old Cinelli came with a shiny silver imitation chrome one.

Then I got a new bike. A steel Cervelo with a water bottle cage on the seat tube. Where to put the pump now? I tried a few things, but finally had to give in and get one of the mini-pumps with little plastic clips that were held on by the water bottle cage itself. How ironic. The very thing that caused the problem in the first place! This arrangement was a bit of a problem. For one thing, it just wasn't cool to be racing with those plastic pump clips in there, so before every race, I would remove them. Naturally, I eventually stripped out one of the aluminum water bottle bolts. Then, the pump's locking mechanism broke so that it would expand at will during rides. So for a while I strapped it to my spare tire bag or stuck it in my pocket with a rubber band around it to keep it together.

The other day I got a new mini-pump. This one is even more mini than the old one. It fits inside the Pearlizumi bag strapped to my saddle. Guess what? It's a Silca.

Somehow, I have always resisted the CO2 cartridge inflators. It just seems like such a waste. The cartridges are about $1 each, and when you're done, you have this empty cartridge that just goes in the trash. So I've stuck to arm-power for flat-fixing, although I must admit that if I'm with a group when I flat, I look around for someone who has a full-size frame pump before I pull out the mini. I haven't had to try the Silca yet, but I'll bet it will take a couple hundred strokes to get a tire up to a reasonable pressure, which in my case is around 60 psi. These pumps are convenient, but they're really just enough to get you home.