Originally Posted by
davester
Ah, I see. This sounds like a technique issue. There is a very specific technique to use with a Silca, and it involves placing the bike against a solid object so that you are not just "pushing one hand towards the other" but rather pushing towards a braced object, and also, the pushing arm gets locked against your body so you are using your entire body weight, not your arm strength to push those last important inches of the pump stroke. It does not take significant strength to get over 100 psi using this method. I've seen folks flail around with Silcas and Zefals who've never been shown the proper technique so I understand why you might have issues. However, when someone is shown the proper way to use one of these pumps it's like a lightbulb going on...i.e. "oh wow, it's easy now!" The Morph gets points here since there is no technique to learn.
Hold on there, Murgatroyd! I thought you said you could pump up the tire to pressure using the "valve stem at 12 o'clock, thumb wrapped over tire and index finger wrapped around the back of the head" as the "proper" technique. Now you are bracing the bike and pushing towards the braced object?
Been there. Done that. Ripped off the stem as a result. Got dents in my knees from bracing that stupid Zefal against my knee to try and avoid the problem.
Yes, the Morph type pumps get points for not needing any special technique to use them. That's the beauty of them. They are also already "braced"...against the ground...so you don't have to hold the bike, brace the stem so that you don't rip it off
and pump. You can even lay the bike on the ground and pump it up.
Zefals, Silcas and other pumps were okay in their day...up to a point...but we have better pumps now*.
*My least favorite pump was a
Zefal Mountain Double Shot. Most useless pump on the planet! The claim that you could pump up a tire to 160psi is wildly overstated. I could barely get 40 psi in it. If you want the pump, you can probably find it in South Park where I flung it off into the trees after it failed me for the 1000th time! You might have to dig for it, however. That was at least 20 years ago...maybe 30.