Al1943

+1
Silca works for me.

2_i 

Interesting offerings. I wonder about the availability of replacement parts. Hirame is reasonably popular in Japan. If you walk into a bike store, you have a good chance to get the Presta replacement parts right away. Schrader is more spotty. Of course an issue might be if, in the future, you are forced to place an order from Japan, just to get $5 worth of washers.

HillRider

Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. The inconsistancy of the Silca Presta-only head plus a bunch of other "dual size" heads is what led me to try the Hirame. Nick Legan's endorsement helped me decide and proved to be absolutely true.

Al1943

My Silca has always worked perfectly. I've had it 15 years. Maybe you need to replace the "O" ring in yours.

Soil_Sampler

HillRider

I've had mine at least that long and always replaced the gasket at reasonable intervals. As I mentioned, sometimes it worked perfectly and sometimes it refused to seal without a lot of reseating. I used it exclusively for years on all sorts of tubes and valve stems and generally it worked well enough to keep me happy.

When I read about the Hirame, I decided to gamble on it despite the ridiculously high cost and it has never disappointed me.

Al1943

Mine's the old bell shaped brass type with no lever, presta only.

Al1943

My Silca chuck still has the original gasket but I'm using presta stem tubes with no outer threads. The pump is a really old Blackburn, a small hose clamp holds the Silca chuck in place.

I'm sure your new pump is better but I like using the old stuff as long as it works well.

ultraman6970

+1 silca

HillRider

Mine is too. In fact, I still have two of them. One came OEM on my Silca pump and the other was purchased as a replacement for the Schrader head on a Maidia "Top" pump. As I said, I used them for many years. I also like old stuff that still works but am willing to replace it with things that work better.

BTW, I'm amazed this thread is still alive and hit 4 pages. I thought it took a "chain lubrication" thread to do that.

Jed19

It kinda shows, in a little way, the importance of good, effective and reliable Presta heads in bicycle floor pumps. Floor pumps are extremely important to serious cyclists. I won't venture out on a ride until after I've topped my tires.

For a long time, my pump heads were always the "achilles heels" in floor pumps I have bought. Now, I have a Lezyne floor pump that has a screwed-on chuck. I could not, for the life of me, understand why manufacturers could not design and market a pump with a solid, reliable Presta chuck that won't leak after a short time.

HillRider

They did. See the first posting on the first page of this thread. At least they designed a pump head meeting that need. You have to supply the rest of the pump yourself.

Rak1240

......

stealle

Yep, that's right. I just dug up this zombie thread from the grave. Seems like the perfect place to ask people with almost 4 years experience with the Hirame Yoko pump.

I was hoping someone (like HillRider) could tell me how long the rubber seal held up on the Hirame Yoko pump head. It would also be helpful to include how often you use the pump head. Also, are you just as happy with the pump head now as you were when you first got it? I have mine on the way here from alexscycle.com!

HillRider

I still have the Hirame head installed on a Park FP-4 and it has been flawless so far. I maintain 4 bikes and inflate tires on one or the other every day so it's seen a fair bit of use and it's still using the original rubber seal washer. I bought a couple of spares after a couple of years just-in-case but haven't needed them. I'm just as pleased and enthusiastic about it as I was when I started this thread.