In 1917, Silca pumped up the cycling world with their original floor pump. Built strong and sturdy and completely rebuildable, the latest iteration is the SuperPista Ultimate, and it looks to uphold the tradition.
From top to bottom, premium materials mean it’s more than just hot marketing air under the new ownership. The frame is metal on metal on metal, with rosewood handles, a magnetic chuck cradle and highly accurate gauge adorning the polished body. Whoosh on down for all the details that justify the $445 price point…
Starting at the top, rosewood grips are seated on an investment cast stainless steel handle. The look and feel was inspired by high end chefs knives. The grips are even shaped asymmetrically to be more ergonomic than standard round ones.
With their new home in Indiana, owner Joshua Poertner saw this hose used in the pits at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks to a US-made high pressure smooth bore PTFE hose that’s overwrapped in braided stainless steel then over-extruded with a durable polyurethane jacket, it’s rated to 12,000 psi. A generous 51″ (130cm) length lets it easily reach bikes in a workstand, too.
Inside the shaft are Igus bushings, similar to what’s found in suspension forks, and the piston rod is center less ground then Teflon Hard-Anodized. That should make for long lasting smooth performance. It pushes a 30mm diameter, 3.5mm thick full-grain leather plunger.
Silca says most standard bike pumps’ gauges are only good for a +/- 5% accuracy, which can make for quite a range of pressures from one fill up to the next…a 10 psi spread for a 100 psi target. So, the pressure gauge on the SP Ultimate is sourced from a laboratory equipment supplier and uses a radial mount rather than a standard back mount. Accuracy is rated at +/- 1% between 40-120psi, the most common range roadies will use. Mountain bikers and cyclocross racers will get +/- 2% from 0-40psi and 120-160psi. And it should remain just as accurate after years of use and abuse.
Part of the durability comes from elevating the gauge and hose mounts off the base plate. They’re attached to a CNC’d alloy “surfboard”.
The surfboard’s other end holds a Neodymium magnet, which grabs hold of the 17-4 stainless steel air chuck. No more threading it into the base or reaching over to hook the hose, just flop it anywhere nearby and the magnet will tractor beam it into lock down. When you’re ready to use it, just tug the hose and it pulls free.
The chuck presses on for Presta valve stems and threads on for Schrader.
All of it sits on a super side, super heavy (800g / 1.76lb) steel base plate. That foundation gives you plenty of footprint to keep it steady, and it’s anywhere from 6mm to 9mm thick, so it’s easy to step on with street and cycling shoes alike. The rubber feet keep it from slipping, and they say they’re grippy enough to hold, soft enough not to scratch delicate flooring and firm enough not to pick up gravel and road debris.
Total weight is 7lbs (3.2kg), and it comes packaged in a gun case with base plate detached.