Clearly, Silca has been busy. Typically, we’re used to seeing one, maybe two of their new products launch at once. Now, they’re launching five new products, though the bottle cages have been teased since Eurobike.
It’s hard to know where to begin, so we’ll start with the smallest items first. The Ypsilon is an interesting new take on the traditional three way or Y-wrench with Silca’s typical precision. While you’ll find the typical fixed 4mm and 5mm allen wrenches on two sides, the third side features a customizeable 1/4″ bit collet to run whatever you want.
Once the bit is installed, it works as a normal Y-wrench. The collet is also magnetic for easy bit installation.
You’ll have three options when it comes to purchasing the Ypsilon, starting at just the tool for $36. The Home Kit shown above is $108 and includes 14 extra precision bits and an extra long 6mm bit. The Travel kit includes everything above except the box for $74.
Silca has been teasing their Sicuro titanium bottle cages for a while, but they’re also adding a Sicuro in carbon as well.
The titanium cage is hand made in Silca’s Indianapolis headquarters with a “state of the art laser welder” which Silca claims is “the first of its kind in the bicycle industry.” The mounting holes are ovalized to allow for vertical adjustment . Normally, this would mean the bolts would have to be pretty tight to prevent slipping – though Silca’s included 6-4 titanium mounting bolts have a wider, low profile head for more grip. Made from 3-2.5 titanium tubing, the cages have a claimed weight of 29g without bolts, and include a 25 year warranty for $70 each.
The carbon cage builds upon Silca’s bottle cage testing which includes what they consider the world’s first 3-stage bottle testing protocols. Lab tests included high speed video of how bottles behave in a cage in various situations including while on their multi-axis shake rig, and were followed up by more than a year of real world testing. Why so much effort for a bottle cage? Your bottle is no good to you if it ejects, especially during a race. And while you can prevent ejections by giving the cage more grip, that also makes it harder to grab the bottle quickly and wears out your bottles.
The end result of a lot of testing and development was a carbon cage with unique forward lip geometry and wings on the sides, plus a layer of viscoelastic polymer in the carbon layup to absorb vibrations. All of these are said to prevent ejections while keeping the cage easy to use.
Like the titanium cages, the Carbon Sicuro includes ovalized mounting slots which provide 12mm of vertical adjustment to be used in conjunction with the included titanium bolts. Silca also briefly mentions that the bottom of the cages will be compatible with a “unique accessory mounting platform,” and that they will be expanding on this in the near future.
Weighing in at 26g without bolts, the cages sell for the same $70 per cage as the titanium version.
On the pump side of things, Silca is going fully modern with the SuperPista Digital. For the third generation SuperPista, the pump gains a digital gauge up top along with a top mount magnetic dock for the included HIRO chuck.
The backlit gauge can be set to PSI or Bar, includes a battery indicator, looks like it will be pretty accurate – though no info is available yet on the accuracy of the gauge.
The pump itself features an oversized aluminum base, lathe turned Ash wood handle with leather carrying snap, and an internal design with a metal shock piston that runs their Italian leather plunger and Igus linear bearings for smooth, durable operation. Fully serviceable and rebuildable, the pump sells for $275.
Finally, the Silca Pista Plus gets a modern update to help keep its title as their best selling floor pump since 1962. Built with a 2.5″ steel barrel, 3mm thick leather plunger washer, and Igus linear bearings, the pump should outlast your bikes. The ‘Plus Stability’ is a reference to the three footed aluminum base which provides more stability than the classic Pista which was meant for travel.
The Pista Plus includes a long hose with a push-on alloy presta chuck with a built in bleeder valve and an integrated schrader chuck as well. Rated to 220psi like its big brothers, the Pista Plus will sell for $145.