Silca has a slew of tweaked updates for us all today – making it easier to keep our tires aired up and reducing drivetrain friction along the way. Their Terra mountain bike floor pump is back 34 years later with new valve tech that makes it more versatile for all bikes. The Eolo Co2 inflator gets a much-needed v4 upgrade adding a regulator. And Hot Wax X now can save you a full 12W and make your chain last for 30,000km!
Silca Terra MTB floor pump now does high-pressure too!
In 1988, Silca’s Terra (meaning earth/ground) mountain bike was pretty unique. A track pump designed for high air volume but low overall pressures, it filled a gap in the early days of going off-road. Now more than three decades later, going off-road can mean anything from all-road to gravel to MTB. So, the latest Silca Terra floor pump has evolved, as well.
The new $145 Terra is back with another new technological twist. New “non-linear gauge scale” tech internals means you get 0.5psi precision at the low-pressure end of the range for MTB & large-volume gravel bike tires, then it ramps up to 1psi accuracy mid-way through for precision inflation through the narrower gravel & all-road range, ultimately topping out at 120psi making it suitable for any truly modern road bike tires, too.
No one rides anything smaller than 28mm tires these days, right?
Besides the tricky valving bits inside that you can’t see, on the outside this translates to a gauge where half of the face dial is the 0-30psi range, and the other half for the 30-120psi range.
Construction-wise, the new Silca Terra pump is all-metal with a turned ash wood handle. Instead of Silca’s regular floor pump heads, it uses the same easy & secure lever-lock chuck that is on the Tattico & more recent Gravelero mini-pumps, plus an in-line air bleed button – with thread-on swapping from Presta to Schrader compatibility.
Silca calls the result, the “world’s most refined low-pressure pump… to maintain high-pressure capabilities, as well“. I’m honestly curious to hopefully give it a test as I’m a big fan of MTB-leaning track pumps.
Eolo IV Co2 inflator gets a regulator
The original Eolo and its next three iterations were all super basic Co2 inflators – pretty, well made, but limited in their ultimate functionality since they were essentially “On/Off”, blasting air into your tire in one fell swoop. But the simple addition of a regulator valve to the 30€ Silca Eolo IV means you can add Co2 air a little bit at a time. And you can keep some in reserve in case your tire repair retains a slow leak.
It’s a small change, but a huge functional upgrade without making the inflator much bigger of heavier overall. It is however no longer sports the Italian tricolore colors. Oh well.
Hot Wax X saves 12W, last for 30Mm
30 million meters is a long time for your chain to last. And 12W of free power to boot. Sign me up!
OK, $165 for a 300g tub of Silca’s latest Hot Wax X gives me a little pause. Nothing in this world is free, not even free watts!
Silca calls it the “ultimate, most-advanced technology” in chain lubrication, hot melting a new Nanene version of graphene on, in order to go to the next level.
Silca owner Josh Poertner claims that Hot Wax X with Nanene runs roughly 0.5 watts faster than their Secret Blend while also extending the intervals between applications to as much as 800km, “making it not only faster, but faster for longer than other ultra high performance chain lubricants“. Sure graphene is a wonder material, but it looks like scientists are continuing to evolve the nano-carbon-particle-tech.
The clean-to-the-touch result is said to extend chain life up to 30,000km / 18,600mi while reducing drivetrain friction to save up to 12W vs. conventional lubrication. You still need to ultrasonically clean your chain & then hot-melt it on, so application isn’t as easy as a drip lube. But you want to go faster, right?
