Air Pleasure

Those of you who have joined us for a guided tour in Italy know that Larry's a bit of a nut when it comes to high-quality cycling-related stuff, whether it's Campagnolo-equipped Italian bicycles (he'll pretty much ride nothing else) roof racks custom made by the same guys who create them for the Italian pro teams, amazingly high quality workstands, tools and even floor pumps.

More than efficiency, some things just feel right and are a joy to use, making tasks that are sometimes repetitive or unpleasant almost a joy to perform. These things just look right too, Larry likes to call 'em eye-candy.

When he learned Josh Poertner had purchased the venerable SILCA name, he scrounged up an email address and sent a message of encouragement, even though at this time his only products were spare parts for the venerable Italian-made floor pumps. While a LOT of venerable Italian cycling company names have been purchased over the years only to have their products made cheaply in Asia while trading on the heritage and passion of Made-in-Italy, Poertner seemed different. Larry asked Josh if there might be any way he could help him promote the new SILCA, which started an email conversation.

We didn't do anything promoting the company right away, feeling the product line was just too narrow while knowing sales of the classic, Italian-made pumps were not benefiting the new owner.

Now the SuperPista Ultimate has arrived. As you may have seen HERE we posted a feature recently on this gorgeous piece of functional art. While not Made-in-Italy, we think the founders of SILCA, all three generations of them who have now passed on, would be proud of this product.

I won't (and you shouldn't) stick this on a shelf just to admire. Just like a fine Italian bicycle, a Ferrari (Enzo Ferrari was said to hate the idea of his cars being purchased as trophies, only to be admired and rarely if ever driven, let alone RACED!) or any high-quality tool, it begs to be used.

Using this is truly a pleasure. There really is something very satisfying about using the best tool money can buy and any cyclist (as long as you pump your own tires!) will enjoy using this tool for a lifetime. Of course Larry would like a bit more tricolore in the color scheme and for this kind of dough he thinks perhaps each pump should be individually serial-numbered, but otherwise this is a hit, very likely to join the iconic bike tools on the list of cognoscenti worldwide.

At present we have our pump's base plate down at a local trophy engraving shop, putting our name on it, just to discourage any borrowers who might not want to return it!!

(This product was provided to CycleItalia under a special demo program.)