I was very fortunate to get one of the few models of the new SILCA Locking Presta Valve Chuck available. Like many of you, I have tried many crack pipe options in the past, with very poor luck.
See my previous thread "Better crack pipe than silcas" http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...rch_string=;#5108387
I was able to use previous devices, but they always took 2 people, and they often struggled to inflate beyond 100 PSI even with 2 people.
When Josh from SILCA posted on that thread with images of the new device I became pretty excited and sent him a couple messages about getting one. They haven't quite hit the website yet, but I was lucky to get my hands on one of them. Here is a little review of it!
Check out the unboxing of this slick little tool:
The quality of this tool is clearly far superior to all other presta valve chucks. Completely metal, very smooth joints, that only move in the directions designed. They do not have any sloppy play, which lead to very controlled mounting and dismounting from presta valves.
I have a habit of trying new items out before reading instructions. I placed it on my presta valve with the clamp completely closed (like I would with a standard bike pump, then attempted to open the clamp (again, like I would with a standard bike pump). There clearly was not room to open the clamp with my small disc cover opening (and likely all other disc openings) so thought this tool was a piece of garbage. I was about ready to pack it up and send it back when I decided I should look at the instructions. Sure enough, you install it opposite of standard bike pumps. You open it up ~1/3 of the way (plenty of extra room with my disc cover opening), then clamp shut. To back up a minute, you must already have your bike pump clamped onto the end of the chuck, otherwise all of your current air will leave the tube.
Once locked on, you can absolutely let go of the chuck and use both hands to inflate! This was the first hands free chuck experience. In the past I would either have one hand on the chuck with one hand on my pump, or two hands on the chuck while a friend pumped. This chuck created such a tight seal, I was able to confidently inflate to 140 PSI (no noise of any air leaking out). I felt I could have kept going, but didn't find any reason to.
The one area that was a bit difficult was dismount. As soon as you open the valve of the chuck, air will start to leak (same as with a standard bike pump) so you have to take it off quickly, which is difficult to do with a small disc wheel opening. After practice (I tried it about 10 times) I was able to nail it down to the point where I didn't lose more than 1-2 PSI (believe it or not, I actually checked). One tip I have for you all is to keep the clamp on your bike pump open (so locked down) onto the chuck until it is completely removed from the presta valve. The first few times I attempted to close the bike pump valve, then finish up with the chuck, this led to lots of air leakage. Other than that, it was a very convenient and easy to use device. This will make race day inflation MUCH easier.
I hope they become widely available soon and I highly recommend this tool, 5 stars!
See my previous thread "Better crack pipe than silcas" http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...rch_string=;#5108387
I was able to use previous devices, but they always took 2 people, and they often struggled to inflate beyond 100 PSI even with 2 people.
When Josh from SILCA posted on that thread with images of the new device I became pretty excited and sent him a couple messages about getting one. They haven't quite hit the website yet, but I was lucky to get my hands on one of them. Here is a little review of it!
Check out the unboxing of this slick little tool:
The quality of this tool is clearly far superior to all other presta valve chucks. Completely metal, very smooth joints, that only move in the directions designed. They do not have any sloppy play, which lead to very controlled mounting and dismounting from presta valves.
I have a habit of trying new items out before reading instructions. I placed it on my presta valve with the clamp completely closed (like I would with a standard bike pump, then attempted to open the clamp (again, like I would with a standard bike pump). There clearly was not room to open the clamp with my small disc cover opening (and likely all other disc openings) so thought this tool was a piece of garbage. I was about ready to pack it up and send it back when I decided I should look at the instructions. Sure enough, you install it opposite of standard bike pumps. You open it up ~1/3 of the way (plenty of extra room with my disc cover opening), then clamp shut. To back up a minute, you must already have your bike pump clamped onto the end of the chuck, otherwise all of your current air will leave the tube.
Once locked on, you can absolutely let go of the chuck and use both hands to inflate! This was the first hands free chuck experience. In the past I would either have one hand on the chuck with one hand on my pump, or two hands on the chuck while a friend pumped. This chuck created such a tight seal, I was able to confidently inflate to 140 PSI (no noise of any air leaking out). I felt I could have kept going, but didn't find any reason to.
The one area that was a bit difficult was dismount. As soon as you open the valve of the chuck, air will start to leak (same as with a standard bike pump) so you have to take it off quickly, which is difficult to do with a small disc wheel opening. After practice (I tried it about 10 times) I was able to nail it down to the point where I didn't lose more than 1-2 PSI (believe it or not, I actually checked). One tip I have for you all is to keep the clamp on your bike pump open (so locked down) onto the chuck until it is completely removed from the presta valve. The first few times I attempted to close the bike pump valve, then finish up with the chuck, this led to lots of air leakage. Other than that, it was a very convenient and easy to use device. This will make race day inflation MUCH easier.
I hope they become widely available soon and I highly recommend this tool, 5 stars!
