No Frame Mounted Pumps-Rule #30
Either CO2 cannisters or mini-pumps should be carried in jersey pockets (See Rule #31). The only exception to this rule is to mount a Silca brand frame pump in the rear triangle of the frame, with the rear wheel skewer as the pump mount nob, as demonstrated by members of the 7-Eleven and Ariostea pro cycling teams. As such, a frame pump mounted upside-down and along the left (skewer lever side) seat stay is both old skool and euro and thus acceptable. We restate at this time that said pump may under no circumstances be a Zefal and must be made by Silca. Said Silca pump must be fitted with a Campagnolo head. It is acceptable to gaffer-tape a mini-pump to your frame when no CO2 canisters are available and your pockets are full of spare kit and energy gels. However, the rider should expect to be stopped and questioned and may be required to empty pockets to prove there is no room in them for the pump.
This Rule must have been one of the original Rules to come down from the summit of Mt Velomis, it’s that old. If you want to still use a frame pump you are going to have to find a Silca pump and a Campagnolo pump head, both of which are on the shelf next to the leather Cinelli hair-net helmets in lower Serbia. Or grow a giant ‘stache, infiltrate the retro Strade Bianchi fondo and nick one off any 1970’s bikes there. Or go on eBay and easily find either item.
The italian company Silca has recently “left the building”. They were renown for their trusty floor pump and slightly less trusty frame pumps. The floor pump is indestructible; mine still hangs out in the dark corner of my shop, ready. It’s always ready. The frame pumps were less indestructible but then again, we were asking them to come on every ride with us, hanging on only by its own spring tension. Between crashes, potholes, and repulsing dogs, this frame pumps took some hits.
Silca has been reborn in the USA and their floor pump has been also been reborn hard as the most beautiful floor pump ever. The Silca name seems to be in very good hands. However, I’m not expecting to see a reissue of the frame pump anytime soon but I’m usually wrong. The mini-pump and these new fangled CO2 canisters may have truly sealed its fate.
Why would a Rule be so specific about its exceptions? Did Lord Merckx favor the Silca frame pump with a campy steel pump head? It’s a question of faith, isn’t it? A pump jammed in the rear triangle of the bike did look very studly, not unlike a Beretta casually stuffed betwixt pants and underwear, in the back, no holster. It’s a little crazy but very functional.
As The Rules go, I’ve been known to “interfere” with myself on this one (god love the Irish for that expression). But this is still preferable to using gaffer tape. Gaffer tape? Something must have been lost in translation between the ancient Flemish and today. Gaffer’s tape was only acceptable anywhere if your first name was Sean and last name was Kelly and you were such a Hardman that anything other than toe clips was a worse sin than interfering with one’s self.
@Thursday That is the worst Mount ever. Unless you hate your steed that is
Well, a CO2 inflator and two CO2 cartridges weighs as much as a Silca pump with a Campy head. Assuming you get it painted a matching (or contrasting) color to your favorite machine, and assuming that you, aesthete that you are, ride a bike with provision for a frame pump, then it’ll be a wonderful thing to have along. Especially when it is raining and you get a flat on your tubulars. You wouldn’t want to freeze the valve stem open with a cartridge inflator, leaving you vulnerable to a ten-minute inflation with a pump-shaped object that fits in your pocket, would you?
Cheers,
Will
W.M. deRosset
Fort Collins, CO
Acceptable.
@brett Those dropouts aren’t acceptable.
@SamFromTex
@Trsnrtr
Joe D’s bike is one of the most unpro pro bikes ever seen. What a geek
@Harminator
Sorry to hear you got an issue with that pump. Does yours have one of these fitted? If not PM me and I will get one in the post. This generally eliminates the problem.
http://www.lezyne.com/product-fpumps-acc-absfliphp.php#.VJxlhYoN8
There should be a modern rule for the modern pump/ co2 canisters…. A modern mount too!
@SamFromTex
I concur…
the chuck, 2 CO2 cans, some patches and a glue tube, and a tyre lever are all stuffed into a Lezyne-inspired pouch made from an old 34mm inner tube, and strapped between the saddle rails with an old wrist strap from a certain line of identification devices. A tube or two & a mini tool go in the jersey. it all works out nicely and aesthetically, and is as far from that Pinarello above as one can get.
Although some of above photos are aesthetically quite alright (and some are rather not), anything that even remotely distracts from the hum of tires on pavement and is mounted on the bike is a no-go for me. Except my own breath, that is.
@Teocalli
Was this photo taken in England, by any chance? It looks very similar to the area around the South Downs, near Eastbourne.
@HigherGround
It’s looking West over Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight.
@Ron
You’d have better results blowing through a straw then using a lezyne mini pump. Mines in a ditch somewhere near the first flat I changed after wasting $45 bucks on it.
@Camo
Meanwhile others are getting years of loyal service out of theirs. I’ve got a Pressure Drive that’s been through heat and rain, and although one of the caps fell off after a few months it still gets me up to 90psi with ease. Fits into a pocket (even the fancy Rapha pump-sleeves), or an inconspicuous bracket, and gets me home every time.