Silca Tattico letting air out of the tire when removed!

[EPOJoe]

Anyone find a technique for removing the pump head after inflating that doesn't let half the air out of the tire? I splurged on the Bluetooth version which uses my phone as a gauge, which I'll admit is pretty cool, but ultimately worthless when I'm losing so much air trying to remove the pump head from the valve.

[RoosterCogset]

Anyone find a technique for removing the pump head after inflating that doesn't let half the air out of the tire? I splurged on the Bluetooth version which uses my phone as a gauge, which I'll admit is pretty cool, but ultimately worthless when I'm losing so much air trying to remove the pump head from the valve.

What's the actual problem..? Yank the pump head off as fast as you can.

[Saxon]

What's the actual problem..? Yank the pump head off as fast as you can.

It doesn't come off easily. Even with major force on it. I need to work it back and forth as all the air comes out of the tire.

[EPOJoe]

It doesn't come off easily. Even with major force on it. I need to work it back and forth as all the air comes out of the tire.

Basically, this is what's happening to me as well. As soon as you flip the little lever on the head, the air starts releasing and it's very difficult to get the head off the valve.

[R3awak3n]

Maybe you are forcing it in there way too hard.

[Saxon]

Maybe you are forcing it in there way too hard.
Nope, thought if that. Tried hardly putting it on. Still gets stuck and lets the air out.

[marciero]

Try bracing your fingers against the inside of the rim-one hand on either side of the rim with fingers overlapping- and pushing the head off with your thumbs. That's how I remove push-on head pumps. One hand/thumb is usually enough so you could do this simultaneously with flipping the lock and not loose significant air. But I'd think it should not leak air when the lock is flipped in the unlock position if it's on securely.

[mktng]

Maybe the little o-ring is too new and needs to be broken in. My tattico does not give me this problem. You get a little psst of air when I unlock and it pulls off the valve with no drama. No huge loss of air as described above.

[marciero]

Coincidentally, the video linked in another thread illustrates the technique I was talking about at 0:43 seconds
https://www.parktool.com/product/shop-inflator-inf-2

[572cv]

Maybe the little o-ring is too new and needs to be broken in. My tattico does not give me this problem. You get a little psst of air when I unlock and it pulls off the valve with no drama. No huge loss of air as described above.

By way of providing hope, my tattico is also in this camp... no problem. Works just as @mktng describes. It is the best releasing and pumping little frame pump I have had. Plus, it is solid enough to crack walnuts.

[R3awak3n]

My tattico also does not have this problem I dont think. I have used it a couple of times and dont remember being annoyed with it, actually remembered really liking it (and i am usually a frame pump only kinda guy)

[mktng]

(and i am usually a frame pump only kinda guy)

Game over the day they make a full frame pump with the tattico hose+locking head.

[R3awak3n]

Game over the day they make a full frame pump with the tattico hose+locking head.

lol, yep and if it costs $80-$100 it would be nice. Might be kinda heavy but it would be the price to pay.

[RoosterCogset]

Nope, thought if that. Tried hardly putting it on. Still gets stuck and lets the air out.

Threaded valve stems (eg Conti) or smooth (eg. Michelin)?

[Saxon]

Threaded valve stems (eg Conti) or smooth (eg. Michelin)?

Threaded...I'm sure it would pop off much more easily with a smooth stem.

[jbay]

Anyone find a technique for removing the pump head after inflating that doesn't let half the air out of the tire? I splurged on the Bluetooth version which uses my phone as a gauge, which I'll admit is pretty cool, but ultimately worthless when I'm losing so much air trying to remove the pump head from the valve.
I had the same problem and it drove me crazy. It now lives with my Brompton and only gets used on Schrader valves (the chuck is reversible), on which it works great.

— John

[EPOJoe]

I had the same problem and it drove me crazy. It now lives with my Brompton and only gets used on Schrader valves (the chuck is reversible), on which it works great.

— John

It strikes me as strange that some folks clearly have this problem and others do not. Just wish I was one of those that wasn't. :)

[Saxon]

Just for the sake of completeness, here's a video that shows the problem I was having and my eventual solution (inspired by jbay's post):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTSaY8dCis

[jbay]

Just for the sake of completeness, here's a video that shows the problem I was having and my eventual solution (inspired by jbay's post):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTSaY8dCisLOL. Nice! I’m glad I was able to provide a little inspiration.

[brewsmith]

A little grease on the o-ring inside the head has helped me with other pumps in the past

[oldpotatoe]

Just for the sake of completeness, here's a video that shows the problem I was having and my eventual solution (inspired by jbay's post):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTSaY8dCis

Interesting..I screw a Schrader adapter on one of my valves and leave it there in case my pump fails and I gotta go to a gas station. Alloy, weighs not much.

[qnz]

anyone ever find a fix for this? I also "upgraded" my pump from a Lezyne road drive when my Road drive broke after 3 years of service.
Imagine my disappointment in the Tattico after I pump up to 80 PSI and I'm lucky to have 60psi left when I try to remove the head.

[Ozz]

I am still getting my head wrapped around a mini pump with a bluetooth pressure gauge....

[qnz]

posting an update. with practice, I managed to find a sweet spot to use this pump without much air loss. I put some engine oil on the o-ring first. When inserting the presta valve, I just get one thread in before locking the head. I pump till desired PSI and now in a quick motion, it loses 1 psi when I remove the pump.

[IJWS]

I like the wax...but for the most part the Silca name is getting ruined by a number of poorly designed, expensive accessories that fools like me have been dumb enough to buy. Disappointing.

[EPOJoe]

anyone ever find a fix for this? I also "upgraded" my pump from a Lezyne road drive when my Road drive broke after 3 years of service.
Imagine my disappointment in the Tattico after I pump up to 80 PSI and I'm lucky to have 60psi left when I try to remove the head.

Yep, here's the fix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTSaY8dCis

[qnz]

Nah... thats just a work-around. I would love it if it would work as other users say where they can unlock the lever and not lose any air.

[EPOJoe]

Nah... thats just a work-around. I would love it if it would work as other users say where they can unlock the lever and not lose any air.

Ha! Good luck with that. :) Maybe on an unthreaded valve?

[seanile]

A little grease on the o-ring inside the head has helped me with other pumps in the past

this, lubricate the hole.

[unterhausen]

Somehow the head is pushing on the plunger. This can happen with all presta pumps, but maybe the Silca is worse/shorter? With most pumps if you make sure the plunger is free, it won't happen. Maybe you can drill out the schrader side of the head and it will improve. I understand when a pump is designed for a high sales volume, but Silca ruining their pump for the vanishingly small market of people who intend to sometimes use it with a Shrader valve doesn't make much sense.


Yep, here's the fix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTSaY8dCis

Attention conservation notice, tl;dw a Schrader adapter. If you want to see the Schrader adapter in use, it starts at 2:28.

[robt57]

Somehow the head is pushing on the plunger. This can happen with all presta pumps, but maybe the Silca is worse/shorter? With most pumps if you make sure the plunger is free, it won't happen.

My first thought...

Tubes get old. Notice the plunger rises as the rubber seal inside flattens out. Get tube with replaceable plungers and keep extras for when this happens. And try not to over tighten the knurled thumb knobs so much.. .

[Dave]

A just read a similar discussion on another forum. I never heard of losing tire pressure with a presta valve, since I've always used a head that slides on like a silca floor pump head and try to avoid threaded stems. Now I read of these dual purpose heads that depress the top nut and defeat the purpose of the presta valve.

Using a Schrader adapter seems like a good solution. I haven't had this problem with my CO2 inflator heads.

I'm using tubeless now and have some stems that have a smaller diameter smooth end, with threads lower on stem. I better try my CO2 inflator with those stems to be sure it works OK.

At home, I have a hirame pump head that works perfectly. It easily adapts to any presta stem.

[charliedid]

Are we really worried about loosing 1 psi ? The accuracy of it all renders it moot in my world. I can't even grasp 1 psi. EDIT: sorry just reread this and not sure where I got 1 psi from. Carry on.

On another note the Silca Synergetic wet lube gets a 3 thumbs up from me!

[unterhausen]

It's not 1psi, probably 20 or 30 or more. I doubt anyone would worry about 1psi.

[charliedid]

It's not 1psi, probably 20 or 30 or more. I doubt anyone would worry about 1psi.

Right.....hence my edit.

[OtayBW]

'Punch' it off. That, plus I gave up threaded tube stems years ago....

[gutenbergler]

I had the same issue. Silca sent me a new pump under warranty. It seems to work a little better on the stand, but I run tubeless on my road bike now and haven’t had to use it in the field.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Saxon]

I tired it with threadless valves and it still didn't work. Been using it for about a year with the Schrader adapter and it works perfectly.

[qnz]

Somehow the head is pushing on the plunger. This can happen with all presta pumps, but maybe the Silca is worse/shorter? With most pumps if you make sure the plunger is free, it won't happen. Maybe you can drill out the schrader side of the head and it will improve. I understand when a pump is designed for a high sales volume, but Silca ruining their pump for the vanishingly small market of people who intend to sometimes use it with a Shrader valve doesn't make much sense.





Well I'll be damned. I think I fixed it
This comment made me compare my dual head Lezyne floor pump to the head of the Silca. There is a tiny spring in the head of the presta side . I managed to get the spring out and then tested pumping up a couple of different tires. The pump now makes a satisfying single pssh sound when I disengage the lock and I can take my time pulling off the pump.
I dont know if the spring effects in the schrader side of the pump but I doubt it. I'm assuming the spring aided in pushing down the plunger to help let air in, but in reality is holding the valve open when disengaging

[nalax]

My Tattico seems to work fine on the tubeless valves, smooth and threaded valve tubes that I've tried. I had a Lezyne that leaked on some tubes but was fine on others.

[EPOJoe]

Just had a mechanical engineer contact me on my YouTube channel. He said that the small coil spring inside the chuck engages the valve too early and keeps the valve open when you try to release it. He modified the spring slightly (sorry, no further details, but I imagine he shortened it) and says now it works as intended.

[Louis]

Just had a mechanical engineer contact me on my YouTube channel. He said that the small coil spring inside the chuck engages the valve too early and keeps the valve open when you try to release it. He modified the spring slightly (sorry, no further details, but I imagine he shortened it) and says now it works as intended.

I'm willing to believe what the guy said, but other than "manufacturing tolerances," I still have to wonder why the chuck works fine for some people but not others.

[geordanh]

Well I'll be damned. I think I fixed it
This comment made me compare my dual head Lezyne floor pump to the head of the Silca. There is a tiny spring in the head of the presta side . I managed to get the spring out and then tested pumping up a couple of different tires. The pump now makes a satisfying single pssh sound when I disengage the lock and I can take my time pulling off the pump.
I dont know if the spring effects in the schrader side of the pump but I doubt it. I'm assuming the spring aided in pushing down the plunger to help let air in, but in reality is holding the valve open when disengaging

Thanks for this. Was losing my mind trying to get my tattico working properly. That spring seems entirely unnecessary and the pump works just fine without it now. Not sure what Silca we’re thinking here. And agreed, would be way better if they just designed around presta. What % of their customers need schraeder….

Prior to pulling the spring out with a barbecue skewer, disengaging the chuck lock (no matter what technique I used) let a huge amount of air out.

Other than this design issue, it’s an amazing pump. The hose design is awesome, and it’s by far the most efficient hand pump I’ve owned. So far only had to use on road tubeless setups up to 70psi but it’s been awesome. Love the Bluetooth feature - super quick to put the phone on the ground and not be left guessing. The auto pairing feature when you engage the chuck is seamless.

[Turkle]

I only use Presta valves and I've never had any leaking issues with my Tattico - I love the thing. Super reliable. But mine is the "regular" version, not the bluetooth. Maybe it's only the bluetooth one that has the issues?

And someone had questioned why include a Schrader valve? Well, a few months ago, I met a stranded mountain biker on a ride who needed a Schrader pump. I was able to switch the thing around in no time and easily pumped up their tire. It was really nice to be able to help someone out!

[iPaul]

So I just looked at my bluetooth version and are enough there is a spring I the presta chuck. When I looked at my non-bluetooth newer model I do not see a spring and it goes on and off wonderfully. Can't say the same with the bluetooth verision. There may be something to this, thanks.

[sg8357]

So I just looked at my bluetooth version and are enough there is a spring I the presta chuck. When I looked at my non-bluetooth newer model I do not see a spring and it goes on and off wonderfully. Can't say the same with the bluetooth verision. There may be something to this, thanks.


Same here, Non-BT Tactical, no spring, lil' plastic star thingie to depress
the schrader pin.

[572cv]

So I just looked at my bluetooth version and are enough there is a spring I the presta chuck. When I looked at my non-bluetooth newer model I do not see a spring and it goes on and off wonderfully. Can't say the same with the bluetooth verision. There may be something to this, thanks.

I've had the non bluetooth Tat for a while and it has been terrific, so,I got the bluetooth version for another bike. But I haven't had to use it yet. Sure enough, there's a spring in the Bluetooth version.

What the heck is the spring for? Perhaps our Silca forum member Josh can offer some insight to his Paceline clientele?

[geordanh]

I've had the non bluetooth Tat for a while and it has been terrific, so,I got the bluetooth version for another bike. But I haven't had to use it yet. Sure enough, there's a spring in the Bluetooth version.

What the heck is the spring for? Perhaps our Silca forum member Josh can offer some insight to his Paceline clientele?

My guess is that it's in there to activate the bluetooth feature in some way. I've noticed that mine doesn't sync until I'm at about 10 PSI or so (if I'm starting from flat). So the spring perhaps opens the valve to pressurize the pumo head which perhaps turns on the electronic components? No idea just guessing. Either way pump works way better without the spring.

[Alistair]

My guess is the spring keeps the valve open consistently enough to get a pressure reading. Without the spring, the valve only opens when there is positive pressure on the pump-side relative to the tire/tube side, right?

[572cv]

two reasonable guesses, for sure. But if that is the answer, and the pump thereby develops a tragic flaw, then I'll send it back for exchange for the base model. I haven't even removed the covering on the battery from new. I don't care that much about the blue tooth, I just thought it was a neat idea.

[572cv]

So, since I have one of each pump style (blue tooth newer, plain ol tattico older) with and without spring, I went ahead and tried each. The one with the spring does let out some air when you release the clamp, as reported in the thread.

With that result, I wrote to Silca to ask directly what the spring was for. Here is the very prompt and clear response I got from Customer Support:

"Thanks for your message! The spring inside of the Bluetooth Tatico chuck was an updated design to make the chuck easier to take off. I would not recommend removing it from the chuck, but it's not necessary for the chuck to function.

Happy riding!"

It looks to me as though this idea was developed by the chuck manufacturer (Dunlop?) and Silca probably had no say in the change. That said, it seems to me a poor trade off.... lose air that you put a lot of work into getting into the tire for a marginal gain in pulling off the chuck. I'll now review the thread for the technique used to get the spring out :)

[hobbanero]

I have the problem on mine.....this thread has been informative. I use a simultaneous flip of the lever and tug off and lose very little pressure, but it is disappointing for such a high end product. Like when my Lezyne pump always unscrewed the valve core.

[lorenbike]

Bummer, I just picked one of these up (regular version) and have marvelled how nice it feels in hand and operates. Rarely these days do you buy something online and take a few minutes just to look at it. Even had 2 flats on the first ride with it and it seemed to operate fine though!

[elvisthehorse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRxPUVNBQxc

[dddd]

The reversible, male-threaded chuck appears near-identical to the one that came on my Nashbar Orange floor pump several years ago. Only the "knurled" grip appears slightly revised.

Mine works well, never seems to lose air, but occasionally requires sharp force to remove from the usual assortment of presta valves on my fleet.

I've used SRAM cable grease on other pump heads that were tending to stick on valve stems, and which fixed the occasional problems.

I believe that the spring is there to allow very slow release of air when depressing the air-release button that's on my pump head. Without the spring, the valve might immediately blow shut, releasing all of the hose's pressure and thus making the gauge read zero.
The valve should blow shut when the head is removed quickly, but won't if it comes of slowly because it's stuck on the valve stem.