Review: SILCA Terra Floor Pump - Update

(L-R) SILCA Pista Plus, Topeak Joe Blow, SILCA Terra

 Note: Guitar Ted purchased a SILCA Terra Floor Pump with his own money to test and review on Guitar Ted Productions. SILCA has had no prior knowledge of this review and has neither paid nor bribed Guitar Ted for these posts. 

Last Monday I introduced the SILCA Terra floor pump as my next review. Check that link for that article in case you missed it. In this post I am going to compare and contrast my experiences with the SILCA Pista Plus and Terra, (so far), and with the Topeak Joe Blow pump. 

A little background on the Pista Plus and Joe Blow now for context. The Joe Blow pump was not a considered purchase when I bought it. It was an 'emergency' purchase when I was on vacation in El Paso, Texas and realized I had forgotten my floor pump when I left Iowa. As I recall, this would have been around 2007, so I've had this pump for around seventeen years now! 

The Pista Plus I received as an item to review for "Riding Gravel.com" in 2018. I did not pay for the pump and I was allowed to keep it after the review was completed. I wrote up a long follow-up review on the Pista Plus for this site in 2022 which you can check out HERE if you like. 

Both the SILCA Pista Plus and the Topeak Joe Blow pump have been used extensively in day-to-day operations here at Guitar Ted Productions. Hardly a day goes by where I don't use one or both of those pumps. So, I have a very intimate knowledge of what they can do and what their durability is over a long time period. Of course, I just purchased the SILCA Terra floor pump, so I do not know how it will go over the long haul with that pump just yet, but judging from other SILCA products I have owned and used in the past, I am expecting a long use cycle for the Terra with little to no issues. 

So, I want to skip to some pertinent (to me) differences between these pumps and remind you that two of the three are rebuildable. I expect all three will last a long time if cared for properly. Now, I will say that I don't do anything in particular to maintain the pumps I have had with the exception of replacing worn parts when necessary and that only once so far with the Joe Blow. 

Gauges: A floor pump should have a clear, accurate gauge which is durable and reliable. I would say that out of the three here that the Joe Blow is not my favorite due to its tiny numerals and while it isn't terrible in accuracy, the SILCA pumps are better when checked against digital gauges I have. 

Now, "accuracy" in a pump gauge is relative, in my opinion. These are not scientific, high-grade instruments, so the accuracy of them is what it is. If I can get consistent results over a long period of time, then the gauge, whatever it says, is "good". The Joe Blow was, and is still, consistently "good". So is the Pista Plus. The Terra gauge should prove to be similar, but with its dedicated lower range readout, it rises above the other two in readability.

It is more about how well I can read the darn things when I am pumping up a tire in a dimly lit basement in a 100 plus year old home. I've added lights, but my environment down there is tough. So out of the three  gauges, in my estimation, the new Terra pump wins because I can actually see the thing easily. Especially in the range I typically pump tires to, which is under 40psi. 

Pump Heads: The other critical aspect which I deem as very important in a pump is the pump head. How easy is it to use? Does it work equally as well on Schrader and Presta valves? 

The Joe Blow pump has a dual-headed design. You push the head on and flip the locking lever appropriately to the position pointing away from the valve. Grey is the Schrader side, black is the Presta side. 

The Joe Blow never worked well on the Schrader side, and many pumps like this, including many so-called "Smart Head" designs, which I have used in the past, are garbage. You have to work very hard to get a positive attachment to a Schrader valve with the Joe Blow and many times I just couldn't get it to work. 

So, subsequently I end up just using this pump for Presta valves. It does those quite well, but so do a LOT of other pumps. It is always the Schrader valve that trips up many floor pumps and it can become quite a frustration. 

On the plus side, as mentioned, the Joe Blow can be rebuilt, and usually that means the pump head has replacement parts. That pump head is subjected to a lot of wear, especially with regard to the rubber inserts under the plastic caps on the head. I thought it was pretty amazing in 2019 when I was able to get parts for a pump which was over ten years old from Topeak.

The Pista Plus has what looks like, at first glance, to be a traditional track pump head for Presta only. In fact, I did not realize the Pista Plus could be used on a Schrader valve for a long time! 

But of course you can do this with the Pista Plus. It is a brilliant pump head. It unscrews where you see the knurled, larger diameter portion of the head, leaving the Schrader attachment exposed, which then screws on to your valve. 

I like that the pump head actually screws on because having to use a friction sealed head, like the Joe Blow, often pushes the valve stem back into the rim, or causes stress to the base of a Schrader valve tube where the stem meets the tube. This can cause tube failures. At the very least the valve getting pushed back into the rim well is frustrating. So, I give high marks to the Pista Plus for the Schrader valve interface. 

The Presta interface is much like any other SILCA track pump and relies on friction created by a rubber insert to stay on and seal the head to the valve. These typically wear out over a period of time. Of course, the whole pump head and pump itself is rebuildable via SILCA's admirable dedication to spare parts stock. However; I might have preferred a screw on head for Presta as well as the Schrader side which would eliminate the friction interface, which, honestly, can be a pain to push on and off on some valve stems. 

The Terra pump head is actually straight off the Tattico mini-pump SILCA designed and sells, which is an excellent mini-pump, by the way. The head slips on easily to a Presta valve and the lever locks on to the valve stem with great force. I do have somewhat of an issue with how tough the locking lever cams over, but perhaps that will relax with time and use. We will see. 

Schrader interface is also just as easy and to access the Schrader side you simply unscrew the bronze colored end and flip it 180°, screw it back in, and that's the Schrader interface which works just like the Presta side does. Each end is also marked in case you cannot tell which end is which, and this is a nice touch. 

Out of the three then the Terra is the nicest in terms of pump head and ease of use. Longevity and parts replacement isn't known at this point, so I cannot speak to that. Currently SILCA does not show parts for the Terra or Tattico pump head. That may be something SILCA provides as these pumps age, but as for now the rebuildable aspect for Terra pumps does not seem possible. That gives the Pista Plus and Joe Blow the edge there. 

Weight: I know that weight of a floor pump might not be top of mind or even a concern at all for most folks, but perhaps someone will find this interesting. The weight of the Joe Blow is 1.75kg or 3.86lbs. The Pista Plus comes in at 1.55kg or 3.42lbs. The weight of the Terra Floor Pump is 1.11kg or 2.45lbs. That may make a difference if you are flying and taking a floor pump, or you might just like the fact that the Terra is easy to grab and carry due to its weight, or lack thereof. 

I'll have a final look at the SILCA Terra Floor Pump coming soon.