It finally happened. My Blackburn pump died. I bought this pump in college since I no longer had access to my father's trusty Silca Pista. Well, eventually, the chuck gasket loosened up and began to eat presta valves. I replaced it with a Silca chuck, a hose clamp and a bit of white ductape.
The gasket in that thing took a while to wear in, but once it did, it was good again. Just last night, however, the hose ruptured. At first I thought that the chuck shot off the valve stem. Quick check and it was still there. What was wrong? I found the split tube eventually after listening for the air escaping. I also noticed that the hose was quite warm. Lots of energy being delivered there. Maybe the rubber couldn't take one more thermal/pressure cycle.Anyway, time to get something more trustworthy. Maybe a Silca of my own, or a Lezyne? Maybe make one myself? I have access to machine tools and this stuff is pretty simple. I'll keep you posted.
2 comments:
Can you disassemble the Blackburn and replace the hose? Or use another clamp? Also, I believe Blackburn has lifetime warranties on all their products, so that might be a better route, especially if you have a portable pump to tide you over until they send you a new one.
You're right, lifetime warranty! I wonder if the change in chuck will void that. I'll call them. The hose is replaceable, but not any sort of standard fitting.
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