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#1
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
I bought this solid pump because it is what the best racing teams use,
what's in the best bicycle workshops, in the garages of the most committed cyclists. Lou Holtman on RBT put me onto it and referred me to bike-components.de who sell it at a price within spitting distance of the cost of lesser, plastic pumps. The Rennkompressor is glorious archaic. The whole thing is metal: cast iron foot, steel tube, steel rod, exposed metal spring, cast metal folding feet, great big metal clamp around the wooden handles, huge chromed nut holding the whole thing together. Wooden handles? Yeah, that's right. They probably add ten euro to the price of the pump when compared with plastic handles, but they feel great and of course will last forever. The tube is long enough to reach up to the wheel of a bike on the workstand. It is kept out of the way and secured by folding it over the handle, where it does double duty of keeping the handle from shooting out, The dial is just large enough for middle-aged eyes to read but makes up for it by being dead-on accurate within the limits of an analogue dial with a needle subject to parallax error, which turns out to be a surprisingly low 0.03 bar, hardly worth bothering about for everyday use. (I used my BBB digital meter, same as Schwalbe sells, for the check.) However, the dial is sensibly situated near the bottom of the tube, where it is protected by the cast iron foot and in transit by the solid folding feet as well, and further safeguarded by a big plastic ring that rotates freely. This is a heavyweight pump but you just know it will go to the field, take the dirt and abuse, and return to be wiped down after the race, and be good as new -- forever. SKS has been making this pump for four decades and they show no sign of halting production. SKS service and spare parts availability is legendary. My favourite bike parts pushers, Chainreaction Cycles in Belfast, stocks the rebuild kits. As if to confirm the Rennkompressor's primacy in their hearts, SKS has recently made it more useful by expanding the longlived but crude metal chuck to four models. I'm not sure what they all do and don't care enough to ask. On Lou's recommendation I bought the model with the modern EVA pumphead which is of pretty solid plastic and supposedly universal. I've used it only on Presta valves so far but do in fact have Schrader and Woods valves on other bikes, with which it is also claimed to work. The EVA chuck locks on airtight with a solid clunk and unlocks smoothly without wrecking the delicate Presta valves. The chuck itself is rebuildable and of course replaceable either as a simple chuck or fitted to a replacement hose. In fact, there is no part of the Rennkompressor for which you cannot buy replacements. (I'm not sure I would want a mechanic so horny-handed he wears out those solid wooden handles to work on a carbon bike of racing fragility...) The other key next to longevity of the Rennkompressor's popularity for so long with people who earn their living from bicycles is -- high pressure, very quickly indeed. My normal requirement is 2 bar. That's a few slow strokes, and I keep them slow even when I'm in a hurry because it's a pain overshooting and letting out air again. The capability of the Rennkompressor is advertised as 224psi and I have no reason to doubt it; German trades descriptions acts are the toughest in the world, so you can bet the Rennkompressor does indeed make 224psi. All I know is that the first time I used it, I pumped away quickly for about twenty seconds, and was horrified to find my huge 622-60mm Big Apple tyres inflated grossly over their maximum limit. I was under the misapprehension that high-pressure pumps produce only a little air per stroke; not this one! For a thin pump designed to suit pencil-thin high pressure racing tyres, the Rennkompressor puts out an impressive amount of air; I'd back it to be quicker on a mountainbike tyre than most of the standpumps sold specifically for mountain bikes. The pure length of the cylinder must be responsible because it is only about an inch thick. The pump is painted orange. In theory you can also get a black or at least grey one, in practice dealers offer only the signature orange. Don't be confused by lesser models that SKS (and other makers) present in the same orange to attempt to catch a ride on the Rennkompressor's golden aura. So it's big, heavy, and the styling-- what styling? Function dictated the form back before cycling became a trendy middle-class preoccupation. On the other hand the Rennkompressor is supremely efficient, infinitely rebuildable, of proven longevity, and a pleasure to work with. SKS sells a clip to hang Renkompressor on the wall. Perfecto! Actually, I stand mine up in a tapered wire basket which closes the feet for me... For about the same money as a mid-range edition of Topeak's good but consumable Joe Blow, the Rennkompressor isn't even all that expensive. Considering that it will see you out even if you're still a teenager, the SKS Rennkompressor looks like a bargain. Andre Jute http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/Andre%20Jute's%20Utopia%20Kranich.pdf |
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#2
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
On 17 June, 01:25, Andre Jute wrote:
I bought this solid pump because it is what the best racing teams use, what's in the best bicycle workshops, in the garages of the most committed cyclists. Lou Holtman on RBT put me onto it and referred me to bike-components.de who sell it at a price within spitting distance of the cost of lesser, plastic pumps. The Rennkompressor is glorious archaic. The whole thing is metal: cast iron foot, steel tube, steel rod, exposed metal spring, cast metal folding feet, great big metal clamp around the wooden handles, huge chromed nut holding the whole thing together. Wooden handles? Yeah, that's right. They probably add ten euro to the price of the pump when compared with plastic handles, but they feel great and of course will last forever. The tube is long enough to reach up to the wheel of a bike on the workstand. It is kept out of the way and secured by folding it over the handle, where it does double duty of keeping the handle from shooting out, The dial is just large enough for middle-aged eyes to read but makes up for it by being dead-on accurate within the limits of an analogue dial with a needle subject to parallax error, which turns out to be a surprisingly low 0.03 bar, hardly worth bothering about for everyday use. (I used my BBB digital meter, same as Schwalbe sells, for the check.) However, the dial is sensibly situated near the bottom of the tube, where it is protected by the cast iron foot and in transit by the solid folding feet as well, and further safeguarded by a big plastic ring that rotates freely. This is a heavyweight pump but you just know it will go to the field, take the dirt and abuse, and return to be wiped down after the race, and be good as new -- forever. SKS has been making this pump for four decades and they show no sign of halting production. SKS service and spare parts availability is legendary. My favourite bike parts pushers, Chainreaction Cycles in Belfast, stocks the rebuild kits. As if to confirm the Rennkompressor's primacy in their hearts, SKS has recently made it more useful by expanding the longlived but crude metal chuck to four models. I'm not sure what they all do and don't care enough to ask. On Lou's recommendation I bought the model with the modern EVA pumphead which is of pretty solid plastic and supposedly universal. I've used it only on Presta valves so far but do in fact have Schrader and Woods valves on other bikes, with which it is also claimed to work. The EVA chuck locks on airtight with a solid clunk and unlocks smoothly without wrecking the delicate Presta valves. The chuck itself is rebuildable and of course replaceable either as a simple chuck or fitted to a replacement hose. In fact, there is no part of the Rennkompressor for which you cannot buy replacements. (I'm not sure I would want a mechanic so horny-handed he wears out those solid wooden handles to work on a carbon bike of racing fragility...) The other key next to longevity of the Rennkompressor's popularity for so long with people who earn their living from bicycles is -- high pressure, very quickly indeed. My normal requirement is 2 bar. That's a few slow strokes, and I keep them slow even when I'm in a hurry because it's a pain overshooting and letting out air again. The capability of the Rennkompressor is advertised as 224psi and I have no reason to doubt it; German trades descriptions acts are the toughest in the world, so you can bet the Rennkompressor does indeed make 224psi. All I know is that the first time I used it, I pumped away quickly for about twenty seconds, and was horrified to find my huge 622-60mm Big Apple tyres inflated grossly over their maximum limit. I was under the misapprehension that high-pressure pumps produce only a little air per stroke; not this one! For a thin pump designed to suit pencil-thin high pressure racing tyres, the Rennkompressor puts out an impressive amount of air; I'd back it to be quicker on a mountainbike tyre than *most of the standpumps sold specifically for mountain bikes. The pure length of the cylinder must be responsible because it is only about an inch thick. The pump is painted orange. In theory you can also get a black or at least grey one, in practice dealers offer only the signature orange. Don't be confused by lesser models that SKS (and other makers) present in the same orange to attempt to catch a ride on the Rennkompressor's golden aura. So it's big, heavy, and the styling-- what styling? Function dictated the form back before cycling became a trendy middle-class preoccupation. On the other hand the Rennkompressor is supremely efficient, infinitely rebuildable, of proven longevity, and a pleasure to work with. SKS sells a clip to hang Renkompressor on the wall. Perfecto! Actually, I stand mine up in a tapered wire basket which closes the feet for me... For about the same money as a mid-range edition of Topeak's good but consumable Joe Blow, the Rennkompressor isn't even all that expensive. Considering that it will see you out even if you're still a teenager, the SKS Rennkompressor looks like a bargain. Andre Jute is a professional tool. |
#3
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
thirty-six wrote:
On 17 June, 01:25, Andre Jute wrote: I bought this solid pump because it is what the best racing teams use, what's in the best bicycle workshops, in the garages of the most committed cyclists. Lou Holtman on RBT put me onto it and referred me to bike-components.de who sell it at a price within spitting distance of the cost of lesser, plastic pumps. The Rennkompressor is glorious archaic. The whole thing is metal: cast iron foot, steel tube, steel rod, exposed metal spring, cast metal folding feet, great big metal clamp around the wooden handles, huge chromed nut holding the whole thing together. Wooden handles? Yeah, that's right. They probably add ten euro to the price of the pump when compared with plastic handles, but they feel great and of course will last forever. The tube is long enough to reach up to the wheel of a bike on the workstand. It is kept out of the way and secured by folding it over the handle, where it does double duty of keeping the handle from shooting out, The dial is just large enough for middle-aged eyes to read but makes up for it by being dead-on accurate within the limits of an analogue dial with a needle subject to parallax error, which turns out to be a surprisingly low 0.03 bar, hardly worth bothering about for everyday use. (I used my BBB digital meter, same as Schwalbe sells, for the check.) However, the dial is sensibly situated near the bottom of the tube, where it is protected by the cast iron foot and in transit by the solid folding feet as well, and further safeguarded by a big plastic ring that rotates freely. This is a heavyweight pump but you just know it will go to the field, take the dirt and abuse, and return to be wiped down after the race, and be good as new -- forever. SKS has been making this pump for four decades and they show no sign of halting production. SKS service and spare parts availability is legendary. My favourite bike parts pushers, Chainreaction Cycles in Belfast, stocks the rebuild kits. As if to confirm the Rennkompressor's primacy in their hearts, SKS has recently made it more useful by expanding the longlived but crude metal chuck to four models. I'm not sure what they all do and don't care enough to ask. On Lou's recommendation I bought the model with the modern EVA pumphead which is of pretty solid plastic and supposedly universal. I've used it only on Presta valves so far but do in fact have Schrader and Woods valves on other bikes, with which it is also claimed to work. The EVA chuck locks on airtight with a solid clunk and unlocks smoothly without wrecking the delicate Presta valves. The chuck itself is rebuildable and of course replaceable either as a simple chuck or fitted to a replacement hose. In fact, there is no part of the Rennkompressor for which you cannot buy replacements. (I'm not sure I would want a mechanic so horny-handed he wears out those solid wooden handles to work on a carbon bike of racing fragility...) The other key next to longevity of the Rennkompressor's popularity for so long with people who earn their living from bicycles is -- high pressure, very quickly indeed. My normal requirement is 2 bar. That's a few slow strokes, and I keep them slow even when I'm in a hurry because it's a pain overshooting and letting out air again. The capability of the Rennkompressor is advertised as 224psi and I have no reason to doubt it; German trades descriptions acts are the toughest in the world, so you can bet the Rennkompressor does indeed make 224psi. All I know is that the first time I used it, I pumped away quickly for about twenty seconds, and was horrified to find my huge 622-60mm Big Apple tyres inflated grossly over their maximum limit. I was under the misapprehension that high-pressure pumps produce only a little air per stroke; not this one! For a thin pump designed to suit pencil-thin high pressure racing tyres, the Rennkompressor puts out an impressive amount of air; I'd back it to be quicker on a mountainbike tyre than most of the standpumps sold specifically for mountain bikes. The pure length of the cylinder must be responsible because it is only about an inch thick. The pump is painted orange. In theory you can also get a black or at least grey one, in practice dealers offer only the signature orange. Don't be confused by lesser models that SKS (and other makers) present in the same orange to attempt to catch a ride on the Rennkompressor's golden aura. So it's big, heavy, and the styling-- what styling? Function dictated the form back before cycling became a trendy middle-class preoccupation. On the other hand the Rennkompressor is supremely efficient, infinitely rebuildable, of proven longevity, and a pleasure to work with. SKS sells a clip to hang Renkompressor on the wall. Perfecto! Actually, I stand mine up in a tapered wire basket which closes the feet for me... For about the same money as a mid-range edition of Topeak's good but consumable Joe Blow, the Rennkompressor isn't even all that expensive. Considering that it will see you out even if you're still a teenager, the SKS Rennkompressor looks like a bargain. Andre Jute is a professional tool. No child's toy: http://www.prestaflator.com/ |
#4
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
On 17 June, 12:35, "MikeWhy" wrote:
thirty-six wrote: On 17 June, 01:25, Andre Jute wrote: I bought this solid pump because it is what the best racing teams use, what's in the best bicycle workshops, in the garages of the most committed cyclists. Lou Holtman on RBT put me onto it and referred me to bike-components.de who sell it at a price within spitting distance of the cost of lesser, plastic pumps. The Rennkompressor is glorious archaic. The whole thing is metal: cast iron foot, steel tube, steel rod, exposed metal spring, cast metal folding feet, great big metal clamp around the wooden handles, huge chromed nut holding the whole thing together. Wooden handles? Yeah, that's right. They probably add ten euro to the price of the pump when compared with plastic handles, but they feel great and of course will last forever. The tube is long enough to reach up to the wheel of a bike on the workstand. It is kept out of the way and secured by folding it over the handle, where it does double duty of keeping the handle from shooting out, The dial is just large enough for middle-aged eyes to read but makes up for it by being dead-on accurate within the limits of an analogue dial with a needle subject to parallax error, which turns out to be a surprisingly low 0.03 bar, hardly worth bothering about for everyday use. (I used my BBB digital meter, same as Schwalbe sells, for the check.) However, the dial is sensibly situated near the bottom of the tube, where it is protected by the cast iron foot and in transit by the solid folding feet as well, and further safeguarded by a big plastic ring that rotates freely. This is a heavyweight pump but you just know it will go to the field, take the dirt and abuse, and return to be wiped down after the race, and be good as new -- forever. SKS has been making this pump for four decades and they show no sign of halting production. SKS service and spare parts availability is legendary. My favourite bike parts pushers, Chainreaction Cycles in Belfast, stocks the rebuild kits. As if to confirm the Rennkompressor's primacy in their hearts, SKS has recently made it more useful by expanding the longlived but crude metal chuck to four models. I'm not sure what they all do and don't care enough to ask. On Lou's recommendation I bought the model with the modern EVA pumphead which is of pretty solid plastic and supposedly universal. I've used it only on Presta valves so far but do in fact have Schrader and Woods valves on other bikes, with which it is also claimed to work. The EVA chuck locks on airtight with a solid clunk and unlocks smoothly without wrecking the delicate Presta valves. The chuck itself is rebuildable and of course replaceable either as a simple chuck or fitted to a replacement hose. In fact, there is no part of the Rennkompressor for which you cannot buy replacements. (I'm not sure I would want a mechanic so horny-handed he wears out those solid wooden handles to work on a carbon bike of racing fragility...) The other key next to longevity of the Rennkompressor's popularity for so long with people who earn their living from bicycles is -- high pressure, very quickly indeed. My normal requirement is 2 bar. That's a few slow strokes, and I keep them slow even when I'm in a hurry because it's a pain overshooting and letting out air again. The capability of the Rennkompressor is advertised as 224psi and I have no reason to doubt it; German trades descriptions acts are the toughest in the world, so you can bet the Rennkompressor does indeed make 224psi. All I know is that the first time I used it, I pumped away quickly for about twenty seconds, and was horrified to find my huge 622-60mm Big Apple tyres inflated grossly over their maximum limit. I was under the misapprehension that high-pressure pumps produce only a little air per stroke; not this one! For a thin pump designed to suit pencil-thin high pressure racing tyres, the Rennkompressor puts out an impressive amount of air; I'd back it to be quicker on a mountainbike tyre than most of the standpumps sold specifically for mountain bikes. The pure length of the cylinder must be responsible because it is only about an inch thick. The pump is painted orange. In theory you can also get a black or at least grey one, in practice dealers offer only the signature orange. Don't be confused by lesser models that SKS (and other makers) present in the same orange to attempt to catch a ride on the Rennkompressor's golden aura. So it's big, heavy, and the styling-- what styling? Function dictated the form back before cycling became a trendy middle-class preoccupation. On the other hand the Rennkompressor is supremely efficient, infinitely rebuildable, of proven longevity, and a pleasure to work with. SKS sells a clip to hang Renkompressor on the wall. Perfecto! Actually, I stand mine up in a tapered wire basket which closes the feet for me... For about the same money as a mid-range edition of Topeak's good but consumable Joe Blow, the Rennkompressor isn't even all that expensive. Considering that it will see you out even if you're still a teenager, the SKS Rennkompressor looks like a bargain. Andre Jute is a professional tool. No child's toy:http://www.prestaflator.com/ No reference to lubrication oil for the compressor. This is a serious issue for latex tubes as they need pumping up for every ride so the amount of oil contaminant although tiny for each volume of air will build up to cause failure of the tube in a few months. There are ways to "dry out" the compressed air, I don't know how that's done. |
#5
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
thirty-six wrote:
On 17 June, 12:35, "MikeWhy" wrote: No child's toy:http://www.prestaflator.com/ No reference to lubrication oil for the compressor. This is a serious issue for latex tubes as they need pumping up for every ride so the amount of oil contaminant although tiny for each volume of air will build up to cause failure of the tube in a few months. There are ways to "dry out" the compressed air, I don't know how that's done. The oiler is for air tools. For the few times that I actually use them, I just put a drop of oil in the tool directly, leaving the hose uncontaminated. Line driers work on adiabatic cooling of the air when it expands on entering the chamber of the drier. The suddenly lowered temperature forces excess vapor to condense, which then drips to the bottom of the chamber and the dried air stream moves on. I have a 10 gallon Sears Craftsman air compressor in the garage, bought 12 years ago for less than $100 new. When it dies from long term neglect, I'll likely replace it with a nitrogen cylinder rented from the welding shop. |
#6
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
MikeWhy wrote:
:thirty-six wrote: : On 17 June, 12:35, "MikeWhy" wrote: : No child's toy:http://www.prestaflator.com/ : : No reference to lubrication oil for the compressor. This is a serious : issue for latex tubes as they need pumping up for every ride so the : amount of oil contaminant although tiny for each volume of air will : build up to cause failure of the tube in a few months. There are ways : to "dry out" the compressed air, I don't know how that's done. :The oiler is for air tools. For the few times that I actually use them, I :just put a drop of oil in the tool directly, leaving the hose :uncontaminated. Line driers work on adiabatic cooling of the air when it :expands on entering the chamber of the drier. The suddenly lowered :temperature forces excess vapor to condense, which then drips to the bottom f the chamber and the dried air stream moves on. Oil lubricated compressors lose oil into the air stream. How much depends on the comrpessor, how worn its seals are and so on. It's not much of a concern for general air use, but for some things it matters a lot, like painting and breathing air. There are any number of ways to get water an oil out of air supplies; by far the most common are filters. Desiccants, refrigeration, and other things are also used. Cheap household grade compressors are very often oil-less, and don't have this problem. They've got others, like they're loud as hell, and don't last very long. -- sig 99 |
#7
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
In article ,
"MikeWhy" wrote: thirty-six wrote: On 17 June, 12:35, "MikeWhy" wrote: No child's toy:http://www.prestaflator.com/ No reference to lubrication oil for the compressor. This is a serious issue for latex tubes as they need pumping up for every ride so the amount of oil contaminant although tiny for each volume of air will build up to cause failure of the tube in a few months. There are ways to "dry out" the compressed air, I don't know how that's done. The oiler is for air tools. For the few times that I actually use them, I just put a drop of oil in the tool directly, leaving the hose uncontaminated. Line driers work on adiabatic cooling of the air when it expands on entering the chamber of the drier. The suddenly lowered temperature forces excess vapor to condense, which then drips to the bottom of the chamber and the dried air stream moves on. I have a 10 gallon Sears Craftsman air compressor in the garage, bought 12 years ago for less than $100 new. When it dies from long term neglect, I'll likely replace it with a nitrogen cylinder rented from the welding shop. I use an N2 cylinder. You do not rent them. You buy one, and exchange empty for full at the shop. -- Michael Press |
#8
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
Michael Press wrote:
:In article , : "MikeWhy" wrote: :I use an N2 cylinder. You do not rent them. :You buy one, and exchange empty for full at the shop. Depends entirely where you live. If you can buy them, it's much cheaper in the long run. -- sig 103 |
#9
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SKS Rennkompressor -- the paradigm of a track pump
On 18 June, 00:12, David Scheidt wrote:
Michael Press wrote: :In article , : "MikeWhy" wrote: :I use an N2 cylinder. You do not rent them. :You buy one, and exchange empty for full at the shop. Depends entirely where you live. *If you can buy them, it's much cheaper in the long run. Funny that, on the sales sheet (in UK) it usually says " cylinder hire ". In other words it remains the property of the supplier and they are responsible for the safety of the cyclinders and pressure test them as appropriate. There was a time when suppliers would refill customers own cylinders (on the quiet), but I dont think this is done anymore. |
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