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Silca spins out forged sliding T-handle wrenches & Tattico mini pump

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Silca is aiming to solidify their place in the lust-worthy tool department with a new set of sliding hex wrenches and to expand on their premium floor and frame pumps with a surprisingly affordable mini alternative. The T-Handle Folio sits pretty firmly in the professional tool kit category with a wide range of hex & torx bits and a premium pricetag, but no doubt there are plenty of home mechanics out their who would love to have this setup on their wish list. At the same time, while Silca’s track pumps have hit such crazy levels that offering one at $235 became affordable, they’ve gone the other way now with the new aluminum body Tattico mini-pump that puts quality into a classic style of pump that can get tossed in a pocket or clipped next to a bottle cage…

T-Handle Folio

silca_t-handle-folio_premium-professional-shop-quality-hex-allen-torx-wrenches_detail

The sliding T-Handle Folio is designed to make-up the everyday core of a professional mechanic’s toolkit. The hex & torx wrenches use a one-piece forged main body and a sliding T cross member with built-in stops. The T head has three positions defined by detents at each that make it easy to go from fast spinning to more leverage depending on the task and reach at hand.

silca_t-handle-folio_premium-professional-shop-quality-hex-allen-torx-wrenches_kit

The complete kit includes 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 & 10mm hexes and T25 & T30 torxes. The length and layout of the tools were optimized for their varying tasks, with the 8mm designed to provide good bite for pedals, and the 10mm getting the perfect crossbar length to work with the deep inset Campagnolo Ultra-Torque bottom bracket bolt.

silca_t-handle-folio_premium-professional-shop-quality-hex-allen-torx-wrenches_complete-with-case

The $185 kit includes the tools stored in a folding waxed canvas pouch that doubles as organization and storage, but is also designed to be draped over the head of a repair stand, pump head, or other horizontal edge for quick access to the tools. Of course to go with the premium quality (and price) the pouch that will keep track of your wrenches even gets fancy reflective thread detailing, nylon reinforcing and a few accessory pockets and sleeves.

On a tool side note, apparently Silca started shipping out their T-ratchet and Ti-torque wrenches as part of those successful Kickstarter campaigns just yesterday. So if you were a backer on those, keep an eye out.

Tattico Mini-Pump

silca_tattico-mini-pump_all-alloy-aluminum-pump_closed

While still a premium functioning pump, the small Tattico goes the opposite direction in pricing. At just $55, the all-aluminum bodied pump offers a lot of value. Designed to be small enough to fit in a pocket or clip onto bottle bosses, but still large enough to work quickly and effectively, the 9.5″ telescoping Tattico adds a short hose to get you up to 100psi out on the road or trail.

silca_tattico-mini-pump_all-alloy-aluminum-pump_hoseclip

That hose neatly slides inside the inner barrel of the pump, and with a unique design does not need to be removed or threaded in place to air up. Just pop the end cap, slide it out, and pump away. On the end of the hose, a locking alloy chuck provides Presta & Schrader functionality.

silca_tattico-mini-pump_all-alloy-aluminum-pump_telescoping

The Tattico gets knurled grips on each end for a solid grip as you pump away, even with wet or muddy hands (or gloves.) The pump comes with a bracket to slide under a bottle cage, or can be tossed in a pocket.

Both the new wrenches and new pump are now available for purchase to maybe round out some of your holiday shopping.

Silca.cc

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Nick
Nick
7 years ago

have you had your hands on of the the tatticos yet. I have been keeping any eye on this since i saw a report from one of the shows.
interested to know how realistic it is to get up to the 100 psi mark and how well the cover would work at keeping muck out – it doesn’t look as if there is much keeping it closed

Joshua Poertner
Joshua Poertner
7 years ago
Reply to  Nick

We are using 2 stage silicone seals on both the hose cover and the main barrel/handle interface. When it’s all closed up, it’s sealed very well.

Johnny
Johnny
7 years ago

I understand the high price on certain tools – super low volumes, no other options, THE only right tool for the job, etc. However, the “premium” bicycle common tool market totally escapes me. $185 for hex wrenches has totally crossed in to the realm of stupid. You can get a set of T-handles hexs from Snap-on for ~$50…

AngryBikeWrench
7 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

Totally agree. My dad sold Snap-on. It’s a special tool that makes Snap-on seem like the affordable option…

bearcol
bearcol
7 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

Common sense doesn’t seem to factor in for those consumers that like the idea of owning the most expensive stuff. The surprising thing to me is usually the cyclist that buys the most expensive stuff just because usually isn’t the kind of guy that does their own work.

Harbor freight, for those of us that don’t need bike industry tools offers smoking deals. Just throwing that out there for anyone that hasn’t checked them out for bike tools. T handle hex sets for as little as 7 bucks!

Joshua Poertner
Joshua Poertner
7 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

I think there’s some confusion here about the various types of T-Handles.. These are sliding T’s.. the only really comparable tools on the market are the Beta 951 set which will run you ~$170 for a set of 6 tools (2-6mm) and has no bag/case.. Our tools are made from the same forgings and include 2-6mm PLUS 8mm, 10mm, T25 and T30 plus a waxed canvas case for only $15 more.

The T’s you are talking about from SnapOn and others are totally different, those are just an L wrench with overmolded handle and cost about $50 a set, and are available from any big tool brand.. those are great, but really something completely different from this.

Johnny
Johnny
7 years ago

Hi Joshua. Thanks for the reply. I didn’t misunderstand what these are and understand that a sliding handle is potentially unique. however, I’ve been trying to come up with a situation where a set of “T” handles or “L’s” wouldn’t work, but the sliding handles would. Have any specific examples where these are the only tool for the job making the price come into perspective? Thanks.

bearcol
bearcol
7 years ago

Yeah, just don’t see how sliding does anything? It’s ok, you don’t need to convince me, or others like me because we know better. The riders that will buy your tools will do so with no compelling reason to other than the fact that they are unique and very expensive. If you can capitalize on those types good on ya.

Greg
Greg
7 years ago

As I’ve learned from my Wera wrenches, in many cases the smaller hex keys need their actual measured section to be longer than just the nub. For instance, for the support screw on Shimano road front derailleurs.

Alex M (@ibealexm)
7 years ago

Only thing I dislike about that pump is that the hose comes out of the end instead of the side – it is very nice to ledge the bottom of the pump against a rock and pump against that.

Joshua Poertner
Joshua Poertner
7 years ago

The problem with right angle chuck heads on hoses is that they end up taking up lots of extra space AND they are very, very hard to seal. We looked at this extensively and while I also like the idea of a right angle head on the hose, the reality was that it would cost us 25+ mm of stroke length and it added another layer of sealing as the chuck has to be sealed internally, AND it then had to be sealed to the body of the pump.. 2 seals instead of 1x 2-stage seal that can seal both. In the end, we went with linear as it gave us about 15% extra air per stroke and it was sealable in a way that significantly extended durability and usability in the harshest conditions.
Thanks
Josh

watt
watt
7 years ago

At the same time, There’s quite a few of us who would be willing to deal with the downsides of an angled head vs linear. I’m still using my (nearly dead) road morph over pretty much everything else because I always find pumps similar to the tattico to be more of a pain to actually use.

shafty
shafty
7 years ago

For anything under 4mm, I’d just as soon use Wera’s(or similar) hex screwdrivers, with maybe a couple exceptions. The shafts are narrow enough that they work on most everything. I can’t think of the last time I needed much leverage on screws that small. You’ll still need L-keys for deep set screws or adjusting hydraulic brake levers. Adjusting White Industries hubs comes to mind. I’ve ditched my P-handles on the bigger sizes, simply because a ratchet works much better at high torque.

These hex wrenches would be much better packaged with only 3mm-6mm.

mark
7 years ago

These are re-badged off-the-shelf Beta T-handles.

Joshua Poertner
Joshua Poertner
7 years ago
Reply to  mark

Not quite.. we start with the same forgings for the long extension, but we use full chrome ends on all 3 hex/torx surfaces for greater durability (the photo is older and shows black on the main shaft..but that is full hard chrome in production). Also the 8 has been optimized in terms of length for pedal removal, and the 10 has the cross-slide optimized for Ultra-Torque BB bolts. Other than that, yes, very similar to Beta, but with 4 additional tools AND a bag for roughly the same $$

MG
MG
7 years ago

Good work Josh. I have one of your Super Pista floor pumps and based on my experience with it, will undoubtedly buy more Silca products in the future. Both of these are solid additions to your line.

Rixter
Rixter
7 years ago

How many grams is the Tattico. When it’s packed in a jersey it needs to be very light

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