• Fits 28mm internal diameter SILCA
pumps
• Made from finest full grain leather
• Produced by hand on the same equipment continuously since 1960
• 2.50mm thick leather
• Hand-crafted in Milan, Italy
Since the 1960's all SILCA leather gaskets have come from the same leather converting house in the fashion district of Milan, Italy. For more than 5 decades the same supplier has cut these washers from the excess material left over from the production of exotic handbags, Italian luxury cars interiors, and high-fashion luggage. A small press is used to trim and pressure-form these leather washers into durable pressure gaskets.
From a purely functional standpoint, inexpensive o-rings are most commonly used in this application, but no o-ring can match the smooth feel and zero-stiction action of a leather gasket. It is common today to find SILCA leather gasket pumps throughout the professional peloton (especially during the spring classics) as o-ring seal pumps struggle with heat and often are unable to seal once the pump barrel is hot from inflating more than a few wheels.
I stock the SILCA 731 Leather Gasket along with the SILCA NFS Leather and Pump Lube for all my classic SILCA floor pump restorations. Works equally well with vintage and modern 28mm diameter pumps to quickly generate high air pressure.
A key piece to my pump restoration
I was considering ordering a new pump. A complete cleaning, including the valve. The right lubricant. A new chunk and piston seal and we are back to full operation and performance.
The Silca floor pump I bought in 2001 is working again thanks to this replacement gasket and instructions from the Silca Youtube video. And yes, I drank a glass of champagne before starting the repair! It was that easy. Cheers!
Made the pump work like new again!
