Regression : Condensed Air
April 8th, 2008 by Arleigh JenkinsA month ago I needed a couple CO2 refills. There is a shop that is a couple miles away so I stopped in on my way to grab coffee. Quickly I was hit by sticker shock for the little CO2 cartridges. I hadn’t purchased CO2 and full retail, nor had I bought any in almost a year. Unfortunately my my girlfriend isn’t very pump friendly and I’m in constant fear she’ll have to change her tire and rip the valve off the tube.
There I was looking at these refills. Ranging from $3-7 and a guy walked up, grabbed 10 of them and went to the counter mumbling that this should last him the month. Was this guy topping off his tires with CO2? Did he get tons of flats? Was he using them for paint ball guns? 5 minutes later I walked out of the shop empty handed. I decided the girlfriend would continue to use my frame pump.
How about you? Do you use air, pumps, nothing at all? I’m switching to CO2 only in race circumstances and buying frame pumps for all my bikes. The new sizable pump from Park Tools.
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I don’t understand why CO2 cartridges cost so much. The threaded ones are much worse than the threaded ones. Last I knew the non-threaded ones where much cheaper from paint gun stores. Are bike shops just ripping us off?
Even when I’m riding a lot, I don’t think I flat more than 10 times in a year. I hate carrying a pump so I just go with CO2. Long rides I take at least 2 with me. There’s only been a couple times, I’ve needed 2 and I’ve never needed one I didn’t have except when I forgot to even take one.
I am cheap the only time I have been around people with CO2 they needed to use my pump. That was quite a few years ago and that pump still works fine. I only paid for it once. Oh and I flat a lot between goat heads, nails , glass, and the occasional pinch flat. My record is three in one day. All seperate flats, not like the times you check the tyre and miss the culprit and flat again.
I still have the free-with-NORBA-membership co2 inflater that I got back in…’94?… I’ve only used it a few times and didn’t have any problems. But, the idea of buying cartridges seems wasteful to me. I have thought about using them for my 29ers, but I’ll prolly just end up getting a larger pump.
I still use a small Barberi hand pump - this thing puts a hell of a lot of air in per compression - though it still takes a while to get a tyre back up.
A race on the weekend saw me needing it twice - in one lap - after which I’m now considering getting a CO2 inflater to prevent repeats.
But it’s mostly the cost that leaves me still using a pump - $10 for a tube then $6 for a cartridge? Expensive tube change.
I buy the threadless ones in packs of 25 for $10 at the local sporting goods store. You’re getting ripped. And no, these aren’t the kind with any additives. They’re just CO2.
I ride tubless and use the local gas station to pump my tires. Taking a risk I guess but so far so good.
I am sure your girlfriend will be sensitive to the fact that we throw enough disposable stuff away and she may consider looking for a pump that is easier to use than the one she currently has.
Yeah, I agree with Noah, just go to Wal-Mart and buy the Crosman brand threadless ones for $10–exact same product, but less than $.50 each.
I really only use CO2 when I am commuting or on a group road ride, because then my time is important to me. Otherwise I just get a good minipump and enjoy my surroundings while sitting on my hydration pack in the woods.
I’m on the Nat’l MTB Patrol and I have a threadless inflator and like many others I go to the dreaded meglo-mart and buy a box of pellet gun CO2 cartridges and they’re about 50 cents each. They work just as good and I don’t mind letting fellow riders use them on group rides or on races when patrollers can offer mechanical assistance.
I love to support the LBS, but their markup on CO2 and the inflators is pretty sad.
I’ve never tried CO2. I don’t race or ride in big groups so I never saw a need. Besides, I need the extra exercise. I normally carry a minipump in my camelbak for the trail and use a floor pump in the garage.
I too use Crossman threadless. Never checked WalMart, but I found a paintball store in LA that shipped me 100 12g cartridges for about $50. That was five years ago, and I’m still using that batch. I usually carry a pump as well, but a small one; for MTB tires, I put in ~100 strokes on the pump then top it off with one cartridge. Half the time, it seems, my flats occur as the sun is going down and I’m pretty happy for the fast inflation!
I can’t stand the thought of all the waste involved in those cartridges. It would be better if they were re-fillable and you could trade them in at the bike shop for new ones.
I used to carry a smallish pump that clamps on beside my water bottle, but it would get full of crud and stuff. I recently bought a Crank Bros. mini-pump that fits right inside my small saddlebag, it’s not super great to fill a tire with but it will get you out of the bush.
Re: the girlfriend, my wife is also “tire challenged.” She has changed maybe three flats in her life. I have her ride with CO2, she’s comfortable using it. The only other option is me going out in the car to pick her up, so I can handle a little wastefulness.
Guys, what’s with all the “tire challenged girlfriend/wife” comments. Most gals in club rides know how to fix a flat and do a lot of wrenching on their bikes, often better than guys do. What we see more often is not gals who can’t pump, it’s guys who jump in with a “let me do it” attitude.
If she really needs to learn, just give her a demo or if you’re not good enough at it, advise her to take a bike repair clinic. Everyone can learn this regardless of gender.
BTW, are you sure you really know how to fix a flat and pump a tire properly? You’d be surprised.
I was just curious so I asked Crosman about recycling used powerlets, here’s their reply:
“Unfortunately, we do not have any kind of recycling program for used powerlets. I suggest you contact whatever company handles your refuse to see if these cartridges can be recycled locally.
Thank you for contacting Crosman Corporation.
Regards,
Cameron”
Peter,
You would be surprised but this article was wrote by me, a female. I’m also a professional mechanic that often is the one giving a “flat repair” clinic to women. I’m fully confident that my girlfriend could change the tire, but have seen first hand (even after telling her) yanking the pump side to side when pumping up with a hand pump. ESPECIALLY on a road bike where she has to get pressure high.
It isn’t that my girlfriends challenged, its that I want to take as many worries from her as possible to get her worry free on a bike.
Hi Peter,
That was a good comment, thanks for calling me on that. I didn’t mean to come across as gender biased. The fact that my wife (or Arleigh’s girlfriend) can’t change a flat worth beans has nothing to do with gender.
Regards,
Anthony
I have just started to use Co2. I am a cheapie so I’ve had the inflater for a year before I finally bought some cartridges. I found a good deal on a 3 pack of threaded cartridges from Niagara Cycle Works so I bought two packs. So far I’ve used 1 cartridge in about 2 months worth of riding, mtn and road.
I still generally carry my small crankbros pump on longer mtn bike rides. It sure does wear me out though when I have to use it.
I agree it is wasteful unless the cartridges can be recycled somewhere. I need to get a inflater that uses the threadless style so I can get in on the cheap ones. I have 5 threaded ones left though so I should be good for a while.
I was given a CO2 inflator and carried it around in my hydration pack along with a few spare cartridges (Box of like 25 for $10 at SfufMart). I used it a few times, and couldn’t figure out why in the world my tire would be flat two or three days later–Until I heard some news story on NPR about CO2 and how it can pass through inner tubes by osmosis faster than regular air (The point of the news article had nothing to do with cycling, I think it had to do with exotic gasses being used in tires to increase fuel efficiency or something like that…)
You can read more about CO2 leakage here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-154847.html
The bottom line is, I never quit carrying my manual pump, with it’s Free, Unrestricted supply of, Air. Also I don’t need to carry and buy cartridges, let alone wonder what to do with all the metal trash after they have been expended.
So I threw the CO2 inflator in my 11-year old’s hydration pack. He feels pretty important carrying around the “Hi-Tech” pump. I continue to carry a trusty hand operated, manual, tried and true, pump.
I use threaded Innoflation (?) basically basically for the size factor, nozzle/head and the tank, can’t get much smaller.
IM personally wondering how you guys get all the flats, I have ridden my Jake 1500 miles without a flat, and I “bulldoze” my XXIX with the highest psi being Min. Rec. psi, and I have probably gone 1,000 miles on those tires, without a flat.
Not sure where you live Quinn, but obviously Satan’s Spawn, Goatheads, haven’t been introduced into your environment. Say a prayer of thanks, and pray again they never show up near your trails!
Some fine pictures of the evil can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris
I don’t like CO2. If I wanted things to be fast, easy and wasteful, I wouldn’t be riding a bicycle.
Hey Joe
I don’t like co2 no mo.
It does not make me smile.
N20 is better fo’ you.
but Helium makes your bike lighter
and you can have a funny voice.
I bought the Co2 kit shortly after I started biking and luckily have never had to use it in the 800+ Miles that I’ve ridden in the last year. I ride some pretty extreme stuff, but I try to keep track of my line as much as possible so that I don’t run anything over. I also run with high PSI to help avoid the dreaded pinch flat. Recently I was riding Markham park in Ft. Lauderdale with some friends and one of my buddies got a pinch flat and had to do the patch thing and then used a hand pump. little while later he did it again (tiki will run over anything for and adreneline rush) Luckily he had the hand pump and was able to get everything squared away. I was thinking how bad it would suck to be out on the trail with only one or 2 Co2 bottle and have 1 more incident than bottles! I promplty ordered a small frame pump that still has yet to be used. I usually ride with 1 C02 bottle and the frame pump that way I’m covered either way.
A buddy of mine works at an airport. The CO2’s that inflate the life preservers on the planes must be discarded/replaced at regular intervals - they’re still good though!
I get a handful of these for free now and then, and they’re IDENTICAL to the ones you’d spend $$$ on….and they inflate your tire very nicely indeed.
Perhaps this is an angle you could pursue…
I haven’t had a flat in 7 years. It might be a coincidence, but that’s exactly when I started using Specialized Armadillos on my road bike. I can’t say enough about the Armadillo Elites, they’re a fantastic tire for all of the conditions I ride in as a year-round commuter.
No Bike shops aren’t ripping you off. Last year for some reason and I don’t know why, the price of threaded C02 cartridges went up a lot. I recieved a few today from QBP one of the industrys biggest suppliers and for me to sell them and make a fair profit I have to charge $9.99 for a box of two. I agree that is ridiculus. Do I use C02? Hell no, I’m way too cheap for that. I use a Topeak Road Morph w/Gauge frame pump. By the way, paintball C02 cartridges are only 12 oz and will not fully inflate a MTB or Road bike. 16 oz is the proper size… If you insist on using C02 and want to save a few bucks, make sure you buy a NON THREADED CO2 unit. Instead of buying them from Innovations, buy the bulk ones. Packaging for Innovations brand boxes of 2 drives up the cost to like $6.99/box. You can buy the single ones with no special name brand for about $2 or $3 each…