Bicycle Mechanics - Should I throw my pump away?

I carry a little portable pump on my bike, but our town's local bike guru says this marks me as a "newby." He says all I really need is one of those little CO-2 bottles you can buy from the bike catalogs for a few bucks each. This saves weight and space, he says, and gets the repaired tire up to 90 psi in an instant. Alot better than pumping your heart out for 5-10 minutes. Any thoughts on this? Should I do this? Or, should I be ultra-conservative and carry a pump and a CO-2?

keep the pump.

I second Chewa - keep the pump. It is free to use and unless your arms wear out, you can fix as many flats as you have tubes and or patches.

Ed

their right, keep the pump, i dont know about your neck of the woods but here the cost of those little gas bottles is more than a new tube ! the salesman sounds a bit eager to make a sale to me?

Carrying a pump marks you out as a cyclist who is prepared for multiple punctures.
CO2 bottles are really for racing, where the extra minute or 2 saved can make a difference. For training on your own, or just riding around, its better and cheaper to use your pump.

My view from the left field. Would you rather drink a nice glass of cold beer, or have an aerosol that gives you a sniff of it instead?:D

Listen to us. Stick with the pump.

I think you should lose the pump.

Then, if you have a flat you can use a CO2 cartridge. It will only cost 75 cents or a dollar, a negligible sum, even compared to air which is basically free. Make sure you get the repair right the first time, because you only get one chance. If your patch doesn't hold, you will either need another cartridge or a ride home. When you're all done, be sure to add the empty cartridge to the world's already overflowing landfills. And pray, all the way home, that you don't have another flat.

At least you won't look like a newbie. :D

By the way, is my sarcasm showing? A wise person once said "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." Who died and made your guru the style man? I'm sure that the guru actually has a lot of good things to teach you, but, this is a matter of style vs. security. Make up your own mind.

Pump :)

Originally posted by RegularGuy
I think you should lose the pump.

Then, if you have a flat you can use a CO2 cartridge. It will only cost 75 cents or a dollar, a negligible sum, even compared to air which is basically free. Make sure you get the repair right the first time, because you only get one chance. If your patch doesn't hold, you will either need another cartridge or a ride home. When you're all done, be sure to add the empty cartridge to the world's already overflowing landfills. And pray, all the way home, that you don't have another flat.

At least you won't look like a newbie. :D



Ooooooh, sarcasm! I love it! Hehehe

Keep the pump!

Originally posted by trmcgeehan
... but our town's local bike guru says this marks me as a "newby." .
Complete and utter BS! To the contrary, a pump will mark you as a grizzled veteran with many years of cycling under your belt.

Sounds like there are enough here that were failed by their CO2 cartridges (I had a full cartridge and a spare!) to make a convincing argument.

Pump.

This is soo timly for me! I just dumped the co2 device and bought a nice frame pump. I was carying as many co2 cartrages as a pump weighs any how. I had a blown tube once and my back up leaked at the valve all the way home. I was sweeting it all the way in that I wouldn't run out of co2! I just bought the pump two days ago!:eek:

If the CO2 cylinder isn't that big, why not carry both?

Ok I get to say this cos I've got something to put all this in but I've also been in the very embarrassing situation of my frame mounted pump breaking when I was trying to blow up a tyre.

I agree.

The CO2 pumps arent that big. Why dont you carry both of them. If you somehow manage to kill all of them, then you still have the pump at your disposal.

Keep the pump.

You can help out another cyclist when they run out of co2 cartridges. Or help the guy who brought 4 co2 cartridges but forgot the head unit. D'oh!

A ...umm... friend of mine had those things happen to him.

;)

hehe I hate it when that happens. I've helped out a few people already.

Also, what if the CO2 pumps are defective.

I also hear that dogs HATE frame pumps.:D

Michael Barry, newbie.

Originally posted by Hants Commuter
Ok I get to say this cos I've got something to put all this in but I've also been in the very embarrassing situation of my frame mounted pump breaking when I was trying to blow up a tyre.
That's a good point. You can have problems with pumps, too. Here're some points to keep in mind if you use a frame pump.
Frame pump technique: When inflating the tire, support the pump head against a solid surface (fencepost, rock, etc.)... that is, don't push against the valve stem... you can break it off or damage the tube where the stem enters. And be careful when you remove the pump from the stem... same reason.
Make sure your pump is in working order: Once or twice a season, deflate your tire and pump it up to ride pressure with your frame pump. If you can't, repair or replace the pump. Once a year you should squirt a little silicone lubricant on a paper towel and run it up and down the inside of the pump barrel with a coat hanger or something. Wipe out the excess.
Be sure to get a frame pump that will allow you to actually inflate your tire to 100-120 psi. Some mini-pumps won't. Also, frame pumps that let you disable the spring-loaded head (that hold it in your frame) are easiest to use... Zefal HP-X or Topeak Road Master Blaster are two I know of off-hand that meet both criteria.

Another one from the "don't ask me how I know this" file.

Originally posted by roadbuzz

Once a year you should squirt a little silicone lubricant on a paper towel and run it up and down the inside of the pump barrel with a coat hanger or something. Wipe out the excess.
. KY Jelly works about as good in a pinch.

Originally posted by Raiyn
KY Jelly works about as good in a pinch.

I assume this is also from the "don't ask how I know this" file.

Originally posted by Raiyn
KY Jelly works about as good in a pinch.
That's, um, thinking outside the box.

Originally posted by roadbuzz

That's, um, thinking outside the box.
Good one Buzz! :D

Originally posted by SteveE

Complete and utter BS! To the contrary, a pump will mark you as a grizzled veteran with many years of cycling under your belt.

In fact, carrying a full-size frame-fit pump, such as a Blackburn, a Zefal HP-X, or a Campag.-headed Silca Impero (preferably colour-coordinated with your frame), really marks you as a veteran.

OMG, I've got both the Zefal HP-X and a color-coordinated Silca frame pump! And I've got that grizzled look! :D

Wow I have that grizzled look too, especially my beard! I just got the frame pump. Don't tell anyone I have just started this road bike scene last summer.;)

I am my town's bike guro and I like my pump very well.

Lose the local bike guru and keep the pump.

KY Jelly works about as good in a pinch.

Just FYI, KY Jelly is NOT Kentucky Jelly and Does NOT taste good on Toast. Also, it is water based and will break down if rinsed off.

When I occasionally rebuild my pump, I squirt some PB blaster on the O-Rings to soften them up. I clean off, and use some light grease to rebuild them. Regular Petroleum (Vasoline) can work in a pinch, but you'll get strange looks from your friends if they see your can of Vasoline in your toolbox.

L8R

pump.

You can help out another cyclist when they run out of co2 cartridges.

My second time ever riding a trail (with my not-so-tough candy blue Expedition), these three guys come towards me (from the wrong direction, I believe) and my friend. They were all dressed up in the color coordinated gear with logos, etc. Super nice bikes. The friend I was with got kinda bug eyed because apparently one of the guys was a (locally?) famous cyclist. I don't know anything about kind of thing and don't care. Well they need to use my pump!! After they're gone, my friend keeps telling me about the guy who's 'really really fast' and all I can think is "And none of them had a pump???" So, yup, keep the pump :D

Keep the pump.

I have helped a lot of cyclist "pump" up their tires because they used up or made a mistake with their CO2.

Blake

if you are going to toss the pump you might as well give it to me:p

keep the pump, simply because the guru told you you're a 'newbie'

(next thing you know you'll pass him while he's walking his bike home with a flat ;))

Keep the pump!!! :beer:

Originally posted by trmcgeehan
I carry a little portable pump on my bike, but our town's local bike guru says this marks me as a "newby." He says all I really need is one of those little CO-2 bottles you can buy from the bike catalogs for a few bucks each. This saves weight and space, he says, and gets the repaired tire up to 90 psi in an instant. Alot better than pumping your heart out for 5-10 minutes. Any thoughts on this? Should I do this? Or, should I be ultra-conservative and carry a pump and a CO-2?
I like my CO2 pump. But I never buy CO2 from the LBS. I can get 4 for the price of 1 wherever BB-guns are sold. Of course, I use 12 gram unthreaded type CO2. In my book, a "newbie" is one who pays $2.00 apiece for these. ;)

I dislike my frame pump, but I can use it for starting a tube; if necessary, I can pump it all the way, but I'm such a klutz I risk
weakening the seal around my valve stem and getting a slow leak.

Pump and CO2 and 4 or 5 cartridges
if keeping a frame pump people will call you a newbie, I am a newbie with 40 years of biking behind me, but then I have to have my CO 2 and about 4 cartridges with me coz, I don't want to waste my time pumping air into my tire tube, I also carry a Pump on my frame and my Co 2 and 4 cartridges , just in case I encounter multiple flats in one ride

It all depends on the type of riding I'm doing. If I expect to be far away from civilisation or possible assistance such as when I'm out on the trails mountain biking or attempting an unsupported century far from towns then I'll usually carry a pump. I always use a pump in lieu of CO2 catridges when MTBing... I learned a long time ago not to rely on CO2 cartridges for MTB tyres. If I'm going to be seeing lots of gas stations and shops along my route or on a fully supported ride then I'll leave the pump at home (or in a gear bag in the SAG wagon/truck - actually I will throw the full size floor pump in the gear bag instead of the minipump) and go for the minimalist approach. My road bike has an SKS Airgun CO2 with an extra cartridge and if it's a supported long-distance ride I'll also carry another spare cartridge in my little saddlepack. Either way, I keep one of those presta-schraeder valve converters with me just in case I run out of cartridges and need to use a gas station pump (yes you have to be careful with gas station air pumps).

I generally keep my minipump in my Camelbak so my rule of thumb seems to be if I feel I need the extra water carrying capacity (implies wandering away from convenient help) aside from my two water bottles then I'll be prepared with a pump too.