Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Co2 inflator question

Knock on wood--I have yet to have a flat while too far from home/vehicle to walk back. While outfitting my seat pack, I opted for a Co2 inflator instead of carrying a pump. How many psi can I expect from a single Co2 cartidge? Is one cartridge (per flat) enough, or does a flat take two cartrides? My tires are 700c X 25 on the road bike, and 26" X 1.95 on the Mtb bike. 100 psi and 60 psi respectivly.

Thanks

I use a pump as I have seen too many failures with the Co2's.
Carry three, They can go 120 psi on a 700 x 23 tire.

I use a pump as I have seen too many failures with the Co2's.
Carry three, They can go 120 psi on a 700 x 23 tire.

Thanks for the advise.
Are you one of the many Topeak Morph fans here?

I carry and use a Hurricane Mini Pump. I has been fine for 20 road flats.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=17002&subcategory_ID=4361

I use a pump as I have seen too many failures with the Co2's.
Carry three, They can go 120 psi on a 700 x 23 tire.

Yeah, it's one of those things, isn't it, all the guys who turn their nose up at your steel bike with the rack on the back, the 36 spoke wheels and the pump, while they have their unobtainum frames, their 1 spoke wheels, and their CO2. Who becomes their bestest friend ever when the CO2 inflator decides that the atmosphere is a much better place for the contents of their last cartridge then the inside of their 21mm wide tire?

Yeah, exactly.....

Knock on wood--I have yet to have a flat while too far from home/vehicle to walk back. While outfitting my seat pack, I opted for a Co2 inflator instead of carrying a pump. How many psi can I expect from a single Co2 cartidge? Is one cartridge (per flat) enough, or does a flat take two cartrides? My tires are 700c X 25 on the road bike, and 26" X 1.95 on the Mtb bike. 100 psi and 60 psi respectivly.

My advise would be to let the air out of your tires and give the Co2 cartridges a test-run to see how they do. As others have intimated: some Co2 inflators make it all too easy to blow the majority of the gas back into the atmosphere rather than into your tire. Better to learn this in your garage rather than on the side of the road! Even if you carry Co2 for convenience, it's not a bad idea to carry a pump as a back-up. Unlike cartridges, the Topeak Road Morph never runs out of air...

Well crap. Sounds like I better be looking for a pump.

I carry both. I use my pump to get a few lbs in and then use the CO2 to finish it off. A case of paint ball cartridges is uber cheap and works just fine if you have a threadless inflator body.

Used to carry a Topeak Road morph--awesome pump--until I lost it. Not as easy as a floor pump, but best frame pump out there. Carried it in my back pocket.

Now I carry CO2. I get the cartridges at Wal-Mart: $10 for package of 12 vs. $4.50ea at LBS. Never had any problems with them (contrary to FUD you'll hear). I'm sure I could. But I've also had rusted frame pumps or broken seals as well. Everything breaks eventually.

A 12g will fill my 700x23s to about 100psi. Certainly enough to get home. Your 700x25s? Probably only to about 75-80psi I would guess. Since you also do MTB wheels, I'd recommend you only carry 16g cartridges. I do not know if Wal-Mart carries them (I've never seen them on the shelf at mine).

I just used my co2 inflator this morning and it worked just fine, as it has worked just fine all the other times I have had to use it.

That being said, if you aren't an organized person and forget to replace spent cartridges or get an unusually high number of flats, then yes, it won't help. It took me two flats with a cheap frame pump to realize I wanted to go the co2 route. Hasn't been a problem for me.

just get a road morph and fagetabotit :O)

I'm a big fan of the co2 inflators! I use the 16 gram threaded usually, which will inflate my 23mm presta or 28mm schraeder tires as hard as I want. I do carry one more co2 cartridge than how ever many spare tubes I'm carrying, though I've never needed it (knock on wood). I've never had to borrow a pump. I have had pump users borrow my co2 before they wore themselves out pumping. My c02 inflator is a Genuine Innovations Ultraflate Plus.

I use the Genuine Microflate Nano with 16g threaded cartridge for my 700x25's. I've never had a problem in over 5 years. It's the only thing I carry. I've seen people with problems with all the fancy units, go simple.

AHHHHHHH!!!!! Don't you all know! Co2 is heavier than air!!!! Stay away!!!! :lol:

The other problem with CO2 is that the molecules are small. I can fill up a tube with it and it'll be soft a few hours later.

So I carry both. CO2 and a RoadMorph frame pump.

If you're positive that you won't get more flats than you carry cartridges, then use a CO2 inflator and carry a couple spares.

What are the road hazards like around Wichita? If you're on mostly decent roads and ride a flat-resistant tire, then you can get away with the CO2.
If you live in goat-head thorn country and ride on super high pressure narrow, lightweight racing tires... maybe a pump is a better option.

I like the CO2 cartridges myself. I agree with the advice to take more than you need for the extra tubes you're carrying. To clarify, I don't carry a patch kit, just extra tubes. 1 or 2 depending on the length of ride. And I only carry 12 gram CO2 because it is so much cheaper to buy the air gun type than it is to buy the bike specific at the lbs. It might actually be a good idea to get a frame pump and patch kit just in case...maybe I'll do that, now that I think about it.

I like the CO2 cartridges myself. I agree with the advice to take more than you need for the extra tubes you're carrying. To clarify, I don't carry a patch kit, just extra tubes. 1 or 2 depending on the length of ride. And I only carry 12 gram CO2 because it is so much cheaper to buy the air gun type than it is to buy the bike specific at the lbs. It might actually be a good idea to get a frame pump and patch kit just in case...maybe I'll do that, now that I think about it.

I carry 2 tubes and a patch kit with 5 CO2 cartridges. I do a number of double centuries every year and I think I remember only twice that I used more than 1 on a ride and that was my fault. I figure if I use 2 tubes and patch tubes 3 more times, total of 5 flats for the ride, it's time to go home. I got tired of trying to pump tires along side the road, for me it's faster to use the CO2. I haven't had my tires go soft during a ride, I run mine at 100 psi anyway, doing doubles I'm on the road a number of hours. I have noticed the next day they are down a few pounds, that's why I have a floor pump at home.

hm.. I actually have two mounts on my commuter/brevet bike for road morph-Gs. On my 400k I carried both because I have had problems once with a downpour, a worn pump head and a very pesky presta valve. Mind you I actually had _two_ spare _tires_, 4 spare tubes and two seperate patch kits so I definately overpack sometimes. Both front and back tires are the same size just wanted to be safe on a 250 mile unsupported in the middle of no where ride because I have blown sidewalls out :(

Never timed it but it always takes alot longer for me to get the tire patched or tube changed then to pump up the tube once it is all on.

I figure if I use 2 tubes and patch tubes 3 more times, total of 5 flats for the ride, it's time to go home.

It's not time to go home until you've finished, or they've carted your body off the course! 5 flats during a double means it's time to get better tires. I was amazed yesterday to see how many people were getting flats, and I think many were because people were riding lighter, thinner tires since it was only a 100k.




hm.. I actually have two mounts on my commuter/brevet bike for road morph-Gs. On my 400k I carried both because I have had problems once with a downpour, a worn pump head and a very pesky presta valve. Mind you I actually had _two_ spare _tires_, 4 spare tubes and two seperate patch kits so I definately overpack sometimes. Both front and back tires are the same size just wanted to be safe on a 250 mile unsupported in the middle of no where ride because I have blown sidewalls out :(

1 spare tire, 2 spare tubes, 1 full patch kit (for me that's 6 Park self-stickies) and 2 steel levers. And only 1 pump, because last time I checked, even the worst SiR course doesn't route through Thunderdome. :lol:

1 spare tire, 2 spare tubes, 1 full patch kit (for me that's 6 Park self-stickies) and 2 steel levers. And only 1 pump, because last time I checked, even the worst SiR course doesn't route through Thunderdome. :lol:

I was able to use one of the pumps to help some kid who had a flat on his bmx so I had to change it to schrader. I'm not sure but I might have left it that way. So you could say I carry one for my tires and the other for my air zounds. With all those mad packs of dogs who always always live halfway up a billion foot climb I can refil it at the controls without taking the head apart and swapping it out. Think of all the time I'll save and I'll have a backup in case the other one goes too ;)

Thanks for the advise.
Are you one of the many Topeak Morph fans here?

I am a morph fan. CO2 seems like a waste for anything but a race or a group ride.

I carry both and they come in handy. I used the CO2 tonight on my group ride when a guy got a flat and did not have his stuff with him. Did not check before he left. Bad rider, smacks nose. I'm also a morph fan.

It's not time to go home until you've finished, or they've carted your body off the course! 5 flats during a double means it's time to get better tires. I was amazed yesterday to see how many people were getting flats, and I think many were because people were riding lighter, thinner tires since it was only a 100k.

Oh I don't know about that. Let's see when I was coughing up blood while doing an extended climb, I think it was time to go home. They were close to carting my body off the course. The most flats I've ever had on a double is 2, that's why I said it's time to go home. I think if I had 5 flats during a ride it wouldn't be a pretty thing out there on the road. I can count on one hand the number of flats I've had on organized rides. You're right if you run good tires, it's likely you won't have flats.

My Road Morph just fell apart on me and I had to buy new parts for the head. Fortunately I realized this at home after I tried to figure out why the head kept hitting me on the knee. I don't like it as much as I did considering the cost per use has gone up considerably now. Topeak probably should have mailed me the 25 cents worth of parts for free instead of charging me $10. Not recommending that pump to anyone any more, I was pushing it to anyone that asked me. I'm going to keep it on my commuter from now on. I went out and bought a combo co2/pump for the bike I put all the miles on.

Topeak probably should have mailed me the 25 cents worth of parts for free instead of charging me $10.

Did you ask them to? The head on my Joe Blow Pro pump broke last month. I called Topeak's support line (their online system doesn't work), told them the pump was broken, and asked them to send me the parts. I didn't have my receipt handy, so they asked me to pay for shipping ($3-4). If I'd had the receipt I suspect everything would have been free.

My Road Morph just fell apart on me and I had to buy new parts for the head. Fortunately I realized this at home after I tried to figure out why the head kept hitting me on the knee. I don't like it as much as I did considering the cost per use has gone up considerably now. Topeak probably should have mailed me the 25 cents worth of parts for free instead of charging me $10. Not recommending that pump to anyone any more, I was pushing it to anyone that asked me. I'm going to keep it on my commuter from now on. I went out and bought a combo co2/pump for the bike I put all the miles on.

I had the mount get dammaged and they sent me one at no charge to me. Maybe they are now starting to charge for shipping, but my past experiences with them are excellent.

I love the Road Morph G... not guessing as to how much air is in the tire. My road bike and hybrid have presta valves. My floor pump doesn't support presta and I just hate using those silly screw on pieces. I have therefore used the Road Morph as my primary pump for nearly two years! Great pump. I've put it to a few uses. So far 4 flats in two years. With the cost of CO2 cartidges, that can rack up pretty quickly.

Happy riding,
André

i have never had problems with my 16g cartridges for mtb or road applications...i have seen a few people tear a valve off with a frame pump...and even when they work, they grin up at everyone waiting for them while they pump, sheepishly smiling while everyone waits, most people take me up on my offer to co2 it for them...

as others have mentioned better tires make this easier to handle, but i carry 2 tubes and 3 carts and it has always worked out for me, and i get complimented for short tube repair times. :)

I have had a frame pump, a Road Morph and now a Co2 inflator. I am very happy with the Co2. One 16g threaded cartridge will you get you to 120 psi and it will last for the your entire ride. Drain your tire when you get home and fill it back up with a floor pump.

for long rides and commuting I carry both. on my single speed that I use around town I often just carry Co2 .

back up is a good thing. Ive had 3 flats in a day when I carried ony Co2 (2 16gr) good thing I was only 2 mile from home on my last flat.

Ive also come across people on the MUP who had flats and no inflation device/fix it stuff of their Co2 failed. so im always ready.

as like many others I use a mini pump to get the tire to 40- 60LB +- and then top off with Co2, this practice may change , I just bought a Quicker pro pump (velo orange has them) and Im pleased to say that I can get my tire (28cm) up to 100psi + in a pretty short time without puliing any muscles. Co2 may only be a back up now, but ill still carry it just in case or im in a rush.

"John"