All is vanity saddlebag
 

I've always used CO2 instead of a frame pump. I might claim that CO2 is quicker or lighter than a pump, but the real reason for pump avoidance is that a frame pump clutters the bike's appearance.

CO2 only has been okay for my half-bike. It works most of the time, I'm more often riding with a group, and if I ever really get in a fix, Mrs. R can be called (and has) to bail me out.

Riding pumpless doesn't work so well on a tandem, however. We ride with a group less often, and if I'm stranded and call Mrs. R, the stoker's phone rings, and we are still stuck.

So my dilemma has been irreconcilable and equal demands of necessity and vanity.

Could I get devise a solution to this conundrum? Could I carry a pump stealth, hidden in a trim saddle bag? That is what I discuss below.

The story begins with the saddle. Mrs. R's saddle is the Fizik Vesta. She finds it supremely comfortable (which could not be said for the Specialized Ruby it replaced). A neat feature with Fizik saddles is their Integrated Clip System (ICS) , so that the saddle bag clips in to a receptacle under the saddle, eliminating unsightly straps.

Fizik makes a small and medium sized ICS saddle bag, but since All Is Vanity™, only the small one will do. Thus the Fizik ICS Saddle Pack - Small. It is very clean looking, suspended under the rear of the saddle. At 88 grams it isn't particularly light, but did I mention it has no unsightly straps?

http://www.probikekit.com/_img_200x256/A0695.jpg

Since the pump cannot go on the frame, it has to fit within the Fizik saddle bag, with its internal length of about 110 mm. Most compact pumps are too long, e.g. the popular carbon 55 gram, 210 mm Topeak Rocket Micro Pump. Undaunted, I continued my search for a midget pump. Happily, I found that the indispensable PBK has a 99 mm pump, the 60 gram Airbone Supernova Anodised Pocket Pump, which fits easily in the saddlebag. Airbone is a no-name Taiwanese company. There is nothing special about the pump save for it being <100 mm. Airbone has other pumps that are longer, for example, 120 mm. They also have a carbon pump, one of which of course I ordered, but it is heavier and thicker than the aluminum (so I feel like a fool for ordering it).

http://www.probikekit.com/_img_200x256/A0992-B.jpg

Can a pump this small actually do anything? Pumping vigorously for about 5 minutes will yield 70 psi. This is enough to continue the ride, but is not ideal.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1136/...eb0652ce9c.jpg

To bring the pressure up to normal, a CO2 cartridge is needed. Since the pump is good for the initial 60-70 psi in the tire, a smaller 12 gram, rather than 16 gram, cartridge is sufficient to obtain 120 psi.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/...2d4f7217a7.jpg

Because I have a pump, I only need to carry one cartridge. If the cartridge is expended and I have a second flat tire, I can get by with the 70 psi pump-inflated tire until I obtain access to additional CO2, or a higher pressure pump.

A CO2 cartridge needs an inflator, and the weight weenie choice is the Lezyne Speed Drive, which is as light (5 grams) as it is diminutive. Reviews are mixed, but it has worked for me in the field. It gets very cold when inflating, but it inflates hands free.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg
Lezyne makes good stuff, including the 16 gram and compact Matrix Lever Tyre Levers.
http://www.probikekit.com/_img_200x256/A0350.jpg
I've only got room for one spare tube, and so I need a patch kit as well in case I get a second flat (figuring that one of the two flats is patchable). The 3 gram Park Tool Super Patch Kit is small (but I cannot vouch that these work as well as conventional glue patches).

http://www.parktool.com/uploads/thum...b1_430x390.jpg

I figured I better have a multitool, and one of the smallest/lightest is the titanium Lezyne Carbon 4, which has a Phillips, and a 4, 5, & 6mm Hex keys. A Carbon 5 has a 3mm Hex as well, which I didn't need. It is advertised as weighing 40 grams, but sad to say, it weighs 52 grams. It is very compact, though, and does work just fine.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

Lastly, an extra tube, and since I have ENVE clincher 65 mm rims, I need an 80 mm valve stem to avoid having valve extenders (which invariably leak). The only tube with a sufficiently long valve stem is the 88 gram Bontrager 700cx18-23 80mm. I also have to carry a valve extender, in case I have to use a shorter valved tube.

So, if I gather all this up, and put it on a scale, it looks like this:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/...7be13eb493.jpg

Put these items in the 88 gram Fizik saddle bag like a cornucopia, and it looks like this:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1104/...5e5048c621.jpg

I've learned that posts on the BF are limited to 10 images. I hadn't known that. Here is the 11th, with the Fizik saddle bag suspended gracefully under the Vesta saddle, harboring all the stuff I'll need.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/...0f11310b39.jpg

It seems like you're going through a lot of trouble for just appearance, but to each his own. I like my Zelfal frame pump I find its longer length much easier to use than the shorter pump on my single bike. On our Burley there is a "pointy thing" on the frame for the pump to mount, if we didn't have the Zelfal then our frame would look like its missing something.

As for carrying extra tube, tools, etc. we use our 5th bottle cage to carry a "tool capsule" which has a tiny patch kit (made in Germany), extra tube, tire levers, 3 hex keys (much smaller than a multi-tool), nylon wire ties, and a latex glove for chain wrangling.

I can appreciate the vanity thing, I could still benefit from therapy.

So, I gotta ask... Ref. your last photo, if the pump is clutter, what category does the tail light's battery sitting on the stoker's top tube fall into, never mind the bulky wiring, and light?

As for the seat pack, it's certainly compact, but the retention clip seems to stick it out there and make it more eye-catching than if the same size pack were simply strapped directly to the seat rails and tucked under the saddle... Hanging out there on the clip, I've got to think that it's total mass and the stuff moving around inside of it will introduce an on-board source of vibration for at least your stoker. Again, if were tucked up under the saddle with a toe strap or velcro strap, it's mass would be attenuated right at the saddle and the contents would also be isolated from movement.

Just my .02

I too carry only a CO2 in my single bike's pack. When I got my latest tandem, I moved my trusty old Zefal from the old Burley bottom tube. The Santana had no pump bosses, so I searched and found that Zefal used to sell a plastic clip that could accommidate large tubes. My LBS, known for having NOS stuff from the era of the flood, actually had one of these clips. They also threw in a used clip that had it's lead clipped for a smaller tube. If I eventually break the large clip, I can relocate the pump to the diagonal tube. Of course, because I have the pump with me, I have never needed it!
I have 700c x 28 gatorskins and wondered, but never experimented...Why would the CO2 not be sufficient if one were to use more than one cylinder?

We ride 700 x 28s. I didn't think that a 12 gm or 16 gm CO2 cartridge could air these up to 100 psi (I don't really know this). We use a frame mounted Topeak Road Morph pump with a gauge. Even with the ergonomic features of this pump, it still takes a lot of effort to get a tire up to 100 psi. Trying to do this with a little pump would add an upper body workout to the lower body workout of cycling.

When we first got the bike, I was really concerned about appearence. The bike still looks OK but I don't pay much attention to appearence anymore.

I used to carry CO2 only. After getting stranded because of operator error which lead to using all 3 cannisters, I have changed over to carrying a pump. You never run out of fresh air. On my recumbent, I carry a Topeak Road Morph in my seat bag. On the tandem, I don't want to carry this bulky pump. I have decided to go with the Lezyne Road Drive pump that integrates nicely with the functional and attractive Lezyne bottle cage......

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...C2XPg_bqIIYhI=

i carry 2 tubes, 2 large c02 canisters, 1 inflator head, 1 park glue-on tire patch, 1 park glue-on tube patch, 2 tire levers and a few spare bucks in this, the arundel dual:

http://www.arundelbike.com/dual.html?p=1.1.2.1

best seat pack ever, no thigh rub (narrow profile), well made, super sturdy mount, looks great, inexpensive.

(p.s. i've busted one of those fizik ics clip-based seat bags.)

I also use the Lezyne road drive, but use the standard mounting bracket on my spare water bottle mount on the front seat tube.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=175864

It's very light, nicely made, and works well for its weight. Like you I carry 12g CO2 and only use the pump as a supplement to the CO2.

I recently got a Lezyne glueless patch kit and tried it the other day and it seems to work well. The Park glueless patches don't in my experience.

It seems everything Lezyne makes is good stuff.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=175865

I don't find straps on saddle bags to be unsightly and it makes it possible to swap bags between different bikes.

I run the stash bottles on the boom tube.

- keeps the added weight as low to the ground as possible

I use two of them
First one: Fits my mini pump (details under the pic), 2 tubes, tire lever, and glue style patch kit I keep all of this but the pump in a plastic baggie for easy transfer to another seat pack if needed.
Second: Fits my multi-tool (details also below), a wet nap, Cell phone, IDs, money, etc..

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_F1g1yzQs0OQ/TL...2/DSC_0166.JPG

Here is my pump, a Quicker Pro
http://www.quickex.com/200-143-quicker_pro.htm

http://www.quickex.dana1.se/data/ima...202_xsmall.jpg

The pump can get my tire to over 100 psi without taking that long, and at 160g, it's lighter than carrying 2 CO2s and an inflator. It doesn't have recurring costs, it never runs out and you have less of an environmental impact (metal for cartidges, manufacturing process, supply chain energy, etc). It just barely fits into the stash bottle (they are both 7.5" long).

The stash bottles are the 7.5" model from SOMA Fab:
http://www.somafab.com/stashbottle.html

I carry a very light Lezyne multi tool (includes chain popper)

Also, I use these levers.. love them:
http://www.somafab.com/tirelevers.html

A couple of my friends have the Lezyne polished looking pumps. Very nice looking in person!

Needless clutter and nuisance! That DiNotte 300R taillight with the integrated battery sorely tempts me.


I also purchased some Lezyne patches, and based on a flat I got yesterday, I agree that they work better than the Park's.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1252/...c3d11ed237.jpg


With the Everest Challenge decal, you can have any type of pump on your frame that you want!

The heck with vanity!!!
Looks will only get you so far . . .
While our tandem is not 'junked up' we do carry our Topeak Mt. Morph on top of our boobtube on a glued-on pump bracket.

Carry patch kit/tube/etc in small wide mouth water bottle on downtube; and oh, yeah, we usually carry a trunk bag on our c/f rear carrier. We quite often stop in grocery store and buy necessities and just load 'em up; saves us from firing up the car.
We are long past vanity/speed after 35+ years of tandeming TWOgether.
Whatever makes you go . . . do it!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

We think the Lezyne micro floor drive HPG looks good on the bike. And it makes us very popular at puncture parties when the fizz has evaporated from the CO2 contingent. (the rubber chicken is strictly a vanity item with unproven effects on tandem performance).