Originally Posted by misskaz

Today I got a flat on the way in to work. (Pinch flat, back tire.) I had a tube and my tools, but no pump. Walked about a mile to the nearest bike shop, but they didn't have their air hose out. Luckily there were staff there already (this was like 7:00am, they don't open til 10) and they saw me looking dejected and put the hose out for me.

Then, as I was finishing up putting the new tube on, a woman rode up on a hybrid and started to fill her rear tire. And kept filling. And filling. And just as I started thinking "I should tell her to stop" and before I could transfer that thought from brain to mouth, her tube exploded. Sounded like a ****ing gun shot, man. Then she just sat there, rubbing her ears (mine were ringing too) and started complaining about how she's gotten 3 flats in the last 6 months. And I'm standing there, clearly holding a wheel with a flat tire in my hand. I felt bad for her so I didn't want to be like, "dammit, move" but she was just sitting there in front of the air hose.

Finally she got up and rolled her bike to a rack to lock it up, and I got to fill up my tire (but not too much).

I think on my way home when I pick up a new tube (I HATE riding without a spare) I might also get a CO2 inflator and cartridges. I've also been wondering if I could put bigger tires on my bike, but I'm not sure I have the clearance for it. My super skinny high pressure tires really are murder on poorly maintained city streets, and when I run them at lower pressure, I get pinch flats.