Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
The alternative is CO2. You have to have good tire installation practices to be consistently successful with CO2. The good news is CO2 is fast. Once you're ready, you can inflate a road tire to full pressure in only a second or so. To give my inner tube shape before installation, I partially inflate it with my mouth. Then I install the tire and check both beads all the way around to be sure the inner tube isn't caught under one of them. Only then do I use the CO2 which, as I said only takes about a second. You don't get a second chance with CO2 so you have to get everything right the first time.
That's actually one of the advantages of the knob style CO2 inflators like the Red Zeppelin / Shiny Object. The knob gives you control over the rate the cartridge discharges. You can barely fill the tube (just like you would with a hand pump) and check if the tire is properly mounted. Once you are confident it is you can let the rest of the CO2 in. I usually discharge it a little slower, taking about 10-15 seconds, as it is a little easier on the hands since the cartridge doesn't cool down as much.
One other thing, if you use threaded CO2 cartridges put a couple of wraps of tape or a piece of tubing on the threads. This will help prevent the cartridge from rubbing thru your spare tube (guess how I discovered that one...) or abrading anything else in your pack, like your multi tool or the pack itself. I usually use the "clean release" masking tape so no residue is left in the threads.