Once again, as I swing my leg over a bike with a freshly repaired flat tire, I wonder why I ever try CO2 inflators.

This flat happened, as they like to, at night. I left the bar, said goodbye to my friend, unlocked my bike, and confirmed that the curiously soft tire noticed on the ride over had matured into a sad limp tire casing and a rim sitting at sidewalk level. Sigh. Take off the backpack, pull out the bag of fix-it stuff.

This is my roadie bike, so it travels with a minimalist kit. A single tool, two levers, one tube, one CO2 cartridge, and an inflator head that I must have chosen because it weighed 5 grams less than its peers. Five minutes later, I'm holding a freezing cold cartridge, a bag with no more cartridges, and a not-fully-inflated tire. So I rode a slightly soft tire home, praying for no second flat. And in the dark I rode through a puddle of glass, and prayed even harder the rest oft the way home.

If a single cartridge won't fully inflate a 25 mm tire, then I should carry two. Then I'll be prepared for a single flat. Only one. A second flat will leave me calling the wife.

Yet two cartridges don't weigh substantially less than a mini pump, which will happily inflate tire after tire, with only a patch or two needed.

Why do I keep being seduced by 40 grams less and nothing sticking out of my jersey pocket?

Because you feed on the marketing of the last 20 years I only have a couple of bikes which don't allow a Zefal HPX or mini pump to be mounted. these couple of other bikes don't get much use and don't travel far from the home/car. Take your own advice and carry a second Co2 cartridge or a pump. You'll find that friends use them too. BTW your tires are some of the issue many times. Andy.

Because it's faster. First flat gets a fresh tube and CO2. 5 min max. Second and subsequent flats get a patch and the frame pump. I'm already late at this point.

Yes a mini-pump will inflate a 23 or 25 tire to moderate pressure but takes 200 or more strokes to get there and, unless you have a road Morph or one of the Lezyne pumps with a hose connection, you stand a decent chance of snapping off the valve stem.

I carry both a mini-pump and a couple of 12 gm CO2 cartridges. I use the mini-pump to get the newly installed tube to 25 or so psi which makes sure it's seated right and holds air. Then one CO2 cartridge gets the tire to about 100 psi which is fine. Modest pumping time and full pressure without the endless strokes of the pump alone. The combination weighs significantly less than an HPX I used to carry and 12 gm unthreaded CO2 cartridges are very cheap if bought at a big box store.

I'm old school and adhere to the old school formula that every bike has a pump, and spare tire (tubulars) or tube. Nobody I know moves a spare tire and jack back and forth among their various cars, yet these same people will own only a single pump for their 3-7 bikes.

But being old school doesn't mean I'm not also a bit lazy, so my commuter bike has a CO2 inflator in the bag and a pump on the frame. When fixing a flat, I use the pump first to take the tire up to "inspection pressure". Once I confirm the tire is properly seated to my satisfaction, I'll use the CO2 to finish the job and bring it to full riding pressure. This saves me time and effort, but bypasses some of the drawbacks of CO2 inflators.

I am Old..Co2 on a hot day is fine with me.

If you are fond of classic stuff you can get a nice old Silca Impero or Zefal pump. It'll weigh more but it won't matter because they are so cool. ;-)

on on my modern bikes, I prefer the bigger Lezyne models that have the hose attachment.

Buy the 20 gram CO2 cartridges. I heard those things can inflate a car tire.

I carry one 20 gram cartridge, a small scab patch kit (not much bigger than a postage stamp), a large freezer/Ziploc bag, and one tube. When I change a tire I put the old tube in the freezer bag. If I have a 2nd flat I double my chances of having a patchable tube (by keeping the old tube) and I'll still have enough CO2 to get by.

I use CO2, at least on one bike, but not because of weight. My 53 cm road bike with a sloping top tube doesn't have a convenient place to mount a pump -- not even something on the smaller side like a Topeak Mini Morph. (I've tried.) I keep a Genuine Innovations Air Chuck Elite CO2 inflator in that bike's saddle bag and it's served me well. One 16 gram cartridge fills one 23-25 mm tire reliably. On rides under 30 miles, I tend to carry two cartridges in case I get two flats or I botch an inflation -- which thankfully hasn't happened yet. More distance, add another cartridge.

The Topeak Race Rocket HP may be the cheapest (mine cost around $20-$25 and was basically free after discounts for a Nashbar bulk order), smallest and lightest (82 gr) useful pump with a hose that can fit Schrader or Presta with a simple adjustment. While not ideal for my bike's 700x40 Michelin Protek Cross Max tires it's not bad for pumping up to a usable pressure, around 40-50 psi (max is just over 80 and Michelin recommends 76 psi for my weight).

I prefer it over my Nashbar Earl Grey floor pump for getting tires up to 20 psi, because it's easier to pump a few strokes, check the bead to be sure everything's settled, and so on, while leaving the pump attached to the valve without undue stress. And it bleeds off less air per attachment/detachment than the clumsy clamp fitting on the floor pump.

Even if you prefer CO2 for convenience, what's a couple of ounces between frames?

I have the lezyne pressure drive and it comes with a bottle cage mount (fits under your bottle cage) which goes on the non drive side, making it still aesthetically pleasing from the drive side. I've tried CO2 but prefer to be covered for multiple punctures. I was stuck 15 km away from home once when two tubes punctured and had to walk uphill in cleats, told myself never again.

Maybe add some Slime to the tube to make this happen less often?

I just look at this as a matter of priorities. Air in the tires? About as important as next two most important aspects of cycling. Something that important calls for a good means of keeping it in good working order. Good frame pumps fit that bill rather nicely. (I lived 15 years in apartments never feeling like a floor pump was a good investment and only used my frame pumps.)

So for me: every bike gets a real frame pump. Bikes that cannot carry one are bikes that are a compromise at that #1 priority; fine for those who ride with support personnel and follow cars. (Ie pros.) I'll pass. Maybe if I rode with groups a large percent of the time I would consider CO2 but I don't and won't. (If group time spent waiting for flats is important, mini pumps should be banned.)

Ben

are the foam type tyre repair cans any good?

I sometimes use CO2 to fix a flat on the road, but I only carry a mini-pump. The CO2 is offered, rather insistently at times, by others on the group ride.

Are you using 16mg cartridges? 12mg will not do it. 16mg will fill the tire.

I ditched the CO2 many moons ago. The Topeak Mini Morph does the job quite well.

The problem is that you are worried about an extra 5 grams. Why worry about weight if it means you may walk home? I carry at least 4 co2 cartridges at all times. They are primarily for me, but maybe to help some one else. I also carry mini pump as back up.

I used to install my mini pumps under the bottle cage on the non drive side until I realized that when you have a roadside flat you always lay the bike down on it's non drive side. That made getting to and replacing the pump awkward, particularly since all of my pump brackets have a Velcro security strap. So, I sacrificed aesthetics for convenience and put the pumps on the drive side.

Am I reading this right? All these bikes, so much (?) experience.. and you don't carry a pump!
Or am I reading an article submitted , and rejected from Readers Digest, because old bikers are smarter than this.
Leave the CO2 for the young ones.

I carry CO2 but objectively I use it more as a superstitious talisman than for utility because I always use the hand pump. I think 2012 or 2013 was the last time I used the cartridge.

I used to carry two, but really who needs two of the same charm? It doesn't make sense and I've since lightened my load to just one CO2 cartridge.

I upgraded last year to a Topeak Road Morph G pump, for all the convenience of CO2, I'm not willing to take the chance on not being able to fix a second (or third) flat. In my experience of on road flats this year, the road morph takes maybe an extra 5 minutes to inflate a tire, but everybody knows how to use a pump, not everybody practices using their CO2 inflator, so they spend 5 minutes figuring out how to use it for the first time. They might be carrying a little less weight, might look a little less "Fred", but 3 out of 3 CO2 users have borrowed my pump...

I had a frame pump fail once in 25 years. So I carry a CO2 cartridge, but have never needed to use it. I feel better having it, and if I am ever riding with a group or "for a time" I will use the CO2, and hope the cartridge is still good.

I'm in the same camp as 79pmooney. Every bike gets a frame pump as well as its own saddlebag with multitool, patch kit, and levers. I don't move pumps from bike to bike between rides.

I'll take reusable over disposable anyday (except maybe for some healt care issues, etc.), that applies to inflating tires too.