first tire blowout today.

fun. sort of.... really. have always been apprehensive about flatting. images of endo's and crashing come to mind, etc. no problems to report. just loud pop and hiss and slowed to a stop. completely under control at all times. for a few moments thought I was imagining it and almost continued on. nope definitely flat.

broke out kit. removed old tube. put in folded dollar bills to cover holes in tire. filled new tube with CO2 cartridge. bummer.... forgot to make sure BOTH edges of tire are in the rim. tube ballooned out of course. only had the one CO2 cart. double bummer. fortunately I was a mile or so away from local mall. nice walk at sunrise. changed shoes (commuting here and have my work clothes in pannier) so it was very easy.

filled tire and was on my way.

lesson learned: two CO2 cartridges are better than one.

so now I know I'll not die if I get a flat.

...and a pump is better than ∞ CO2 cartridges

Good story, and a good reminder. I haven't had a flat in years. They must be improving tires.

Any idea what caused it? Glass? Roofing nail? Drill bit?

Be very careful going through home center parking lots. I see a LOT of nails out there.

For what it's worth, I have a couple of CO² carts in my puncture kit, but I also carry a pump in my pannier.

The carts will get me fixed in time to still make it to the train if I flat. The pump is to keep me from walking if Plan A fails. I may be late, but I'll get there.

I've got 2 CO2 cartridges and a *tiny* pump that is good to about 60 PSI. I use the CO2. If the CO2 fails or runs out, the pump is good enough to keep me from damaging my rims, but I do have to ride gingerly.

Does anyone actually make a small pump that will go up 90psi or so?

thanks for the tips. I keep forgetting to pickup the mini-pump. on the todo list. get so distracted at bike shops.... oh look .... new bikes..... and there goes my list....
downhill corner roughish pavement nothing extreme. might have been a low tire going over the rough stuff. snakebite.... and it was pre-dawn so not very good lighting.

I just checked Nashbar.com they have pumps there. noted one has 90 psi capacity probably more if I'd looked further.

I have a cheap filzer pump ($27 at MEC) which works great, and has an integrated pressure gauge. The gauge goes to 120, and one review on the website reports no problems getting to that level. My current tires (stock with the bike) only go to 75, so I haven't pushed the limits.

Topeak (sp?) and others make small pumps that work. I use the pump to check a patch, then use it again to start the fill and ensure things seem "right" so as to prevent the exact thing that happened to you. Then I use a cartridge to save the time of pumping, then back to the pump to top it off. Cartridges won't get most people the pressure they need but they sure can save a lot of time If I'm just on a short ride I often don't take the pump but I do take at least two cartridges.

This is wrong.... so very wrong....

...and a pump is better than a case of CO2 cartridges. I can pump up to 80 PSI in 2 minutes, I've seen people fiddle with CO2 inflators for as long, so I don't see any point in CO2 myself. If you have to carry the inflator and 2 carts, it's not really that much lighter than a pump. And really, my bike weighs a ton anyway. The Road Morph will hit 100 PSI without problems and in only a few minutes, with no chance of breaking the stem due to the hose.

I had a flat last night, first one in about a year. Tire was just soft, slow leak, pumped it up to about 60 and went on home including a stop to pick up some stuff. Changed the tube at home, small puncture, cause unfindable.

I am ordering this:
https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/item/14128

Gotta have a seatpost anyway, why not?

Well, if you have a seatpost with a quick release, sure. Seems like a decent idea. Some people like to replace the quick release with a fixed bolt to reduce the chances of saddle theft.

Guess you aren't the type of person to grease their seat post. I wouldn't want to slide that thing, or any other seat post, into my seat tube without greasing first. On the other hand, wouldn't want to use a grease-coverd pump to inflate my tires on the road. I'll stick with the pumps with brackets that mount under my bottle cages. Clean, neat and easily accessible when needed.

Zefal HP-X. I have gotten up to 120 psi with it (I could easily go much higher but my tires can't). Manufacturer says it is good up to 174 psi.

I guess it depends on your definition of small. I was thinking seat pack small when the question was asked. I have Hurricane Air Scepters on my road bike and commuter. It is 13.5" long and weighs in at 108g which isn't too big. It is rated over 100psi and I've gotten my road tires up above 90psi with it (which was plenty to finish the ride though I could have gone more). They run it on sale for $15 quite often.

I don't think the Road Morph is all that big, 13.8" long; it's not the smallest pump I've ever had, but it's very good and I pump to 80 PSI without any trouble. I've never had a tire on one of my bikes that was rated over 100 PSI so I haven't pumped any higher than that, but I don't expect it would be any trouble.

Rain/Snow bike(26" tires): Tube, glueless patches, Blackburn Mammoth mountain mini pump. Same deal if I'm mountain biking. Also a CO2 cartridge. About 3 or 4 flats in the last two years. No problems getting going again. 80 psi Spring, Summer, Fall on Forte Gothams, 60 psi in winter with studded Nokian Mount & Ground tires.

Chance of Rain Bike (700c tires): Tube, glueless patches, Silca Impero pump with metal Campy Head. Also a CO2 cartridge. About 3 or 4 flats in the last two years. No problems getting going again. 105 psi with Michelin Orium 700c x 25 tires.

No chance of rain/ club ride bike: Latex Tube, glueless patches, TWO CO2 cartridges. NO PUMP. No flats in two years with this combo (Conti GP4000 tires, Michelin Latex tubes). 120 psi

Funny. I flatted this morning too. Tried a new route to work today, and as I was riding in the dirty bike lane, something on my bike went 'Thunk' and then something was striking my fender with every revolution of the wheel. So, I pulled over and checked to see what I broke. Turns out I had a sheet metal screw or something sticking out of my tire. Never got a flat THAT way before. So, I replaced the inner tube, pumped 'er up and away I went. When I have got some time, I'll patch the punctured tube and use it next time I need to switch an inner tube out.

I definitely think having spare inner tubes is the way to go. I don't know about you guys, but I find it difficult tracking down small puncture holes out on the street (especially since I didn't make note of where I pulled the screw from). It's easier, IMHO, to inflate the tube, stick it under water in the sink, and see where the bubbles are coming from. And having a spare inner tube is faster than isolating the hole, roughing it up, gluing it, waiting for the glue to dry, and patching it.

haha funny is on me.

The Lezyne pumps get generally good reviews and some are both light & high pressure capable (will take more strokes with a small pump to high pressure). Their Carbon Drive 2 comes in two sizes, claimed to weigh 76g M / 89g Large, Presta only, 160psi/11 bar max.