50voltphantom

I agree. I've just started cycling again and getting proper gear and it seems CO2 inflators are so inexpensive I would think the small cost of cartridges would far outweigh manually pumping a tire up to 100 psi on the side of the road. Especially as it's not really an everyday occurrence and I have a air compressor at home.

erig007

Let's do some maths

carry necessary kit
hassle: 1
number of commutes before a flat: probability of flats: 1 every 100 commutes
Hassle level = 100 * 1 = 100

don't carry necessary kit
hassle: 10 to 20
number of commutes before a flat: probability of flats: 1 every 100 commutes
Hassle level = 10*1 to 20*1 = 10 to 20

20<100 (even with hassle 50 and 2 flats in a row it still works)

I'm beyond 1000 commutes since my last flat. When it happened my hassle was around 5 vs 1 (hard to change a tire on my IGH bike, canadian winter). Do the maths.

tjspiel

The key is to get a good frame pump like a Topeak Road Morph or a Lezyne. Pumping up the tire after replacing a tube is the fast and easy part. With a pump you can help somebody else out without jeopardizing your supply of cartridges and you don't have to worry about forgetting to replace a cartridge if you happen to use one.

I rarely get flats but I did have the misfortune of flatting twice on the same commute. Also, on a trip once where we brought our bikes along, I had a flat and kept having issues with patches not holding. I'd never had that problem before. We were very arid place with temps over 100 a good chunk of the time. Don't know if that was part of the issue. Anyway, a side trip to a bike shop to get more cartridges was not on the agenda but I didn't need to worry because I had a pump along.

NOS88

I carry a mini-pump, Co2, patch kit and spare tube. I use the mini-pump to inflate the tube enough to make mounting the tube and tire easier. Then depending on time and weather, I'll either finish filling with Co2 or use the mini-pump. I sometimes think the flat tire Gods have a sense of humor. The last three flats I've had were less than 1/4 mile from my destination. While I was tempted to fix them right then and there, to avoid the walk of shame, I walked and fixed them in the comfort of home or office.

Phil_gretz

Wow. I guess that we all have different views about tire care and the consequences of flatting... to wit:

The majority of flats occur when an object punctures or tears through the tire, getting to the tube. In my 40+ years of experience, these can be patched pretty readily, or as others have said, the tube simply replaced and the punctured one patched later in the convenience of home or the workplace.


Eds is prepared with an inflator and patch kit. I'm not so sure about twice the "recommended" pressure. Is this twice the rated pressure on the tire sidewall? Holy blow off, Batman. I think that the current wisdom is that we'd run pressures too high in the past, and that the pressure and tire volume should relate to the weight of the rider and the task being done (utility / mountain / road recreation / road race). Twice, Yikes...

And there we are. Vol, you can learn to patch a tube effectively and quickly with just a little practice. You'd be surprised how easy it is, once you've practiced a bit. Why not learn this upcoming weekend? Find a few punctured tubes, a patch kit, instructional videos, and have at it...

FoulHooked

if I did "the maths" that way, i never would have made it out of 5th grade.

tjspiel

Except that your hassle level is completely arbitrary. What's the hassle level if a flat causes you to miss an important meeting or miss your daughter's game winning goal in the little league soccer championship?

erig007

Well i let you with your flats then while i'm hassle free

erig007

It doesn't happen since i can ride even with a flat tire. That what i did when it happen i lost just a few minutes by going a little bit slower. We're talking one flat every x years i can deal with the one time hassle when it happens.

To be fair if i was riding on roads that are full of gravels and nails or if my tires weren't as puncture resistant as they are like how it was before, the risk of flat would be so high that i would have to carry a kit.

tjspiel

You can get away with that if you don't have far to go. If you do, you'll trash the tire and your rim too if it's dark and you hit a pothole or something similar. Do lights fall under the category of too much hassle too?

The thing is that if you keep the frame pump and spare tube on your bike, there is 0 daily hassle. They're just there for you in case you need them.

mconlonx

CO2 only for my shorter commute.

I was doing a 30 or 38mi r/t commute and carried one of those dual pump/CO2 gizmos. Only ever ended up using the CO2 part of it a couple of times, never the backup pump. On my new bike-bus-bike commute, 18mi r/t, I only carry CO2 -- couple of cartridges and a mini regulator.

wphamilton

The hassle is zero for all practical purposes. Less than, if you're worried about the seat wedge slowing you down - because someone's bullet proof tires are slowing them down more than the extra weight ever could.

100 commutes is about six months for me (1600 to 2200 miles), in six months I'll average maybe two flats. likely more. 100 might be the longest stretch (I haven't tracked it because even as slow as I am in changing a flat it's only 10-15 minutes, trivial).

If you've gone 5 years of commuting, or 15,000+ miles without a flat, that's extraordinary and I probably wouldn't change anything. Unless that feat involves ritual blood sacrifice or something.

Eds0123

I am sorry. I was not accurate about my tire pressure. I ride both my Commuter and my my Hybrid almost daily. Recommended Tire Pressure are 75 PSI on all tires. I always keep them above 100 below 125 PSI. So almost 50% above what is recommended on the side walls. I weight 185 lbs and no other noticeable load on the bicycle.

I agree. with practice You'd be able to do it in a couple minutes and You'd learn to put the tire back on without the use of the tire lever. So a flat should not make me that much late for work. :-)

erig007

I rode something like 5,7 miles with my flat tire, i still have the same rim.
Just with the tire there is 2 layers of rubber between the rim and the road




I changed my tire for a better one a schwalbe marathon pro tour. I imagine i would have to spend on one tire or 2 (eventually) once every x years... i can do that if i save on having to carry a kit somewhere on my bike everytime i commute.

FoulHooked

let me show you what i mean by fixing your math, using your own inputs:

ill.clyde

Tube, patch kit and pump in my pack every commute. 12 miles one way ... that's a long walk with a flat.

jrickards

Carry with you at least one spare tube, I carry 2 so that tube repair (easily done but more time consuming) can be done when you arrive at your destination. Unless you're certain of the cause of the puncture, carefully check the inside of the tire for something sharp that may still be lodged there and puncture your next tube.

To repair a tube (my LBS would rather I just throw out the punctured tube rather than repair it based on how long it took them to find a repair kit) is easy. Inflate the tube and listen for, feel for, the hole and mark it with a marker (other options work but this is what I use, the shininess of the marker mark makes it easy to find it). You may use either self-adhesive patches or patches that require glue.

I've tried a couple of self-adhesive patches and I found the Park brand to be the best, however, in a hot climate, they don't last forever. Just tear off the backing, centre the patch over the hole of the deflated tube and stick it on. I press and hold for a few minutes (or use a spring loaded wood clamp in place of my hands) and then you'll be good to go. The patches that require glue need slightly more effort but I find that these are better patches. Find the puncture, mark it, deflate the tube, scratch the area with the included sand paper/rasp, apply glue to the area and let almost completely dry, then tear off the backing and apply the patch and hold or clamp (I tend to clamp and let set overnight).

If necessary, a self-adhesive patch can be applied and the tube used fairly soon afterwards so if it is your last tube on you, in a few minutes, you can be on your way.

A tear in the tube is more problematic and, unless the tube is the last one, I'll toss it, but I've only had small punctures so far.

erig007

Agree we're talking probability so necessary it's below 1
One thing though is that in the first case it isn't 1 commute but 100 commutes since you carry your kit every time so it adds up: .01 +.01 +.01...+.01. And when you don't carry it is more hassle but just one time. And both have the same probability of having a flat so when comparing one with the other the probability doesn't matter.

alan s 

Spare tube, pump, CO2, boot material, patch kit, cell phone, cab fare and credit/debit cards. Also always have multitool, rain coat, rain pants and first aid supplies. Like a boy scout.

metz1295

I'm with the consensus. not taking a spare tube and some inflator is like not wearing a helmet. you may have never needed it and maybe you never will, but do you really want to have a situation where you need it but don't have it with you?

erig007

We should put this thread in the eggs and chicken category

wphamilton

Don't say that , I might start agreeing with Erig007 given that analogy.

Except for riding on a flat 5.7 miles; that's not going to happen.

alan s 

Also, I never stop to offer help to stranded riders unless they flag me down and want to borrow my pump. Better to learn a lesson the hard way than to rely on others to bail you out.

erig007

I wouldn't even try my approach if i was riding a road bike with slim rims. I'm riding more like a touring bike with 40mm wide tires
With a flat the blue part + the 2 layers of liners + 2 layers of rubber from the tire + 2 layers of rim tape + the punctured inner tube will fill the rim so that pressure on the edge of the rims should be minimum

TransitBiker

I do not, but i also don't carry tube or tools. This may change now that i have bags to put these things....

- Andy