The Fly,
What size CO2 cartridge were you using? The smaller 12oz. volume cartridges won't inflate the tire much past the 60psi you got. I went to the 16oz. cartridges a few years ago, I get right at 100psi in my 700X25 Gatorskins using the inflator. The more volume you get the more they cartridges cost, keep this in mind if you decide to look into them. I found a bulk package with 50-16oz. threaded cartridges at Amazon, it saved me some money. The threaded cartridges do cost more than the unthreaded, I have seen 24 and 36oz cartridges but the 36oz and up are bigger in their physical size to, I believe.

Hope this information can help you out if you want more psi from your inflator.

Bill

Edit: I consider the inflator's air charge to be temporary, just to get me home, as Maxx said below. When I get home I inflate to the full operating pressure.

http://www.probikeoutlet.com/22394-2...-head-only.jpg

Not all CO2 inflators are created equal. The Red Zeppelin solves most inflator problems. It has a needle valve (large red knob) to control or stop the inflation. It screws to the stem to prevent position errors (operator error). The threaded cartridge threads in an punctures at that time (after you are installed on the stem). If you put a couple of layers of tape over the threaded 16 cartridge you will have some insulation for your hand after the cartridge gets cold. It's really small and light. Wrap your cartridges in an old sock or something so they don't rattle around. Perhaps some sort of "bandoleer" on your frame to hold spare rounds. :lol:

2 16's to fill an MTB tire and 1 to fill a road tire long enough to get you home. Refill with air as soon as possible.

Buy a decent pump. Cheaper in the long run, works more reliably (less prone to operator error) and much more environmentally sound.

I started out using CO2 cartridges. before one charity ride I noticed the tire was low so I inflated it with a cartridge - valve froze and broke off. put in new tire, inflated but it pinched and blew. able to buy another cartridge and tube got it going and rode 60 miles worried that I was going to flat again. Next day I went out and bought a good hand pump. Since then I've helped maybe 1/2dozen riders who have gone through their co2 cartridges trying to correctly fill a tire. On really long rides I'll carry both a CO2 and pump.

Now, there's a man who understands the advantages of both.

I am trying this combo pump. Both a hand pump and uses cartridges. Have not yet had a flat to test it.

Genuine Innovations 2nd Wind Road Carbon Mini.”

After having at least 2 mini pumps fail or just plain break, I use CO2 carts. It is also easy to break off stems with a mini pump unless you have the kind with a hose. I so still carry a mini pump but only for back up.

And yes once punctured, cart will leak down fairly rapidly. Dont depend on one already used.

I use the 16g cartridges on 700x23 tires. Up until yesterday (@ 20 flats with CO2) I'd only had 1 problem using CO2 that was entirely user error. Then all of a sudden, 3 times in a row, I can only get up to about 60psi. My inflator uses the threaded cartridges. I would thread them on to break seal, then slowly unthread to blow up tire. Never had a problem. Yesterday, 3 times after about 60psi, no more inflation. However, if I kept loosening the inflator, CO2 would come rushing out around the threads, so cartridges weren't the problem.

I buy my CO2 thru amazon, my LBS is 3.50 a cartridge which is ridiculous. I'm a clyde and started using CO2 when I was plagued by pinch flats 30+ lbs ago. My mini pump at the time would wear me out and only get up to maybe 90-100 psi.

I'm seriously considering another pump, but I really like the CO2. Plus, I already feel like a pack mule when I go out on a ride. After loosing some weight, now riding a carbon bike carrying enough water for a pool party with enough supplies to last me through the winter. Still need to loose 25-30 lbs. Carbon bike now seems ridiculous, I may as well be riding one made of cast iron.

Took a real close look at my inflator, and I think the o-ring where the cart screws in may be on its last legs. I managed to blow up a tire fairly hard, but I couldn't unscrew the cart as much as I used to. It took quite a bit longer to blow up. Usually it would blow up a tire in a few seconds. Takes maybe 3 times as long. Unscrew like normal and CO2 goes everywhere, much like it happened on the road. Oh well. Time for a new inflator I guess. Really should have lasted longer.

TF,
I think that you are on to your problem, it seems to be the mechanism in the inflator, not the cartridge volume. I did not realize you were using the type of inflator head you have. Mine is the type with a "trigger" on it so the seal between the head and the cartridge stays unaffected, if I understand what you are saying. That design sounds kind of lacking in its control over the CO2 flow once you have the cartridge screwed on to the inflator.

It sounds like you got the same bulk threaded cartridges that I did at Amazon. And my LBS, as good as they are, also gets $3.50 per cartridge, for the threaded type. I think that if you get a trigger equipped inflator instead of just the screw on control head you will be okay. A 16oz cartridge should pump a 700X23 tire up to 100psi easily, and then some.

Bill

I bought a CO2 inflator and some cartridges for my road bike a little over a year ago. Last summer, on one of our charity rides, a teammate had a flat and did not have a pump or inflator with him. We changed the tube and charged the inflator to fill it when the SAG vehicle came by. He decided to use their floor pump so I had a charged inflator that I put back in my saddle bag. Last month I got my very first flat (after 12,000 miles) and decided to use the cartridge that was already in the inflator. It filled the tube with no problem. When I got back to the van, I attached my floor pump, to replace the CO2, and it indicated 85 psi. I normally ride on 95 psi on my 25 cm Gatorskins. I use twist on cartridges.