Ronno6

A new cycling buddy and I set out on a ride yesterday.
We had been discussing tools and parts to carry for normal cycling mishaps.

I told him that I carry spare tube,foldable tire, a couple of allen wrenches,screw driver,spoke wrench,
as well as CO2 inflator and mini hand pump.

Well, first of all, I should have better inspected my tires prior to the ride, as my rear tire wore thru
the threads and flatted within 11 miles of our start.
Embarrassing enough.........
I changed the tire and tube, but could not get my CO2 inflator to operate correctly.
Turned out to be operator error, as I had never used that particular one before and was not familiar with its use.
Then, when I went to use the hand mini-pump, I found the ports to have been plugged by mud dobbers!
I couldn't get the thing to pump. I eventually got air out of the Schrader port, but not the presta.
Fortunately, we were a couple hundred yards from a parking lot on the trail, and we borrowed a floor
pump from another rider.

So, as things ultimately turned out, we finished our 50 miler without further incident.

In the aftermath:
I became oriented in the use of my CO2 inflator. No problem there.
The mini pump required disassembly of the head to get ALL the mud out of it. I was amazed at
the internal orifices that had been plugged up (and one larva found!)
Now, I have wrapped the head with a couple turns of electrical tape.

I have recently returned to riding after a year or so off due to moving.
I will inspect my equipment better prior to use in order to prevent any recurrence
due to neglect.

Lesson learned.........

BobbyG

A good reminder...thanks!

obed7

yep the old "ounce" vs "pound" thing.

rydabent

Good idea to carry tire boots too. Dont cost much, dont weigh much either.

Retro Grouch 

You sound like you have a pretty good attitude today, how was it while all this was going down?

The imperfections are what makes a ride memorable. Congratulations!

Stucky

Funny- My pumps have little plugs which button into the ports.... and I use them, because for some reason, I always pictured those ports being obscured by mud/debris. I like to use the valve stem caps too (which some people discard)- a little crud in delicate areas can really havoc!

Little Darwin

Sounds like you ride as prepared as I do... Only positive difference is that I have successfully used my CO2 cartridges...

But, I will be checking my mini-pump for obstruction now. I also just realized that I need to set it up to work with a presta valves, since that is what I am using now. Better now than on the trail when I need it.

I was fortunate not to need any emergency repairs recently... I used to ride with a trunk bag (regardless of trip length), and this season started using just a seat bag for rides under 10 miles or so. I went on a longer ride a couple of weeks ago, and put on my trunk bag and hit the trail. This used to be my pattern, but to equip the seat bag, I had moved my spare tube, tire levers, mini-tool, patch kit, and CO2 inflater to my seat bag... About the time we hit the end of the trail and turned around, I realized I did not bring my seat bag, so I was a little nervous on the return leg, but not enough to ruin the ride. I had a couple of ponchos, a space blanket, and various other emergency stuff, but not the stuff I was most likely to need.

From now on, I ride with my seat bag whether or not I bring the trunk bag.

Ronno6

I kept my cool, but was duly embarrassed, as I have been riding for 35 years compared to my friend's 3.
Shoulda known better......
Bad enough that I began the ride with a tire that was plumb wore out. (And, I had even looked at it a few days before,
but didn't see any chords showing thru....)
After I got home and discovered how to operate my CO2 inflator, I was unhappy with my ignorance an....stupidity.
Had I really looked at the thing, I probably would have figured it out the way I did at home.
It would have been worse hat I waited for my buddy to ride back to the truck and come get me.
So, in the overall scheme of things, all is well that ends well.

Ronno6

I have successfully used other CO2 inflators I have on other bikes. Just not this one.
This critter has a lever lock, but no actuator button.
It is an Air Kiss by Planet Bike.
I figgered that you snap it onto the valve and screw in the cartridge to actuate.
Wrong !!
After screwing in the cart, you grasp the rim/tire behind of the stem and squeeze the cartridge at the neck
towards the rim. This opens the valve and, voila!

An amusing sidebar is that my mini-pump will also work with CO2 cartridges.
But, the way the head was plugged, all the CO2 would have escaped thru the Schrader port and not the presta port.
So, I would still have had a flat tire in either event.