Had my 2nd flat of the season this morning



64Paramount

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Jul 25, 2009
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And I was lucky in the fact that it was a beautiful day and it happened on a quiet side street rather than on the shoulder of a busy highway.

It was the first time that I've used my Genuine Innovations Air Chuck Co2 inflator. I was very impressed with the Air Chuck, it's really easy to use. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif
 
I remember when you bought this inflator. I mistook it for the NANO. Glad to hear it worked OK for you.
 
I got a couple of Performance Thorn Resistant Tubes (very heavy for tubes) and Hutchinson Fusion Twos with the Kevlar strip. I also carry an Innovations Second Wind combination CO2 Inflator and Mini Pump, along with a standard spare tube, two CO2 cartridges, and a patch kit. All of this doesn't seem to be that heavy, and the tubes do not seem to have effected the performance of the bike that I can detect. I can say that in the two years that I have been over prepared, I have not had one flat. I have helped a couple of other riders with flats though, and I can safely say that I am impressed with Innovations inflation equipment.
 
I like the idea of an inflator, I've been toying with buying one but being set in my old ways I can't seem to give up my pump. I think I'll get one though.
 
I lost my original inflator when I forgot to zip up my bike bag this past Spring and lost everything in it.

I don't miss that original inflator at all, it was very clumsy to use. You had to screw an adapter onto the valve stem and then screw the Co2 cartridge into the adapter. As you screwed it in the top pierced and the Co2 would start leaking around the adapter till you got it completely screwed in. And the cartridge was completely used up, whether you intended it to be or not.

With the new inflator I can control how much Co2 I shoot into the tire very easily. I was able to shoot a little into the tire before I changed the flat to see where the leak was, then after I put the new tube in I like to shoot a bit of Co2 in to partially inflate it and then let it back out. That may be overkill, but it's something my Dad always did when I was a kid to make sure the tube was straight inside the tire and wasn't pinched anywhere, and I still do it. Then I inflated the tire all the way up. All with one Co2 cartridge...

I'm liking the Air Chuck inflator a lot.....but, I'd still rather not have flats at all. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

That reminds me, I still haven't bought a new patch kit. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif
 
I personally don't use CO2 because you have waste to contend with, you have to remember to put carts in you bag before the next ride after using one, you have a limited amount of air, you have to spend money for air you can get for free with a pump, CO2 air leaches out of the tube within 24 hours thus you have to go home let all the air out and refill again with pump air. Seems like a waste to me and money.
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