Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.

Lou

On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:00:48 p.m. UTC-4, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>
> Lou

I once met a bicyclist who was trying to get his C02 inflator to work. He had the wrong type. He had screw on cartridges whereas he needed the smooth ones. I gave him one of mine.

Cheers

On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>
> Lou
I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.

I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.

On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:47:58 PM UTC-4, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
> >
> > Lou
> I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.
>
> I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.

I'm a volunteer mechanic on a few rides, many are centuries.

One of the more common requests that I cannot fill is a request for more CO2 cartridges. Too many people have more than a single flat (or a single flat many times). They run out of cartridges. Naturally, they don't carry a working pump. Who needs one, if one has CO2 cartridges? Murphy's Law states that a person will get at least one more flat than the number of CO2 cartridges they will carry on a ride. (These are the same people who don't know how to patch tubes and will throw them away. Another corollary is that they will get more flats than the number of spares they carry.)

On Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:25:31 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
<i_am_cycle_pathic@yahoo.ca> wrote:

>On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:00:48 p.m. UTC-4, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
>> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>>
>> Lou
>
>I once met a bicyclist who was trying to get his C02 inflator to work. He had the wrong type. He had screw on cartridges whereas he needed the smooth ones. I gave him one of mine.
>
>Cheers

Yes and I've seen cyclists trying to put air in their tires at the
local "Filling Station" air pump. In fact the first "English Racing
Bicycle" I ever saw, the rider was trying to do just that. Hard to do
with Presta valves (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:37:19 -0700 (PDT), "sm12...@gmail.com"
<sm1234jn@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:47:58 PM UTC-4, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> > Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>> >
>> > Lou
>> I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.
>>
>> I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.
>
>I'm a volunteer mechanic on a few rides, many are centuries.
>
>One of the more common requests that I cannot fill is a request for more CO2 cartridges. Too many people have more than a single flat (or a single flat many times). They run out of cartridges. Naturally, they don't carry a working pump. Who needs one, if one has CO2 cartridges? Murphy's Law states that a person will get at least one more flat than the number of CO2 cartridges they will carry on a ride. (These are the same people who don't know how to patch tubes and will throw them away. Another corollary is that they will get more flats than the number of spares they carry.)

I hate to be a nay sayer but I used to carry two spare tubes and 4 CO2
cartridges in an under seat "tool bag" and never had a problem.

Granted not the lightest load one could carry but I rode a steel frame
bicycle too :-(
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 2:37:20 PM UTC-7, sm12...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:47:58 PM UTC-4, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > > Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
> > >
> > > Lou
> > I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.
> >
> > I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.
> I'm a volunteer mechanic on a few rides, many are centuries.
>
> One of the more common requests that I cannot fill is a request for more CO2 cartridges. Too many people have more than a single flat (or a single flat many times). They run out of cartridges. Naturally, they don't carry a working pump. Who needs one, if one has CO2 cartridges? Murphy's Law states that a person will get at least one more flat than the number of CO2 cartridges they will carry on a ride. (These are the same people who don't know how to patch tubes and will throw them away. Another corollary is that they will get more flats than the number of spares they carry.)

At first I prevented most flats with Gatorskins. But they have piss poor cornering and I got worried when Joerg said that he got sidewall flats. So I tried Continental GP 4 Seasons and they never get flats but they are REALLY slow tires. Then I tried Vittoria Corsa G+ tires and they are very fast and they never get flats. But they NEVER show wear. I don't know how they do it but suddenly the tires just give up. The outside tread doesn't show any wear but the tire becomes as thin as paper and it has s blowout some day. Then I tried Continental GP5000's and 5000 TLR (tubeless). These are the best racing tire but they wear out real fast. Then I changed to Michelin Pro4 (well 2's at the time) and they were just what I was looking for. Then Michelin started making the Power series. I'm not hot about these but like the rest of the top end tires they don't get flats.

On 4/25/2022 5:37 PM, sm12...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:47:58 PM UTC-4, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
>>> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>>>
>>> Lou
>> I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.
>>
>> I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.
>
> I'm a volunteer mechanic on a few rides, many are centuries.
>
> One of the more common requests that I cannot fill is a request for more CO2 cartridges. Too many people have more than a single flat (or a single flat many times). They run out of cartridges. Naturally, they don't carry a working pump. Who needs one, if one has CO2 cartridges? Murphy's Law states that a person will get at least one more flat than the number of CO2 cartridges they will carry on a ride. (These are the same people who don't know how to patch tubes and will throw them away. Another corollary is that they will get more flats than the number of spares they carry.)

+1

I remember one ride a couple years ago when, to fix one flat, the group
went through multiple CO2 cartridges, then gave up on one mini pump.
They finally fixed the flat using my full sized Zefal HPX.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 4/25/2022 4:00 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.

A few years ago my wife, a friend and I were riding on a bike path along
the Rhine River. We came upon a woman walking along, pushing a bike with
a flat rear tire.

I stopped and asked if she needed to use my pump. She said no, she was
almost back to her nearby car; but she thanked me very much for
stopping. She said "American men are so nice! German men never stop to
help."

I suspect "never" is an exaggeration, but I wonder if the customs are
different in different countries.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 26/04/2022 01:06, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 2:37:20 PM UTC-7, sm12...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 4:47:58 PM UTC-4, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:00:48 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
>>>> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>>>>
>>>> Lou
>>> I always carry a CO2 inflator but now that I've been riding good tires, a flat is so unusual that I really don't need to. So I've gone from a pair of spare innertubes, 3 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges and a filler to one spare innertube, one CO2 and filler and 2 levers though I usually only need one lever. From a large seat pack to a small folding pack withy a BOA connector to hold it on the saddle rails. From 2 lbs to about 3/4ths of a lb.
>>>
>>> I do have a minipump that works pretty well but I don't ever carry it anymore.
>> I'm a volunteer mechanic on a few rides, many are centuries.
>>
>> One of the more common requests that I cannot fill is a request for more CO2 cartridges. Too many people have more than a single flat (or a single flat many times). They run out of cartridges. Naturally, they don't carry a working pump. Who needs one, if one has CO2 cartridges? Murphy's Law states that a person will get at least one more flat than the number of CO2 cartridges they will carry on a ride. (These are the same people who don't know how to patch tubes and will throw them away. Another corollary is that they will get more flats than the number of spares they carry.)
>
> At first I prevented most flats with Gatorskins. But they have piss poor cornering and I got worried when Joerg said that he got sidewall flats. So I tried Continental GP 4 Seasons and they never get flats but they are REALLY slow tires.

I had a sidewall blowout on a conti tyre, it sounded like a gun going
off. Not that us people in England know what a gun sounds like, but it
was a load bang.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 8:20:10 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 4/25/2022 4:00 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
> A few years ago my wife, a friend and I were riding on a bike path along
> the Rhine River. We came upon a woman walking along, pushing a bike with
> a flat rear tire.
>
> I stopped and asked if she needed to use my pump. She said no, she was
> almost back to her nearby car; but she thanked me very much for
> stopping. She said "American men are so nice! German men never stop to
> help."
>
> I suspect "never" is an exaggeration, but I wonder if the customs are
> different in different countries.

A Dutch author wrote a book 'De meeste mensen deugen'. Google translates this in 'most people are good'. I am a believer of that but sometimes you have to ask for help. Too much attention goes to the minority who are a**holes.. As for Germans I was really helped by German hikers when I went over the bars in the forrest in Germany and broke my collar bone. So most people are good IMO...well I have some troubles with the French.

Lou

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 2:56:03 PM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 8:20:10 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> > On 4/25/2022 4:00 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > > Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
> > A few years ago my wife, a friend and I were riding on a bike path along
> > the Rhine River. We came upon a woman walking along, pushing a bike with
> > a flat rear tire.
> >
> > I stopped and asked if she needed to use my pump. She said no, she was
> > almost back to her nearby car; but she thanked me very much for
> > stopping. She said "American men are so nice! German men never stop to
> > help."
> >
> > I suspect "never" is an exaggeration, but I wonder if the customs are
> > different in different countries.
> A Dutch author wrote a book 'De meeste mensen deugen'. Google translates this in 'most people are good'. I am a believer of that but sometimes you have to ask for help. Too much attention goes to the minority who are a**holes. As for Germans I was really helped by German hikers when I went over the bars in the forrest in Germany and broke my collar bone. So most people are good IMO...well I have some troubles with the French.

So do the French!

On Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:20:08 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 4/25/2022 4:00 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
>
>A few years ago my wife, a friend and I were riding on a bike path along
>the Rhine River. We came upon a woman walking along, pushing a bike with
>a flat rear tire.
>
>I stopped and asked if she needed to use my pump. She said no, she was
>almost back to her nearby car; but she thanked me very much for
>stopping. She said "American men are so nice! German men never stop to
>help."
>
>I suspect "never" is an exaggeration, but I wonder if the customs are
>different in different countries.

Sure they are. USians, for example, seem to be very inconsiderate of
other people's customs.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 5:44:09 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:20:08 -0400, Frank Krygowski
> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> >On 4/25/2022 4:00 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> >> Last Friday I came across two cyclists who were struggling with a flat alongside the road. While passing them I asked if everything was OK expecting a yes, but they were not. After a flat one of them was already pumping for quite a while with a mini pump (with a little hose; the good ones but with rotten O rings; classic) with no luck. In my experience this is not an exception. They other guy left his pump at the last hotel (they were on a multi day tour) so they were stuck. I offered one of my CO2 cartridges I carry. Psss, psss, psss. Done! Two happy cyclists. Another data point.
> >
> >A few years ago my wife, a friend and I were riding on a bike path along
> >the Rhine River. We came upon a woman walking along, pushing a bike with
> >a flat rear tire.
> >
> >I stopped and asked if she needed to use my pump. She said no, she was
> >almost back to her nearby car; but she thanked me very much for
> >stopping. She said "American men are so nice! German men never stop to
> >help."
> >
> >I suspect "never" is an exaggeration, but I wonder if the customs are
> >different in different countries.
> Sure they are. USians, for example, seem to be very inconsiderate of
> other people's customs.
> --
> Cheers,
>
> John B.

I carry co2 but frankly I have a small Lezyne high powered mini pump that will pretty easily get my tire to 90psi. I have it on the seat tube on small frame mount but it would fit in a jersey or pocket if you wanted it to. co2 can be fast but frankly with the pump I never run out of air and this compared to my previos mini pump is much better.
Deacon Mark

On Tue, 26 Apr 2022 20:16:54 +0100, Tom <Tom.spma@spam.com> wrote:

> I had a sidewall blowout on a conti tyre, it sounded like a gun going
> off. Not that us people in England know what a gun sounds like, but it
> was a load bang.

I was riding past the rifle range, which isn't visible from 200N,
when somebody fired a single shot.

A gun going off does sound like a sidewall blowout.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net

On Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 10:26:50 PM UTC-7, Joy Beeson wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Apr 2022 20:16:54 +0100, Tom <Tom....@spam.com> wrote:
>
> > I had a sidewall blowout on a conti tyre, it sounded like a gun going
> > off. Not that us people in England know what a gun sounds like, but it
> > was a load bang.
> I was riding past the rifle range, which isn't visible from 200N,
> when somebody fired a single shot.
>
> A gun going off does sound like a sidewall blowout.

Certainly sudden blowouts do. But most are cuts that simply leak rapidly.