Mini pump or CO2

[Lugger]

I really don't want to start a religious war here, but I'm in a quandary and would love to hear pro/cons on carrying CO2 or a mini pump. My situation is this: I carry a Lezyne frame pump (which I love) on my Serotta Legend Ti. I'm always the hero when a buddy has a flat and doesn't want to flail away with a mini pump for several hundred strokes. It's still some work, but in the end you get decent tire pressure and still have some energy left for the ride!

I've just added a Colnago steel frame bike to the stable. Unfortunately, it does not have a frame pump nub on the head tube, so I need to find an alternative. I was looking at a prior thread on the "best mini pump", but it just seems like carrying a minimalist CO2 chuck and a couple of cartridges is so much easier. Am I missing something here?

Sound off......

[akelman]

Downsides to CO2: environmentally unfriendly, not foolproof (I'm quite a fool), more expensive over time.

[akelman]

By the way, I'm not saying don't do CO2; I'm just listing the cons.

[thirdgenbird]

I've used co2 for years. Most of the cartridges were used on strangers wheels and not my own. They do get enough pressure to get you home in a hurry. Take the spent cartridge home and recycle it.

No real complaints, but I'm thinking about a pump.

[josephr]

I carry 2 CO2 cartridges on regular ole rides....the only time I take a mini-pump is when I go on extended rides that will take me to the other side of BFE. That being said...Co2 cartridges are just so easy to use...practice at home once before out on the road though. Think I only used the pump once since I got it a few years ago.
Joe

[Ken Robb]

I have some fine pumps but I almost always carry CO2 instead. It is just so fast and easy. At $.50 each( I don't buy them in a bike shop) cost is not a factor for me. If you are on a group ride and people wait for the unfortunate person who gets a flat they will really appreciate the time you save over using a pump. :banana:

[Admiral Ackbar]

yeah i really like co2 as well, I've got a PDW inflator and i love it. takes up less room than a pump, faster, easier to use. having to deal with empty cartridges is kind of a pain (unless you just throw them in the trash.....) but i like 'em.

[Louis]

A few years ago I considered going the CO2 route and even bought all the stuff to do it, but I've subsequently decided that I like the idea of having an infinite amount of air available to me. On the other hand, I've never gotten more than one flat on any given ride, so maybe that's an irrelevant concern. My Lezyne only weighs 96g, so there really isn't a weight penalty with that.

[pdmtong]

Downsides to CO2: environmentally unfriendly, not foolproof (I'm quite a fool), more expensive over time.

I have some fine pumps but I almost always carry CO2 instead. It is just so fast and easy. At $.50 each( I don't buy them in a bike shop) cost is not a factor for me. If you are on a group ride and people wait for the unfortunate person who gets a flat they will really appreciate the time you save over using a pump. :banana:

if you go for the threadless 12g CO2 you can get them cheap in the walmart gun section or here www.gas-depot.com/

recycle the cylinders. if the gas goes in the tube not un-friendly

I think its best to carry both and a tube...the mini to stage the tube and the CO2 to inflate it. I carry two CO2 in case 1) I goof the initial seal and lose it all and 2) the CO2 freezes the valve stem which subsequently tears off (had this happen).

so my saddle pack
- spare tube
- two CO2
- glueless patches
- tire levers

mini pump in my jersey

if those all fail...cell phone to wife.

[Louis]

so my saddle pack
- spare tube
- two CO2
- glueless patches
- tire levers

mini pump in my jersey

if those all fail...cell phone to wife.

http://www.huntsmart.com/App_Themes/hs.com/ProductImages/250/NLSPK.jpg

[Asudef]

Is there a way to fill those C02 cartridges? That might make it more environmentally friendly.

[Bob Ross]

I've been saying to myself that as soon as I see C02 working reliably and consistently for other cyclists, I'll get on board and start using it

...and I've been saying that to myself for nine years now!

Maybe I just ride with idiots, but for every time that I see a fellow rider deploy a C02 inflator without issue or drama, there are three or four times where it doesn't go smoothly or as intended, and then everyone winds up asking for a pump anyway.

I've got a Topeak Road Morph G pump strapped next to the bottle cage on my bikes. 120 strokes gets a 23c tire up to 100psi, which takes ~2 minutes max. I'm still waiting to hear what the downside of that is.

[dgauthier]

(. . .) it just seems like carrying a minimalist CO2 chuck and a couple of cartridges is so much easier. ( . . . )

That's exactly what I've used for ten years. Works perfectly every time. Bob Ross must ride with idiots.

[leooooo]

When I ride alone, pump only. Less impact on the environment, etc.

When I ride in a group, both. Hate making the group wait for me pump up a tire, so co2. Pump for the inevitable rider not carrying any inflation device.

When I race, thumbs. Hitch hike back to start line ;)

[dgauthier]

I always thought CO2 cartridges were carbon neutral. CO2 is removed from the environment to fill them, and returned when they are used.

[fuzzalow]

The western shelf of Antartica is melting, there are irreversible losses happening to the ice sheet in Greenland, China brings online a new coal fired electricity plant weekly. Any of our concerns about the emission of CO2 as a convenience to inflating a bicycle tire is a well meaning, but ultimately symbolic, gesture.

I bring this up not as indictment as I am a hypocrite on the issue of climate change. In the sense of not doing much about it or even knowing where to begin locally or politically to do something about it. Activism against greenhouse gas pollution feels a little like the Occupy Wall Street movement - lotsa concern, even anger, about it but no real plan as to how to combat a much more organized and financed adversary.

To the OP: I carry a Zefal HPX frame fit pump along the NDS seat stay. On group rides with cyclists that carry no visible means of inflation, I make many new friends.

[oldpotatoe]

I really don't want to start a religious war here, but I'm in a quandary and would love to hear pro/cons on carrying CO2 or a mini pump. My situation is this: I carry a Lezyne frame pump (which I love) on my Serotta Legend Ti. I'm always the hero when a buddy has a flat and doesn't want to flail away with a mini pump for several hundred strokes. It's still some work, but in the end you get decent tire pressure and still have some energy left for the ride!

I've just added a Colnago steel frame bike to the stable. Unfortunately, it does not have a frame pump nub on the head tube, so I need to find an alternative. I was looking at a prior thread on the "best mini pump", but it just seems like carrying a minimalist CO2 chuck and a couple of cartridges is so much easier. Am I missing something here?

Sound off......

Put the full sized pump on left side of rear triangle, between QR lever and intersection with LH seat stay, seat cluster.

[palincss]

Downsides to CO2: environmentally unfriendly, not foolproof (I'm quite a fool), more expensive over time.

You've omitted the most significant downside to CO2 vs a pump: the pump is capable of inflating an infinite number of flats; the CO2 solution is limited to however many cartridges you have on hand, which on a bad day can quickly become fewer than the number of flats... at which point you are SOL.

[wallymann]

i gave up C02 for a mini-pump....you never run out of air!

[shovelhd]

Id find a nice Silca fitted frame pump for that steel Colnago. Campy head. That's what belongs on it.

[palincss]

I have some fine pumps but I almost always carry CO2 instead. It is just so fast and easy. At $.50 each( I don't buy them in a bike shop) cost is not a factor for me. If you are on a group ride and people wait for the unfortunate person who gets a flat they will really appreciate the time you save over using a pump. :banana:

Yes, right up to the moment when you let out the CO2 so fast it freezes the tube and it shatters like a window pane or the inflator explodes in your hand, scattering parts like shrapnel. In fact, moments after the inflator exploded, another person in the ride came by muttering about "GDMFSOB good for nothing POS CO2" and she'll never let anyone talk her into using CO2 again because she'd just spent the past 20 min trying to fix her flat with an inflator that didn't work.

And then, there are the many times there's not enough gas left to fully inflate the tire, or there are no more cartridges left and oopsie, that tube turned out to have a leak. And there was even the time when the inflator and the cartridge were incompatible. I don't know how long the rider was standing there fussing, trying to make it work before I came along with my pump.

And honestly, most of the time when it takes a long time to fix a flat, that time is lost getting the tire off the wheel, finding and removing the cause of the fat and especially getting the tire back on the rim again.

[malcolm]

I've been saying to myself that as soon as I see C02 working reliably and consistently for other cyclists, I'll get on board and start using it

...and I've been saying that to myself for nine years now!

Maybe I just ride with idiots, but for every time that I see a fellow rider deploy a C02 inflator without issue or drama, there are three or four times where it doesn't go smoothly or as intended, and then everyone winds up asking for a pump anyway.

I've got a Topeak Road Morph G pump strapped next to the bottle cage on my bikes. 120 strokes gets a 23c tire up to 100psi, which takes ~2 minutes max. I'm still waiting to hear what the downside of that is.

I have two CO2 inflators. One tiny one where you screw the cartridge into the head and another where the cartridge drops into a sleeve and you screw the head of the inflator, much like a standard pump onto the sleeve and inflate away.
The tiny head only one where the cartridge is the body of the inflator is tricky unless you've had a trial run or two.
The other one, well if you screw that up you might be too dumb to ride a bike. I have used it a dozen times mostly on other peoples flats and its never failed. Now granted its the size and weight of most mini pumps but way faster.

[carpediemracing]

I always thought CO2 cartridges were carbon neutral. CO2 is removed from the environment to fill them, and returned when they are used.

I'm not against CO2 cartridges for any environmental reasons. Metal recycling, etc works for me.

However the act of filling one of those cartridges takes energy, energy which is typically not carbon neutral (I don't think there is any way of getting energy which is carbon neutral?).

Personally I use pumps because they're infinite, the air you put into the tube stays there (CO2 you have to reinflate the tire at some point, and if you're on a long ride it might be later on that same ride), and because if nothing else I get to use my arms a bit.

If someone wants to hurry things up and use a CO2 cartridge, fine. Otherwise on the groups rides I've done recently where people have flatted, I think there was just one person that used a CO2 properly. The other flats (4?) we ended up using a frame pump (mine or someone else's) so we could get going again.

Since I prefer not to take chances I bring a pump. Then again I also stop at stop signs, I don't run reds, and all sorts of other boring stuff.

[OtayBW]

Thomas Merton once said that 'the only way to live out the full consciousness of your convictions is to become a monk'. He obviously did, but for most of the rest of us, we all have to choose what we can live with and what we don't want to accept. I think many/most of us here are environmentally sensitive and probably more benign than most folks in general. I personally have no problem with my occasional use of a CO2 cartridge.

[malcolm]

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Genuine-Innovations-Ultraflate-Plus-CO2-Inflator-big.jpg

If you can't use one of these type of co2 inflators then you have some serious mechanical issues.

[tmf]

I use both - I have a frame pump on the bike, and I also have a CO2 inflator with 2 cartridges (and I carry two spare tires under my saddle). I do pretty long rides solo, and prefer to be prepared vs. depending on my wife to try to find me based on geo coordinates.

Up until recently, I only carried the pumps. A few weeks ago, I had a slow leak from hitting a pothole (while a dog was chasing me), and when I went to top it off the pump head broke leaving me SOL. The pump was a pretty old Blackburn, and the plastic lock lever broke off when I engaged it. Fortunately, I had made it close to home before this - the tire deflated in the process.

After that happened, I immediately bought a box of CO2 cartridges and put two in each saddle bag. I carry the small inflator in my jersey pocket.

[FlashUNC]

Pump. Keeps the heart rate up while changing the tube.

[Ken Robb]

I have two CO2 inflators. One tiny one where you screw the cartridge into the head and another where the cartridge drops into a sleeve and you screw the head of the inflator, much like a standard pump onto the sleeve and inflate away.
The tiny head only one where the cartridge is the body of the inflator is tricky unless you've had a trial run or two.
The other one, well if you screw that up you might be too dumb to ride a bike. I have used it a dozen times mostly on other peoples flats and its never failed. Now granted its the size and weight of most mini pumps but way faster.

I use the fool-proof one and I am just barely smart enough to ride a bike. I carry two cartridges and one tube and a patch kit. If I get a flat I swap for the new tube, inflate with one cartridge, put the punctured tube in my saddle bag. If I get a second flat I can patch one of the punctured tubes and inflate it with cartridge #2. In truth, I can't remember getting more than 2 flats on one ride but if that happened I would probably head to the nearest bike shop for a new tube and a cartridge or two.

Since I ride my bikes on errands, etc. they are sometimes left locked but unattended. A frame pump seems to be more likely to attract a thief than a saddle bag and when I'm really nervous I take the bag with me.

I still like my HPX, Silca and Blackburn frame pumps but some time over the years I have drifted more toward CO2 because it's faster and easier for me.

[Tom]

On a short ride, just the cartridges. On a long ride, both. I also carry two tubes on every ride.

If you need one of something you need two of them in case the first one breaks.

[ceewho]

Someone said they bring a mini pump and a CO2 inflator, using the former for staging and the latter for getting up to pressure. Do most of you who use CO2 do that?

Seems like I'd rather just carry the mini pump.

[izzyfuld]

I'm a huge fan of the red zeppelin. You can control the flow of the air, it's tiny, and you can "shut it off" and transfer the remaining air to another wheel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[donevwil]

Have you tried simply relocating a frame pump ? None of my bikes have pump pegs, all have frame pumps mounted in the rear triangle. Very solid when the appropriate length pump is used and in 24 years I've never had a mishap (pump in spokes as many naysayers fear).

[chiasticon]

OP: i'm confused. you said you have a lezyne frame pump. you also said your new bike lacks a pump peg, implying your old bike has one and you were using it. lezyne doesn't make a frame pump. the closest thing they make are mini-pumps that you can mount to your frame via a bottle cage mount. these are not the same as those traditionally referred to as "frame pumps" which typically require a pump peg and mount underneath your top tube (see image below).

so, if you've got a lezyne pump and it's mounted to your old bike, you're using a bottle cage mount. continue doing that with the new bike. (unless i'm just unaware of lezyne making a legit frame pump at some point...)

or if it's not a lezyne and is in fact a traditional frame pump, you can still mount it without a pump peg. just use a velcro strap or a toe strap to secure it.

me: i use a pump. when i was riding a carbon bike with a swoopy top tube i carried a minipump in my pocket; a frame pump just looked awful on it. but my new carbon bike and my steel bike have straight top tubes so i use a frame pump there. i just like the reliability of a pump, i guess.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EUoTxdV_jVg/T_iy2yiCM3I/AAAAAAAAAg8/I6tQ_xQjHic/s640/IMG_0809.JPG

[foon]

Besides being wasteful, you can run out of co2 cartridge. Missed a thorn in the tire? Double flat.

Also with a pump, it's much easier to give the old tube a few pump to locate a puncture.

[CaliFly]

Quick rides (20-30): CO2
Longer rides: CO2 + minipump
Always available: phone
Last resort: legs

[tigoat]

I carry both Co2 kit and a pump. The Topeak mini morph pump is used as a backup. I am no longer a weight Winnie so nowadays I carry more tools on my ride to fix everything I can on the road if there is a problem.

[ergott]

As mentioned before frame pump. So elegant and a way to make friends. I've handed over my frame pump to so many co2 carrying riders that jumped at the chance to save the cartridge.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[foo_fighter]

I'm starting to like the hybrid mini pumps, but haven't gotten around to getting one:
This one seems to have it all(I think a flex hose is crucial on a mini):
http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/hybridrocket_hp

But here's another one:
http://www.birzman.com/products.php?src=tech&prod_sn=32&tech_sn=31

and another:
http://www.lezyne.com/product-CO2-cfh-pressdrivecfh.php#.U3eiZ9JdXHQ

I usually carry 2 CO2 cartridges, 1 tube and a few insta-patches. Having the mini would be extra peace of mind.

[terry]

I must lead a charmed life, so many have real problems with flats. I average one a year, find co2 a the only way to go and don't worry about the environment with so few used. After reading Bob Ross' response I'd never even consider a pump-"120 strokes", yikes, I'd be too tired to finish the ride.

[vqdriver]

I use this. I can pre shape the tube then shoot the co2 after it's in. If I get multiple flats (as I assume all you who are so scared of co2 do) I still have a mini pump. Sucks to fully pump a tire with it. But I can if needed

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00278XRLW?pc_redir=1399997481&robot_redir=1

[Bob Ross]

After reading Bob Ross' response I'd never even consider a pump-"120 strokes", yikes, I'd be too tired to finish the ride.

I don't get this: Folks will routinely do a 100 mile ride with 7,500' of climbing, but then bitch about a two minute arm workout? Is our fitness as cyclists seriously that imbalanced?

[malcolm]

I don't get this: Folks will routinely do a 100 mile ride with 7,500' of climbing, but then bitch about a two minute arm workout? Is our fitness as cyclists seriously that imbalanced?

have you seen the twizzler like arms of most cyclists. Mainly just serve to keep their heads from hitting the handlebars.

[Ken Robb]

have you seen the twizzler like arms of most cyclists. Mainly just serve to keep their heads from hitting the handlebars.

Thanks for making me spew my coffee over my keyboard. :banana:

[BobbyJones]

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Genuine-Innovations-Ultraflate-Plus-CO2-Inflator-big.jpg

If you can't use one of these type of co2 inflators then you have some serious mechanical issues.

Unless you're like me and can go through a few seasons without flatting. Then when you do need it you discover the cartridge gasket has aged....

I'm of the same thought as pdmtong, I use a mini pump to stage the tube and if I'm in a hurry i'll top off with co2.

Also, Considering a flat is one of the most common on the road mechanicals i'll encounter, the added 80 grams of redundancy is nice to have when I'm 4 hours away from home.

[smashley]

C02 is just nicer to have in your tool pouch on a ride. It's pretty simple to use and faster than pumping your arm off with a tiny pump that may break.

[john903]

I use a topeak full size frame pump on both my bikes for all rides and one has a pump peg the other does not so I use a strip of velcro to help secure it.

Mini pump Cons: to tiny, takes up room in the jersey, can not get up the same pressure as a frame pump.
Pros: small and compact great as a back up to a Co2

Co2 Cons: What if you get to flats on a ride (yes I did once)
I don't like the waste, I feel waste full when there is all this free air around.
Co2 Pros: Light,fast, can be reasonably priced if you buy in bulk.

Frame pump cons: May not be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Frame pump pros: Relatively fast I can get up to 90-95 psi within 2min.
Light if you take the whole of bike weight into account.
Will fill multable flats especially in eastern Washington on group rides where the bane of bike tires is goat head thorns.
My favorite is, as a dog is quickly gaining on you and you just finished an interval session you reach for your frame pump and whack him on the nose.

Have a great day

[ergott]

Frame pump cons: May not be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.


I find it a sign of enlightenment.

:)

[JasonF]

Usually a C02 guy, but had a flat today and the first cartridge must've been defective since the inflator wouldn't puncture it to release the gas. I had a backup, but had to ride the final 15 miles without a spare. I guess from now on I'll roll with a pump as backup.

[Black Dog]

Mini pump Cons: to tiny, takes up room in the jersey, can not get up the same pressure as a frame pump.
Pros: small and compact great as a back up to a Co2


Have a great day

Lezyne mini pumps mount to the frame next to a water bottle cage. They also can fill a tire up to 120 psi. They also have a hose to make the pumping easier.

[Louis]

They also have a hose to make the pumping easier.

This may have changed since I last bought one, but I find it nuts that the full-size pumps don't also have an integral hose. You'd think that if they can find room for one in a small pump they'd do it in a full-size frame pump too.

[Tony]

Usually a C02 guy, but had a flat today and the first cartridge must've been defective since the inflator wouldn't puncture it to release the gas. I had a backup, but had to ride the final 15 miles without a spare. I guess from now on I'll roll with a pump as backup.

You may be interested in this.
http://www.rei.com/product/793154/genuine-innovations-secondwind-mini-carbon-pump-c02-inflator

I have the secondwind mini without the CO2, like it a lot.

[brando]

I also carry c02s for speed/pressure. But my hand pump is always with me.

[pbarry]

Thanks to this thread, I brought along two tubes today since my patch kit is awol... Got to the halfway point of the ride, a country store that has become a regular pit stop for cyclists. Overheard a rider say he might call his wife to pick him up. I asked if he needed anything--he'd repaired a flat and pinched the replacement. Out came one of my spares, my new Pedro's levers, (since I ditched the sharp ended Park levers), and Blackburn frame pump. He was back on the road in 4 or 5 minutes. Turned out he's an ex 7-11 rider and goes way back with Ben S.

[bluesea]

Was he T-a-l-l?

[oldpotatoe]

Thanks to this thread, I brought along two tubes today since my patch kit is awol... Got to the halfway point of the ride, a country store that has become a regular pit stop for cyclists. Overheard a rider say he might call his wife to pick him up. I asked if he needed anything--he'd repaired a flat and pinched the replacement. Out came one of my spares, my new Pedro's levers, (since I ditched the sharp ended Park levers), and Blackburn frame pump. He was back on the road in 4 or 5 minutes. Turned out he's an ex 7-11 rider and goes way back with Ben S.

Hygiene? That place that used to be the market?

[pbarry]

Yeah, formerly Clarks, now Mary's.

[pbarry]

Was he T-a-l-l?

Maybe 5'11 or 6ft. Didn't recognize him--looks like an ex-crit or track racer, burly!

[Seramount]

had a frame pump for at least 25 years...maybe longer.

finally switched to CO2...in 5 years, have had a couple of cartridges misfire, but I carry 3 at time, so that issue is not a deal-killer.

I'm keenly aware of virtually all environmental issues (it's my profession), but using CO2 to fill bike tires is not one of them.

if you can't recycle steel where you live, save up your used cartridges and mail them to me...I'll reimburse you for the postage and dump them in my curbside bin.

[weightshift]

My current kit is patches, spare tube and a Lezyne Pressure Drive. That mini-pump changed the game for me. Prior, I had a Crank Brothers mini-pump and employed the hand-pump first, CO2 to finish it off strategy.

But like others, as I've gotten older, environmental concerns, waste and unreliability with CO2 (as well as that situation where you're on a ride and you get more flats than you intended), the pump (no matter what size) will save your day, and your ride.

So it's all mini-pump from here on out.

However, lately, I've become aware that with my wheelset combo (White T11s laced to Stans 340z), the Conti GP4K 4-Seasons I run require me to overinflate to 170psi or so to seat the bead on the Stans (with some soapy water). On the road, with the two flats I've gotten thus far (in two years), the mini-pump won't get me to that high pressure to be able to seat the bead so I ride home with a lumpy wheel. Not my favorite.

So I've considered going back to CO2 to finish it off for those rare flat occasions but am curious if anyone encountered this with Stans and the Conti GP4K combo? And whether CO2 would be enough to top it off to non-lumpy conditions?

[themashlife]

Co2

[R3awak3n]

have 2 mini pumps, one is better than the other. Just recently bought a frame pump and thats it, will never go back to mini pumps. Never used CO2 but dont have much interest in it.

The only disadvantage of a frame pump is weight and its minimal, I do not think it looks bad and even if it does who cares, take it out when you are taking pictures. I wont be caught with a mini pump ever gain.

[rnhood]

CO2 for me. Its quick, efficient and reliable. Well mostly reliable. I have seen an inflator nozzle self destruct. But the newer ones seem bullet proof. CO2 is a low risk solution imho.

If I ride alone, which is seldom, I also carry a Topeak micro rocket.

[rwsaunders]

When you use a 12gram CO2 cartridge to fill a tube, you release the same amount of CO2 that's injected into two liters of Coke. I think that the planet consumes a little more Coke, than CO2 cartridges. But hey, I carry a pump, and cartridges and I drink Coke. :cool:

[Lugger]

OP: i'm confused. you said you have a lezyne frame pump. you also said your new bike lacks a pump peg, implying your old bike has one and you were using it. lezyne doesn't make a frame pump.


You are correct sir! Its actually a zefal frame pump on my Serotta. Sorry I wasn't paying close attention as I wrote the post. But that bike definitely has a nub. My new (to me) Colnago does not.

At this point, I am experimenting with C02. Ironically, I haven't had a flat since I picked up the Red Zeppelin.

I'm still nervous about CO2 failure, and I kinda take pride in being the go-to guy when others are stuck. So I may try the Lezyne Pressure Drive. I may also try a full size frame pump in the rear triangle, but with all the damaged pavement after the rough winter in the northeast I'm still nervous about that.

[Lugger]

Hey Chiasticon, That sure looks like Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ behind your Serotta. Where are you located? I'm in Montclair.

[pbarry]

Was he T-a-l-l?

Just figured out it was Scott Berryman.

[ShaneAtSilca]

So it's all mini-pump from here on out... However, lately, I've become aware that with my wheelset combo (White T11s laced to Stans 340z), the Conti GP4K 4-Seasons I run require me to overinflate to 170psi or so to seat the bead on the Stans (with some soapy water).
... but am curious if anyone encountered this with Stans and the Conti GP4K combo? And whether CO2 would be enough to top it off to non-lumpy conditions?

This has to just depend on how high you are able to get the pressure before moving to the CO2 to finish the job. The initial pressure in the cartridge is certainly well over 170, and would get the job done if you didn't need too much additional volume to finish the game.

[Ahneida Ride]

have 2 mini pumps, one is better than the other. Just recently bought a frame pump and thats it, will never go back to mini pumps. Never used CO2 but dont have much interest in it.



Really ...... which one ? ..... I could NEVER get my Zeflal HP pump to
work effectively. My LYS mini pump far out ranks it.

[rippledabs]

Mini-pump using the spacer trick.

Use the spacer to pump against the ground. (You don't even need a flex hose pump)

My puny arm can get any tire up to 120psi without stressing the stem.

I recycled the cutoff from a seatpost to use as spacers.

[TomHilbert]

I've always used a Zefal frame pump. One of my bikes doesn't have a peg, so I use a Zefal Doodad Plus to hold on the pump; very secure.

Here's a link http://www.abcbikes.com.au/zefal-doodad-plus-pump-strap.html

[Ahneida Ride]

Lezyne mini pumps mount to the frame next to a water bottle cage. They also can fill a tire up to 120 psi. They also have a hose to make the pumping easier.

My Lezyne mini pressure drive works !
It's the smaller 7 inch model.
It fits neatly in my Carradice zipped roll saddle bag

May look like a toy. Don't be fooled ...it is built solidly.
I highly recommend it.

http://www.wigglestatic.com/images/lezyne-pressure-drive-2012-zoom.jpg

[weisan]

I had been using a Lezyne pressure drive for the last three years. Still works like day 1. Zero issue, even saved quite a few stragglers in numerous occasions. I got another frame mount for my other bike and just transfer it depending on which bike I am riding. 5 seconds job and costs me $4.

It's one of those rare products that just plain simply work, get it, use it, forget 'bout it.
Kinda wish more products were made this way.

[Ahneida Ride]

I had been using a Lezyne pressure drive for the last three years. Still works like day 1. Zero issue, even saved quite a few stragglers in numerous occasions. I got another frame mount for my other bike and just transfer it depending on which bike I am riding. 5 seconds job and costs me $4.

It's one of those rare products that just plain simply work, get it, use it, forget 'bout it.
Kinda wish more products were made this way.

AMEN ! :banana:

[weisan]

Sorry, didn't quite finish my sentence...kinda wish more products were made this way...like the Handlebra (http://handlebra.com).:p:banana::beer: