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:) I just want to express my appreciation for this site--I received wonderful support and ideas on my very first question on the boards, and as I search and read other posts, I really feel like I am learning a lot!
With that being said, I would like some suggestions on how to inflate my tube after a flat-I'm not very strong in 1 arm, so I find it VERY difficult to inflate my tire enough to continue for any significant distance . Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!!
CO2 cartridges?
http://tinyurl.com/7ltsf
I've never used them, but they may be just what you need.
Co2's are great! Maybe have a mini-pump on hand to get the tube slightly inflated or I just use my mouth and once I know it's seated properly and ready to pump up I use the Co2. I have a combo Co2 inflator/pump that's so cool my hubby stole it but its drawback is that it takes the larger threaded cartridges, which are more expensive. My simple one takes the cheaper, smaller non-threaded version. It's the one thing I buy at walmart (in the gun section), I still have 3 of the dozen I bought 5 years ago.
A drawback to Co2's is their tendency to freeze the valve shut when it's cold. So far it's been dealable.
I also run Tuffy liners between tube and tire to prevent flats. They make lighter weight versions of these too. The only problem with the Tuffy liner that I've had thus far is that the end of it wears into a tube and can cause a flat. This has only happened to me once and it took 6 years to do it. For 6 years without flats I can live with the inconvienence. Come to think of it, most all my Co2's went to friend's and the hubby's bike-til he took my liners out. He doesn't like them, I guess because of the weight thing. I've got to get around to putting them back in...I hate fixing flats!!
After changing a few flats in the middle of the desert as the temps approached 105, and pumping the little frame pump like a maniac as sweat dripped off my face like a waterfall, I bought a CO2 pump-Ultra-inflate. I use the frame pump to get the tube started, then use the CO2 when it's in place. After my mountain biking friends saw how quickly I changed my flats after that, they went out and bought one, too. I buy the small cartidges at Walmart; for a box of twelve, they end up being about $.50 each. It usually takes 1 and 1/2 or two cartridges to get to the level of pressure I want. With the road bike, it's always two cartridges. I now use slime tubes for the mountain bike, and can go months without having to change a tire, which is amazing considering all the cactus on the trails around here. Last week I had a slow leak and decided that after a year on that tube, it was probably time to change out the tube. I found about 10 thorns in the tire besides the goathead hole that finally caused me to change the tube. That's 10 flats that the slime fixed. How can you beat that? I asked the LBS one time about slime tubes for road bikes, and the guy told me that when they flat with 110 lbs. of pressure, they make a bike mess, so not many people use them. Well, I had a major blow-out once with the mountain bike, and the bike and I looked a bit like something out of Ghostbusters, so I've never used them on the road bike. With CO2, changing a tire is really quick. You'll never regret the purchase!