C02 cartridges are only for "temporary" air ... WHO KNEW?!!!!

[maillotpois]

I think this needs a little research before being accepted as valid. Just ' cause the LBS guy says so, doesn't make it true.

Veronica

I agree. I have never noticed a CO2 filled tire needing to be re-filled more quickly. Perhaps it was not completely filled?



I must again post from Sheldon Brown's alter ego:

CO2 is heavier than air, you will make your bike heavy and slow if you
use it. Helium is lighter, the only way to go if you want speed and
safety.

If you are willing to live dangerously, Hydrogen is lighter and cheaper
than Helium, but don't smoke while riding your bike if you use
Hydrogen...

[kie_fujo]

the same thing has happened to my husband and myself. i asked my lbs about it the first time and they said that it must have been a fluke. then it happened to my husband as well. i believe it based on my experience. and both times they were completely full. once i refilled with my floor pump they held air just fine. but have never had co2 hold.

[sbctwin]

Before I knew better, I didn't always pump my "road" tires before every ride. On my mtn bike (now my commuter bike), I never pumped everytime I rode. I felt the tire and if the tire felt 'squishy' I would pump it up. But, on a group ride, on my road bike, I had a flat. The group leader that helped me fix the flat told me that as soon as I got home, I should pump up my tire. He said that the CO2 air didn't hold the air the same as my pumped air. Sure enough, I got home OK, but the next morning, my road tire felt really squishy, so I pump it up, fearing I would have another flat the next time I checked. My pumped tire remained good and by the next weekend, when I pumped up the tires for another long ride, my tires needed pumping, but not as much as it did the day after my CO2 fill. On my mtn bike (now commuter bike), I have had lots of flats this summer. My CO2 would fill it for me till I could get the tire fixed, but I would never feel like I was 'safe' until I actually put pumped air in the tire. I think the CO2's are good for the emergency fix, but not good for the long haul and if I have access to a regular pump, I will pump my tires for good measure.

[Mr. SR500]

CO2 works great! I used cylinders whenever needed and simply top off with a regular pump before every ride. I've not found any problems with tires loosing more air when filled with CO2, however some tubes leak more then others. I've had some I rarely had to add air, and other that would lose 10 psi in a day.

[Bluetree]

I usually dont have flat or squishy tires after using a CO2 cartridge, but I pump up the tires with a floor pump before every ride anyway.

If the tire does go flat after use on a ride, is it possible that something embedded in the tire is causing it, instead of the CO2? After all, the only reason to use one during a ride is if something is wrong with your tire and tube. Even if the tube is replaced, the problem still persists if something too small to be seen remains in your tire.

I had that happen once. After a succession of flats on one ride, close inspection at home revealed a tiny, tiny shard of a staple embedded in the tire.

[Crankin]

I always pump my tires before every ride, but, neither my husband or I have had issues with CO2 cartridges. I've only had flats 3 times in 8 years; one, where the tire kept going flat was because the tire had actually been cut.
I think this is what my grandmother called a "bubbie-meiser."

[OakLeaf]

Ah, more info here:

http://www.ornl.gov/~webworks/cppr/y...res/117378.pdf

According to that (discussion of separation of gases by a permeable membrane - effectively similar to permeation of molecules through an inner tube), CO2 molecules actually have a larger effective hard sphere diameter than N2 molecules - 3.99 Angstroms for CO2 vs. 3.68 for N2.

So there goes that theory