Pump vs cartridges (tools, tools, oh my)

[Catrin]

I get my first bike in about a week and am thinking about tools. My spinning instructor/cycle guy told me that I need to have at least the tools for changing a flat, an inner tube, and a multi-purpose tool for adjusting stuff. He seems to think that I would have an easier time with a small pump as opposed to cartridges. So, I thought I would ask the collective wisdom here on this.

Please note that I am a total newbie to cycles, and I am going to ask the LBS to teach me how to change a flat. I have seen both for sale at the LBS, and noted that I can carry either in a little bag on my seat post(?). Which would be easier for a novice?

In the future I will also get a little computer for the bike (once I am ready to break free from my instructor and head off on my own) - are there other tools that I might need to consider for the future?

[Becky]

IMO, cartridges are handy and usually faster than a pump, but I wouldn't head out with just carts. Sooner or later, you will more flats than CO2 carts I use CO2 on my "go-fast" bike, but I carry a small pump as back up. My other bikes have slightly larger pumps, and no CO2 inflator.

I would buy a small pump to start. CO2 can always come later

[ny biker]

I just carry a pump. I had a CO2 cartridge setup for a while, but never used them. I was advised to practice at home first because you're likely to overinflate the new tube and cause it to burst. But I decided to go back to a pump because it's lighter.

[HillSlugger]

I found it terribly hard to pump a road tire to riding pressure using a typical mini pump. If you go the pump route I highly recommend the Road Morph pump.

These days I only carry C02

[owlice]

I carry CO2. Because I ride where lots of other cyclists are riding, I'm pretty sure that if I really needed a pump, someone cycling along would let me use his/hers.

I did buy a Road Morph for my C&O ride, but usually don't carry that with me.

I have NO idea how good it is, but Nashbar sells a very small pump that is also a CO2 dispenser. It's small enough to fit into their (very generously sized) seat bags.

What a biking buddy recommended I put in a seat bag when I got my bike was:

a spare tube (the most important item IMHO)
tire levers
multitool
patch kit
something to use as a boot (a piece of old innertube, a dollar bill, SOMEthing! I know one person who keeps a $20 in the seat bag; it's a boot or a cab ride home)

I also have my CO2 cartridges, etc. in my seat bag, and one or two latex gloves.

I use a handlebar bag, too, and in that, I have a little boo-boo kit: antiseptic wipes and band-aids and the like.

Have fun!

[OakLeaf]

I was advised to practice at home first because you're likely to overinflate the new tube and cause it to burst.

That really depends on the kind and size of your tires. A 16g CO2 cartridge has just about enough to take a 700x23c road tire up to pressure.

I carry an inflater head, two cartridges, one tube, a patch kit and a mini-pump. Patching and inflating with a mini-pump are time-consuming ... but not as time-consuming as walking to your destination when you don't have the means to fix a flat.

[ridebikeme]

I also carry both, a pump and several cartridges. The CO2 is definitely much faster than a pump, but for the most part it's a one shot deal.( I know there are adaptors that will stop the flow of the CO2 once it's punctured) I like to give the tube some shape before installing it ,and then I finish it off with a cartridge. I carry both simply because I have seen several instances where someone has had multiple flats. I have also seen where the CO2 cartidge isn't any good, although that's a rare oddity.

For me personally, I would rather carry the little bit of extra weight of both a pump and cartridges, then to have to walk my bike home.

[redrhodie]

I carry cartridges and an adapter. I admit to one occasion of taking a ride from a stranger after I used 2 cartridges, and still had the flat. I did discover my issue was that my presta valve stem was too short for the adapter I have, so now I buy tubes with longer stems and haven't had a problem since. Just an FYI if you do decide to go with a CO2 system.

[owlice]

Catrin, if you don't have a floor pump, you should definitely get that. I generally check my tire pressure every second or third ride before I head out, and use my floor pump to top off the tires as needed. My floor pump has a gauge on it, which I find very handy.

I've had two flats in six? Seven? years. I've used more CO2 on other people's bikes than I have my own.

You should also look into getting lights of some kind. I used to have no lights and therefore didn't ride after dark; that said, there were times in previous years when I miscalculated time/distance/sunset and was riding in conditions in which some kind of light would have been A Really Good Idea.

If you are planning on not riding after dark, I suggest getting something cheap and little Just In Case. I got these and dropped them in my handlebar bag. I have lights on my bike now, but if one goes, or I'm riding with someone who doesn't have lights, or I want additional lights on me, I have these as spares. I wish I had had them when my son and I ran out of sunlight on one wooded trail some years ago; we really could have used them. It was dark out there!!!!

[Catrin]

I am taking notes of all of this wonderful information. So far I have gleaned the following:

Better to have both a pump and CO2, but if I can only get one right away get the pump.

Inner tube

Light of some kind

Multi-purpose tool (I already have something that should work)

Tire changing kit that will work with my bike (the tires, according to Trek's website are the Bontrager Race Lite Hard-Case Plus, All Weather, 700x28c).

Helmet (of course)

Later on:

Tire patch kit once I start getting out there by myself and have taken a class to learn how to patch a tire.

Is there anything else that a total novice should purchase with her bike? I want to get what I need, but no more than that until spring.

[Biciclista]

get a road morph pump. Cartridges are expensive and you can only use them once. I watched my Dh go through 3 of them and then he didn't have one... what would you do if that was you on the road?

Road Morphs are easy enough for me (think puny and lazy) to pump 90 lbs of pressure into my tires, enough for anything i need to do. they are ingeniously made, whoever invented them thought of everything.

and when you can afford it, get a floor pump too, to leave in your garage.

if you carry spare tubes, you can hopefully not need a patch kit.

[ny biker]

For basic maintenance, you will need to clean and lube your chain regularly. I have a device that's made for cleaning the chain easily, like this:

http://www.rei.com/product/724952

There are several different brands available.

A brush like one of these is also handy:

http://www.rei.com/product/546216
http://www.rei.com/product/663792

Offhand I don't remember what chain lube I have, although I know it's a dry type (less messy but has to be reapplied more often). Someone at the bike shop should be able to advise you.

When you lube your chain, put a drop on each link. Turn the pedal for a minute to work it through the chain (you'll want to have the bike upside down or on a workstand for this). Let it sit for a while (some say 10 minutes, some wait overnight). Then get a rag and clean as much excess lube off your chain as possible -- hold the rag loosely around the chain while turning the pedal. This will help keep grease off your leg and will also help keep grit from sticking inside the links.

Also re: flat tires. If you ever get a big cut or hole in your tire while you're out riding, you can temporarily "patch" it with a dollar bill. Put the dollar between the tire and the tube and it will cover the hole. I once rode 10 miles this way after a cut in my tire had caused holes in 2 tubes in the middle of a ride. But the dollar stuck to the tire when I tried to take it out after I got home, so don't use a large denomination just in case it tears when you remove it.

[Catrin]

For basic maintenance, you will need to clean and lube your chain regularly. I have a device that's made for cleaning the chain easily... (you'll want to have the bike upside down or on a workstand for this).

Thanks for this great information, I hadn't yet thought about chain maintenance. I will need to consider logistics for this, I have a 1-bedroom apartment... I think that I am going to need to rearrange closet space for some of this

I've noted the several recommendations for the Road Morph pump and have added it to my list. I am still putting my list together, I don't actually pay for the bike, or get the accessories/tools until Friday, so I have some time to research this.

I feel like a kid in a candy store! Thankfully my spinning instructor is meeting me at the store to help me make sure that I get what I need without trying to buy the store out single-handed

[Crankin]

+1 on the Road Morph, although I no longer can use it. My bike now is too small and too rounded to hold a pump. I carry the cartridges and an adapter that my DH has adapted even more. I carry 2-3 cartridges, since we ordered a box of 50 from a supply store that is not a cycling place. They cost about fifty cents.
I didn't have any flats this year. Well, I did have one on my Jamis, where I do have the Road Morph. Too bad I can't get that little wire back into the V brakes when you take the wheel off/on. It effectively stops me from changing a flat on that bike. So I bought some heavy duty tires and I pray when I ride it.

[Pedal Wench]

I use a CO2/pump combo all-in-one. It lets me use the pump to shape up the tube before I put it in the tire, and also check to make sure the pump's on the valve, then let the CO2 go to pump it up.