I’ve said it once before, but it bears repeating now: adherence to Rule #29 carries with it the ultimate mission of the aspiring Velominatus, which is to geek out endlessly over the minimum amount of gear which yields maximum security in the event of a mechanical incident while riding.
The goal here is twofold. First, with no European Posterior Man Satchel dangling off the back of your bike like an elephant’s nutsack, pocket real estate is at a premium; filling them up with unneeded tools seems wasteful. Second, sagging pockets are as distressing as an EPMS, so care must be taken to ensure the pockets stay as light as possible.
Minimalist multi tool, lightweight inner tube or tubbie goo, and tire levers are all obvious choices; one is left only to endeavor to find the lightest model of each which still functions reliably (a lifetime can be devoted to this task). But that leaves us with the delicate matter of how we choose to resupply the air which provides a simple yet critical element to repairing the most common mechanical of all, the flat tire. The question in this case is, of course, whether to choose a chuck and cartouche c-oh-duex or minipump. Ignoring the obvious utility of being able to challenge someone to a mini-pump duel in the event of irreconcilable difference of opinion on critical matters of La Vie Velominatus, both means of air resupply have their merits.
Dictum 1 above has historically put me in the camp of using a chuck and two C02 cartridges. (One cartouche is not enough, I am much too clumsy to depend on my ability not to bugger the first one up.) First of all, the Lezyne Trigger Drive appeals to my sense of aesthetics; it’s small, nicely crafted, feels great in the hand and can provide hours of fidgeting should it find its way into my pants pocket. I can’t get excited about any particular C02 cartridge, but they are small and simple and I have an inherent appreciation for anything with a thread on it.
Dictum 2, however, does give me some pause; the ensamble is anything but a featherweight. Enter my Lezyne Carbon Roadlite, which was given to me when Lezyne came onboard as Air and Tool Supplier for Keepers Tour 2012. Initially, the pump only accompanied me on wet rides (C02 has a tendency to cause some freezing when discharged in cold, wet weather – very unpleasant). But before long, it began to creep into my thick noggin that the little devil hardly weighs a thing and is more than small enough to fit in my pocket without protruding out of the top, which is most unsightly and considered entirely unacceptable. Today, I find myself reaching for the pump more often than I do the chuck as it lightens my kit a bit, allowing me to consume an additional ale or two without contributing to any overall rider-kit-bike weight gains.
I find myself wondering where others fall in the Great Debate; which path do you walk, Pump or Chuck?
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I chuck, but am considering going to pump for one simple concern. Latex tubes and CO2 are not compatible. CO2 leaks out of latex tubes 10x faster than air, and air already leaks out of those babies quite fast. Depending on how far from home you are, you might not make it back.
Secondly, if you're running tubeless and use Stan's, CO2 does not play well with it. I learned this the hard way with my mountain bike. No CO2 for me there.
That Lezyne Carbon Drive pump is gorgeous. I think I know what I'm getting for Xmas.
@a stray velo
Well played.
@Tony, @Dave
This is the only answer which can be deemed as "wrong". It contravenes both Dictums which basically make YOU a dicktum.
@Endless Air Arguments
I'm not against the pump, of course, but this endless air argument would make me cock an eyebrow if I could do that without the use of a finger. How many flats are you planning on getting? And how many tubes and patches are you carrying?
Pump.
I carried CO2 for years. One day my teenage daughter called me out on the environmental waste I was propagating. So, I went to a Lezyne pump, bottle cage mounted on the seat tube. At first I wasn't liking how it cluttered up the lines of my Salsa Primero. But after a few rides I got used to it.
@Pedale.Forchetta Absolutely, I've only ever used two on one occasion but doesn't stop me being paranoid of running out on a long ride.
And a pack of park tools glueless patched is about the size of a quarter.
CO2 is fife if there's a short time on your ride left. The several hours out flats will leave you flat again, as CO2 permeates and doesn't hold you off. Topeak Micro. Tidy in a pocket pouch, lively, works great up to decent pressure.
This debate has been raging, and do mean RAGING with for months. I currently carry a pump (a cheap Blackburn) and a CO2 system. I'm beginning to think this is lame and ecessive in the weight dept. A hand pump will inflate a tire. It may not do this as quickly as a CO2 system, but it will get the job done. If having to work at flat repair for a few more minutes seems .......... well, time to invoke Rule 5 and learn to lay down some V while pumping up a tire.
The CO2 system goes in the drawer before I ride tonight.
I spent ten years as a marine navigator. Up until the eighties, finding out where you were was a very long and arduous process of using a sextant and getting your head round some complex spherical trigonometry. By the time you'd worked out a position, you were actually an hour away from where you were when you took the sights. Then came satellite navigation... briliant I thought.., less time number crunching, more time watching the waves and actually knowing exactly where you were. No said the Captain, who acted like he'd been on the Cutty Sark, you can't trust it, can't be relied upon blah blah blah, best use both, only the sextant is guaranteed to work. The fact that the sextant is perhaps the most delicate bit of kit on a ship and prone to numerous errors didn't come into it.
For me there is no choice, CO2 is the future, it has never let me down and used properly should never fail you, used winter and summer. Trouble with freezing? Just ease the valve a little more slowly, you shouldn't be blasting it in that quickly anyway.
Less time pumping, more time riding and at decent presssure to boot.
Silca frame pump w/ campy head.