I've noticed that a few people have trouble inflating their tires on the road. I don't mind letting you use my pump, but one day you'll be riding by yourself or with somebody with an unusable pump, and you'll get stranded. It's a good idea to try to inflate your tires with your frame pump at home, and make sure that it works. If it doesn't, most likely there is a problem with one of the rubber pieces inside the head of the pump. You can try to replace the piece, or buy a decent frame pump.
Many of those little frame pumps that people use are very cute and light, but completely ineffective at actually pumping air into your tires. I'd recommend that you buy a pump from the Topeak Morph series. This one for example. A feature I always look for in a frame pump is a hose, so that you won't bend the valve stem when you're pumping hard. (To minimize that risk, you should also use tubes with threaded valve stems.) Another handy feature is a fold-out foot pad that you can step on, so that you can use your frame pump exactly as if it was a floor pump. Some of these Topeak Morph come with a gauge. The model I link to in this post, and which I own, can inflate your tires up to 140+ psi (it takes me time and patience, but I can get there).
I don't know where you can find these pumps for the lowest price, but even if you spend 30 bucks on one, it's money well spent.
Does anyone know where I can buy a sleeve for my frame pump? I want to protect it from water and dirt, so I'm using an umbrella sleeve. But my cranks rub on it and already made some holes, so I need to find something better. (Plus, it looks awful.)
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For a sleeve for your pump, try a section of inner tube of the right size/diameter which can fairly easily roll onto the pump's business end. Road tubes obviously are too small but cruiser-size might do the trick. Fold or roll up the end to seal with a wire tie. Mount the covered pump vertically with covered end up.
I felt really secure and well-equipped last summer with a Morph Road G. Late in the heat of the afternoon, I flatted. Fixing was the usual routine except now, all heated up and sweaty, here I am pumping furiously away midst a cloud of mosquitoes.
The problem with the Morph G is the output, it delivers only about 70ml volume per stroke. Bringing a tire up to pressure is a lot of strokes---tolerable to do if loss-of-time is not crucial and when not contributing to the procreation of my tiny tormentors.
Which is why I switched to CO2. Very fast! Very light! Objection here is you get only one chance. Solution is carry several chances/cartridges. Several cartridges weigh quite a bit less than a mini-pump.
I look forward to hearing why I'm wrong ;)
Titzim, I don't think you're wrong. It's a matter of preferences.
I prefer pumps because, as you say, you get more than one chance. I usually carry two tubes, plus patches, so I could fix 8 or 9 flats if need be.
Moreover, sometimes a cartridge goes to waste if you don't stick it in the valve properly. No such thing with a pump.
Plus, even if 8 or 9 cartridges were lighter than a pump (which I doubt), they would still take a much larger volume.
Another advantage of the pump is that I control and measure the pressure of the tire. With a cartridge, I could feel the tire, but I'll never know whether its pressure is 90 psi or 120 psi (and I don't have the possibility of inflating it a little bit more if it's too low).
The issue of time is secondary for me. It takes me less than 5 minutes to inflate a tire with the Topeak Morph, perhaps even less than 3 (I'll have to time myself).
Every experienced cyclist has their pet strategy for dealing with flats. For a long time I was basically in Francisco's camp: buy the best pump and best puncture proof tires out there and deal with them as they come. I was especially suspicious of CO2 for economic and environmental reasons until recently. At least for me, the convenience of CO2 is so great that it competes with the practicality of the old fashioned method. And so now I carry both.
For me, especially if it's really cold or really hot, the tradeoff makes sense. Here are my approximate times for on-the-road flat repairs, understanding of course that I kind of do this for a living... so your times might vary.
<60 seconds, CO2
2-3 minutes, frame fit pump
3-5 minutes, high volume mini pump
5+ minutes, low volume mini pump
To specifically address the pump issue, many of you know my hatred for mini pumps. They all basically suck. I guess if you must have a mini, it should be the Topeak Morph... but they are expensive. I have been testing and can recommend the Planet Bike Mini Versair as an alternative. It's basically a clone of the Morph for $10 less. Same flexy hose, same reinforced body, and it actually will fill a tire to 110psi.
Better yet, roadies should get actual road pumps. I really don't understand why they've fallen out of fashion, but frame fit pumps are easier to use, pump faster, and weigh basically the same ~250g as the Morph/Versair. Both Topeak and Planet Bike offer decent frame fit pumps. I prefer the Planet Bike because it's a bit less expensive and has a useful T-handle design.
All that said, careful attention should be made to running durable training tires, but flats are inevitable. Learn how to do the repair and collect the equipment that you think will serve your needs the best.
I used the Road Morph for a trip around Australia and it served me quite well. It is nice to have the pressure gauge for those of us that don't know the "feel" of a properly pumped tire and I think the hose allows you to get better leverage than a pump that attaches directly to the tube (for those of us that are wimpy). I can actually pump the pressure up to 110/115 psi.
I too was a little timid to use the CO2s cuz you are left stranded if you run out, but they do make for easy flat fixes (especially in the cold when you just want to get going back on your bike). I'm not sure I can hit the under 60sec. mark yet though :)
Anybody know if you can recycle the empty cartridges (J?).
One other point when considering the pump versus CO2 is that if you are on a group ride others are also waiting for you to get the tire fixed. While I will often use a pump if I am riding by myself or with one or two friends (as it is more economical), when on a larger group ride I usually just bring the CO2 since I don't want to make everyone else wait for too long.
Cartridges are just steel, so you can recycle them in Chicago in food can bins. Thanks to the small crew that braved the cold for tonight's flat repair class. We had a spirited discussion about the relative merits (and per Aspen's comment, group comportment) of CO2 vs pumps. I'm sorry we had to cut it a little short. The durometer discussion was just getting good.
I have a Topeak Morph pump and I love it. No more worries of damaging the presta valve stem. I also carry CO2 cartridges. You need a pump to establish the correct psi. Further, I used 2 CO2cartridges to inflate my tire when the pressure was low only to discover I had a flat, and then without a pump, and having used the cartridges I was stuck!
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