CO2 Cartridges

Triathlon Forum
1

Had do use one of these today for the first time and I just so happened to have the large 29er cartridge. Definitely a lot leftover, but got my buddy’s tire to a proper psi. Do the smaller sizes suffice for a road tire? Is there a valve for the cartridge that saves the canister or are these always one time use? Feels almost like a waste and a hand pump might be better to have. What do y’all think?

2

I use the standard 16g cartridge for 700C and 650C tires.

I get them from Amazon or Ebay for about $1 each when I buy 24 or 30

3

I’ll sometimes carry a small travel pump in a jersey pocket if I’m riding with a few people and there is a chance of more than one flat, but alone I just bring one or two CO2 cartridges. Like JaretJ said, order them in relative bulk from amazon or ebay (don’t need cycling specific ones) and the cost is negligible. Most of mine are the 16g cartridges and they are perfectly fine for a 700c road tire, haven’t tried them with anything bigger.

4

Thanks for the responses. Great points all around. So what I’m hearing is as long as it’s a 16g threaded cartridge it should work regardless if the application is cycling/airsoft/food and beverage? I know it may seem a bit trivial but I’m the kinda guy that would be bothered by spending $3.50 every time I use one. If 16g will work that’s great… I think I burnt a 20 or 25g this morning.

5

So what I’m hearing is as long as it’s a 16g threaded cartridge it should work regardless if the application is cycling/airsoft/food and beverage?

If your inflator is threaded, you need to use threaded cartridges (there are a few inflators that take either threaded or non threaded). So, not ALL 16g cartridges will work.

I love having a pump on my bike. I only use CO2 in race situations when every second counts. Plus, it’s nice to be the guy that saves your buddies a few bucks when they flat. If you do group rides, you’ll be the ride hero if you pull out a nice pump when somebody flats. I recently bought the Silca Tattico and it’s awesome. Much nicer than my old Lezyne. The Lezyne did the trick, but the Silca is nicer. Bontrager Air Support HP Pro is real nice too, but I’d still go Silca for only a couple dollars more.