Bike CO2 Cartridges

When it comes to inflating tyres on the road after you have got a flat, more and more cyclists are using CO2 cartridges as a fast, cost effective, way of inflating their tyres. There are reasons for why you might want to carry them with you while you are out on the road. Here we can find out more about CO2 cartridges and the inflators that come for the cycling purposes.

CO2 cartridges are small metal containers. They are about the size of your thumb. They hold highly pressurized CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas. Although there is a wide variety of applications for CO2 cartridges, commonly cyclists carry these cartridges with them along with an air adapter (or regulator) for re-inflating tyres that have gone flat while on a ride.

If CO2 cartridges are in the hands of someone who knows how to use them, they can quickly and easily inflate a tyre that has gone flat. They have become highly popular among cyclists because they do the job in seconds with zero effort or fuss. A 16 gram CO2 cartridge will inflate the average road bike tyre to 120PSI and the average mountain bike tyre to 40 PSI. Particularly in the case of road bike tyres, most cyclists cannot inflate their tyres to the required maximum pressure with the typical frame mounted pump increasing the risk of getting another puncture on the way home.

There are many bike CO2 cartridges on the market but it is worth noting that aside from packaging CO2 cartridges typically all work the same. Buying your CO2 cartridges in bulk dramatically reduces the cost per canister.

The regulator, or air inflator as it is commonly called is the adaptor you attach your air cartridge to to inflate your tyre. To use it you simply screw the air cartridge firmly into the air inflator head. Once you have done this it is a simple matter of pushing the head over the valve of the tube as you would a normal pump and then transferring the highly pressurized CO2 from the canister into the tyre. You can control the flow of CO2 into your tyre simply and easily. Depending on the type you choose, this is done by either pushing down on the regulator (Basta Air Inflator) or turning it like a tap (Roto Air Inflator), inflating your tyre in a matter of seconds.

PS. Never throw your empty canister or damaged tube onto the roadside or into the bush, they are NOT bio-degradable!