A flat tire in the middle of a bike rides sucks, but it’s a whole other level of suckiness if you don’t have what you need to fix it. Here are my recommendations for the best bike mini pump to get you rolling again after you hear that dreaded hiss.
In Defense of Mini Pumps
As a long-time cyclist and “weight weenie,” I know there’s a certain nerd factor associated with loading your bike up with too many gadgets, but I still think having a mini pump is well worth it. They’ve fallen out of favor since CO2 arrived on the scene, and I’m not promoting mini pumps over CO2 inflators because I love them too. There’s nothing more convenient when you get a flat tire on a road ride and want to fix it as fast as you can to get back to the group you’re riding with.
CO2 is also more likely to give you the big blast of pressure that you need to get a tubeless tire seated—although not always. Be aware that most manufacturers warn that CO2 can cause tire sealant to solidify and make it less effective, so replace the CO2 with air and add more sealant when you get home.
There are a few reasons why I carry CO2 and have a mini pump as a backup. Sometimes when you get a flat tire, the cause is apparent—say a nail or piece of glass sticking out from the tire casing. Other times it can be a slow leak with a mysterious origin. It’s crucial to find the cause because a tiny piece of glass or a minuscule wire embedded in your tire can quickly put a hole in your replacement tube, putting you back where you started. A mini pump lets you inflate your bad tube and look for the hole without using one of your CO2 cartridges.
Also, when replacing a bike tube, it helps to put just enough air in the new one to give it shape before inserting it into the tire. When you do that, you have less of a chance of the tube getting under the bead of the tire and being pinched by a tire lever or blowing the tire off the rim once inflated. A mini pump is useful for that little bit of inflation and lets you use the full charge of your CO2 cartridge for getting max pressure into the tire once it’s mounted.
Lastly, a mini pump means you always have air as a backup to CO2. I was on a ride recently with a guy on tubeless tires when one went flat. He went through both of his CO2 cartridges before he realized his sealant had dried up. If I hadn’t had a pump to loan him to put his spare tube in, he wouldn’t have gotten home. I’ve had something similar happen to me when my spare tube was old and rotted from sitting in my saddle bag unused for too long. It was only the fact that I carry a pump and an inner tube patch kit that finally got me rolling again after much swearing and time lost.
A Little Goes a Long Way in CO2 Inflators
You can see why CO2 inflators are so popular. Not only are they super-convenient, but they fit easily in even the smallest saddle bag or jersey pocket. I prefer minimalist designs like this one from Feckless Industries that use threaded 16-gram cartridges over ones that encase the cartridge, as they’re very simple to use and take up less space.
Feckless Industries Minimalist Bike CO2 Pump with Adjustable Flow
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