Originally Posted by
noglider
My brother in law gave me a CO2 kit. I haven't used it. I don't trust it. I'll empty the cartridge prematurely or something. And CO2 leaks after a day. What if I need two or three cartridges? My pump is more reliable.
I learned a good tip for using CO2 though. If the cartridge isn't enough to fill your tire and you want to use it with a pump, better to do the pumping first and letting the cartridge top you up. If you use the cartridge first, topping up with the pump takes more force since the pressure is higher.
I have never used a CO2 cartridge, only a pump. But I have witnessed several friends use up their one and only CO2 cartridge and suddenly were out of luck without as much air as they wanted. Or in one case, had to wait for the spouse to pick them up at some road intersection when their spare tube started to leak too.