VintageSteelEU

Not in the area I ride through, unless well to do middle class pensioners started hitting laughing gas these days. Also, many of the containers are threaded and look like CO2 ones. Yes, it's probably a mix, but whereas I don't expect much from the passing by teenagers, the cyclists should know better.

GlennR

The cartridges are blue?

bbattle

They make these things called saddle packs. You can carry quite a bit of stuff underneath your bum and never realize that junk is below your trunk. Until you have a flat.

I run tubeless now but still carry a patch kit, extra tube, tire levers in my saddle bag. Still have room for my car key.

I have a small pump mounted on the downtube.

Where I ride, one can't be too careful so I am prepared for dire consequences.

Some riders even have frame pumps but let's not get ridiculous.

I have tried CO2 and it works but regular ol' pump works for me.

MinnMan

I've never seen a roadie deliberately discard a spent CO2 cartridge. I seldom see discarded gel wrappers either, though there are times that those are dropped by accident.

Cyclists aren't perfect, but I'd venture to say that on the whole they litter less than pedestrians or motorists. Mostly it's *us* dodging the trash that *they* leave for us.

GlennR

I do see litter on paths used by casual walkers and riders. When you get father from the parking lots there's a lot less trash. That's because most serious people take their trash with them.

Last summer I left a case of water bottle on a path with a sign "Thirsty? Then take one." I came back the next day and not only were there none left, there were no empties and even the plastic packaging was gone.

Never seen a empty CO2 or tube left on the side of the road or path. Though I do see a lot of USB cables on the side of the road.

MinnMan

I'm usually one of the ones in a group ride who steps in and helps to change other people's flats. It goes faster with multiple hands. And among other things, I use my CO2 to help out. So I use it pretty frequently. Works like charm, every time.

For whatever reason, there's a minority of folks who show up to these group rides wholly unprepared. They just trust that the rest of us will have a tube and a cartridge and aa tire iron and.... These are in many cases friends of mine, and I try not to judge, but I can't imagine being that person.

People offer to pay me back for the tubes and cartridges that I donate to the cause of keeping us rolling. I never accept. Compared to the amount of money I spend on my cycling habit, it's in the noise. (But don't get me wrong - I'm not the only one on the giving side. There are others playing the same role.)

bahula03

Opinions being opinions, we aren't talking about something like plastic grocery bags here. Cyclists use a relatively tiny number of cartridges, which are typically filled with byproduct gas from power generation that is going to exist for the foreseeable future with or without demand for CO2 cartridges, and the resulting "waste" is one of the most widely, easily, and effectively recycled materials around. In the larger scheme of things and moving towards a healthier planet, the biggest benefit of not using CO2 to fix flats for environmental reasons is probably...being able to say that you don't use CO2 cartridges for environmental reasons. If you want that postage stamp of moral high ground, then by all means

BHG6

Yeah...no. I have multiple bikes and don't like having to swap stuff back and forth. My little tool pack slips nicely in to my pocket and I don't notice it all while riding

MinnMan

Sure, you do you. But one can have multiple saddle packs. Also, some saddle packs, such as the Topeak "Wedge" line, swaps from saddle to saddle in about 10 seconds.

Iride01 

You know they are steel don't you. Once they are punctured and the CO2 expended they no longer need hazmat handling. I just throw my spent cartridge in the recycling bin my city supplies me with.

Sometimes I crush them in my bench vise just so they'll see that it is spent.

bbattle

He doesn't like them adding to the trash piling up on the side of the road.

I don't like seeing trash but I don't think I've ever seen a spent CO2 cartridge on the side of the road.

BHG6

I do?

VintageSteelEU

Well, sure thing, steel will rust eventually and disappear, it's not the kind of pollutant that's going to stay there for millennia. But to produce each tonne of steel causes emissions of nearly 2 tonnes of CO2 and it corresponds to 5% of emissions globally. We won't stop producing raw materials, but we can work towards reducing the carbon footprint of the industry and it starts with recycling raw materials. What I'm saying is that many people simply don't care. I'd say it's not necessarily a high moral ground, but at this point it's more about the survival of civilisation. Our civilisation is extremely wasteful as it is. So in my opinion everyone should consider whether they really need to use CO2 cartridges or if they could make do with a small pump instead. I guess I started on a wrong foot by saying CO2 cartridges should be banned. But what I mean is that we should be encouraging people to reuse the resources whenever they can. Then again, not that big of a deal, the world will keep on spinning, whether shape humanity gets itself into. Sucks to be a kid right now, because boy, they are going to get hit real hard.
Anyhow, now I feel like the thread got another dimension the OP probably didn't expect to come up So I'm terribly sorry if I highjacked it.

Iride01 

Yeah be those of us using CO2 are keeping a large amount of CO2 trapped and away from the environment. Also, scrap steel like aluminum is very recyclable. Those mini pumps will wear out and have to be replaced more often than my CO2 inflator. Many of them, the pumps especially are made with plastics and stuff that is less likely to be re-cycled because the cost of virgin plastics are lower than the cost of re-cycling plastics.

noisebeam

I noted earlier in this thread that recyclers will take them at the going rate of scrap steel about $0.1/lbs.
An empty 16g cart is about 45g. 10 make a pound.
So they are worth about a penny each as scrap.
I don't see them either and assume scrappers collect any they find.
I take them home and put in my recycle bin.

Nachoman

Pre-pump with a mini pump.
Then fill to max capacity with C02 cartridge.

OBoile

I use a pump.
My reasoning is as follows:
90% because I'm dumb, and I'd mess up CO2 and then be stuck.
5% because I don't want to carry both.
5% because it reduces waste.

WinterCommuter

I’m mostly a road rider. I carry threaded co2 cartridges/inflators in my road kit. Squeezing 80+ psi into tire with a small hand pump isn’t fun. that said, i do carry a very small hand pump on my fatties. Squeezing in 10 psi with a hand pump is much easier than 80+ psi. So, short answer is “both” but not necessarily at the same time.

mwdilday

I believe CO2 will defuse thru the tube and will go flat in a day or so. I only use it if I have to and inflate with air ASAP.

noisebeam

If I inflate 25c with CO2 on the way to work 7am there is always more than enough pressure to ride home at 6pm - even on the hottest of days. By the next morning it needs real air, so I fully drain it and replace with the good stuff.

biker128pedal

I carry a pump. Matches my stealth black Domane. I carry on CO2 in the Domane storage burrito but I’ve blown tires with one before. So will only use it if I need a quick fill. I do need to practice using a CO2 cartridge.

I like the Lezyne pump and changed the fill hose to the one with the analog gauge. There is a version with a digital gauge I’m eyeing and wonder how well it works.