New Gear: Genuine Innovations Tire Repair & Inflation Wallet

So, what do you do if you bust a tire tube out on the road? Well, one answer would be to walk the bike back to the nearest trailhead, and hope for either a bike shop to be closeby, or hope the cellphone works there. That’s been my path until this weekend.

I’ve been thinking about this scenario, and finally decided to do something about it. I talked with Joe from West County Cycles — we were in there looking for a bike for Beck — about pumps, and kinda figured that’s where I’d head. After a few minutes discussion though, I realized that a CO2 cartridge inflation kit made more sense. They carry the Genuine Innovations line, so I picked up their Tire Repair & Inflation Wallet. This’ll fit nicely in my bike trunk, and I think, along with a replacement tire tube, it could save me a lot of grief on the road.

There’s enough air in two cartridges for a couple of inflations, a patch kit, some handles to help replace a tube and a nozzle device to get the air from the cartridges to the tube. These cartridges are about $3-$4 each, and I can’t imagine why you’d carry a pump instead of these easy-to-use cartridges. I’ll trade $3 for a lot of pumping any day of the week!

I’ve never changed the tube in a bike tire before, and I hope I never have to. At least I’m prepared now, just in case!