My opinion on C02 is that it should only be used when speed is important. Since I very rarely race, that means I only carry it on group rides. Why? Because every person you add to a group increases the chances of a flat (x2 if one of those person's names is Trevor). If those flats add up, it starts to affect everyone's enjoyment in a big way. And even then, you still have to carry a pump as back up - so the C02 is, in addition to being wasteful, also kind of redundant.
The counter to that is that, when riding in groups, we often make sure one person is carrying a pump (usually whomever has the best one - OneUp EDC is a fave with all of us) and one has a shock pump. We spread the load. Theoretically, that can happen with other stuff, too, other than tubes and snacks (and, again, we often make Trevor carry 2 tubes because Trevor).
March 23, 2020, 12:57 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
My opinion on C02 is that it should only be used when speed is important. Since I very rarely race, that means I only carry it on group rides. Why? Because every person you add to a group increases the chances of a flat (x2 if one of those person's names is Trevor). If those flats add up, it starts to affect everyone's enjoyment in a big way. And even then, you still have to carry a pump as back up - so the C02 is, in addition to being wasteful, also kind of redundant. The counter to that is that, when riding in groups, we often make sure one person is carrying a pump (usually whomever has the best one - OneUp EDC is a fave with all of us) and one has a shock pump. We spread the load. Theoretically, that can happen with other stuff, too, other than tubes and snacks (and, again, we often make Trevor carry 2 tubes because Trevor).