Mountain Bike Resources Online - Gear - Superflate - Racin'flate

Innovations In Cycling provides three different variations to meet different needs. The Superflate is a favorite as it uses stardard BB gun type CO2 cartridges, which are cheap and widely available. The trigger allows you to regulate the rate of tire inflation. The only draw back is that it usually takes two of the 12 gram cartridges to fill your average sized mountain bike tire.

The Superflate TC is our recommendation for its ease of use and ability to use larger cartridges. Although they may seem more expensive, it should only take one 16 gram cartridge to inflate your tube vs. two 12 gram cartridges. Unless you are prone to flats, the space saving and ease of use will more than justify the increase in cost.

Hint: to get the most out of your CO2 cartridge, blow as much air as you can into the tube beforehand.

The Racin'flate is an extreme space/weight saver and can use both 16 and 25 gram cartridges. Instead of using a trigger, the Racin'flate uses two rotating cylinders to control airflow. The rotating cylinders come with insulated grips, which are needed unless you want your fingers frozen to the metal. The Racin'flate is designed for a shrader valve, but comes with a presta adapter, as do the Superflate and Superflate TC.

After you've geared up, why don't you consider taking on one of the mountain bike meccas? Nobody can resist the lure of Moab Area Mountain Biking.