The sun is starting to set and the weather is turning cold and damp, but you are still miles away from home on your bike. All you can think of is a hot shower and a nice dinner. Then you notice something does not feel right – the rear end of your bike feels bouncy and is drifting all over the place… damn, you have a flat. The last thing you want to be doing is changing a flat in the dark, but all you have is a spare tube and a bike pump… only 200 pumps until your tire is inflated!
For over 20 years, Genuine Innovations has been coming to the rescue of cyclists. Based in Tucson, AZ, Genuine Innovations has been producing inflators the use small cartridges of compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) to quickly inflate bicycle tubes and tires to get cyclists back on their way quickly. How quickly you might ask? Once the new tube is in the tire, all that is required is the CO2 cartridge to be loaded into the inflator and then the inflator attached to the valve on the tube. In about two seconds your tire will be ready to ride.
Not all of their products are made in the U.S.A., but their CO2 inflators are produced in Arizona. Along with manufacturing, Genuine Innovations also has design, engineering, quality control and logistics all in-house. To know for sure if one of their products is made in the U.S.A., just read the label. Those that are made in the U.S.A. are labeled as such. If the domestically produced content of the final product is less than 70 percent of the total product, those are labeled as ‘assembled in the U.S.A.’
The early models of Genuine Innovations CO2 inflators were just that… inflators. If for some reason you had a catastrophic day on the bike and had multiple flats, you had to worry about running out of CO2 cartridges. In recent years, they have started producing a line of inflators that can also operate as a pump just in case you forget CO2 cartridges or run out of them.
Along with making inflators for cyclists, Genuine Innovations also produces a number of other products that use similar compressed air cartridges. Inflators for motorcyclists and ATV riders; inflators for sports balls (i.e. Soccer balls); dusters for computers; kits to preserve wine; and my personal favorite… the Keg Charger. Being a U.S. based and operated company, Genuine Innovations also offers custom solutions for customers requiring pressure regulators or valves.
Genuine Innovations CO2 inflators are available through most bicycle shops and major sporting goods stores. If you cannot seem to find a local retailer, you can order directly from them through their website and also have a chance to view the full product line including all of the different types of compressed air cartridges available if you have a custom need.