Recumbent riders are not obsessives!

[ufkacbln]

Except maybe this one from a US website:

I just added more rolling stock to the stable. A new black Cat Expedition. I bought it from PoweronCycles.com and Mark set it up for me. Obviously the idea was to save weight and increase speed. Mark put on nitrogen filled Kojaks and did a helium filled frame. WOW what a difference. The trike lost 3 lbs and gained 3 mph. The new air compression brakes he installed stop on a dime and release even faster. The neon lite tube frame is unbelievable. Mark also added an air adjustable seat so the frame does not bother you and the seat keeps you cool with it's thermal solar cooling, pricey but well worth it. The new aero spokes seam to work wonders. The carbon-silcone chain is super quiet and lite, never needs lub. The titanium derailer and casette shift very quick with no noise. And the polished titanium boom reduced additional weight.

I know it is out of context and a bit of a wind-up, but anyone else thought about this type of mod?

Gives "Weight weenie" a whole new depth!

 

[derall]

Hahaha
That's where I'm going wrong. With the fairings fitted my SMGT tips the scales at about 45lbs. Maybe I should put Helium in the AirZound

 

[Arch]

Helium-filled fame? How do you stop the helium escaping, it being only the second smallest molecule and all that? I mean it esapes from rubber balloons overnight, and I don't believe you can get a frame airtight enough. That bit must be a windup surely?!

Still you could have a tube to suck it out with, and stop bad drivers by yelling at them in a squeaky voice...

 

[mosschops2]

Helium-filled fame? How do you stop the helium escaping, it being only the second smallest molecule and all that?

You'd have to put double orings on the seat post for a start! You could weld shut the front forks I suppose.....

If you're going to such lengths though - you'd save even more weight by having a vacuum in the frame. Air weighs what - 1kg/m3 ish. Helium weighs (wiki....) 0.17 kg/m3.... volume of a frame.... 10 litres?? If you're lucky. Leading to a helium saving of 8.3 grammes, where as for a vacuum system you could save the full 10!!!

 

[Arch]

I'm going home right now to plug my hoover into my hack...

 

[Fiona N]

Better watch out for that 14lbs on each square inch of tube though - tubes are not built to operate with a vacuum inside

 

[fergal penge]

wow i WANT one of those!!!
fergal penge.

 

[arallsopp]

I've been running my SMGTe with a gas filled frame for about 18 months now. As noted above, Helium is just too small to contain easily, so I get it pre-mixed with nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. I normally keep it topped up at around 14.7psi to support the tubing, but have found it easier to allow slightly lower pressures if I'm tackling a really big climb.

 

[Auntie Helen]

What's this 'lub' on the chain of which he speaks?

 

[Alf]

Me too. Works well in tyres too. Could do with a bit less of the CO2 though - can lead to overheating! Things ain't what they used to be.

 

[Chonker]

I've been running my SMGTe with a gas filled frame for about 18 months now. As noted above, Helium is just too small to contain easily, so I get it pre-mixed with nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. I normally keep it topped up at around 14.7psi to support the tubing, but have found it easier to allow slightly lower pressures if I'm tackling a really big climb.

Engineer!

 

[arallsopp]

Nah... Wikipediac.

 

[Chonker]

Hehe, well it made me chuckle anyway