Except maybe this one from a US website: 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!
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
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...
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!!!
Better watch out for that 14lbs on each square inch of tube though - tubes are not built to operate with a vacuum inside
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.
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.
