Phil has a question that he thinks is a bit bizarre. He wants to know is anyone has ever used helium to fill their tires. Well, the easy answer is yes it has been done, but there are a few reasons why it’s not for everyday use.
Question: Hi, this is really bizarre but I just wondered if you’d ever heard of anyone using helium to fill their tires before. Theoretically it should make the bike lighter?
Answer:
Hi Phil,
At one-time track cyclists who were going for a world record or were on a winning ride at a world, championships would have helium in their tires. This would be from a pressurized gas bottle and with silk track tubular it would have to go to over 200 psi, a very high pressure!
As you point out it is lighter than air, but it is fairly dangerous and expensive to use, I wouldn’t use it every day for riding to work.
So Chris, not such a bizarre question, but I would stick to normal air.
Image credit bike_jun/ flickr
