I promised Lawrence I'ld make a thread about this, so here it goes...
I am kind of obsessed with avoiding flat tires... Perhaps excessively for a biker but for a guy in a wheelchair, there's no amount that's excessive!
I can probably change a tire at home in my garage if I had to; especially in a nice warm garage, with proper tools, lighting, all the time in the world, helpful friends, etc. But alone on the side of the road in the dark without the right equipment, on the edge of hypothermia, etc... I would not bet my life on it & that's what's at risk then!
It's why despite all the drawbacks of the so called "airless tires", I still always used them on my chairs! They hurt like a mother but dying of hypothermia on the side of the road is more painful!
However with my increased limitations & severe chronic pain from being hit by a car a while back, I no longer can withstand the additional suffering that comes from inadequate suspension resulting from my flat proof tires!
As a result I had to figure out better solutions to existing flat-proof tires & mobility device suspension! It was that need & my idiot savant nature that allowed me to come up with (among other things) a way to convert existing shock absorbers/ suspension to Magneride suspension systems & current tire tech to flat proof tires that has the advantages of pneumatic with the positives of high psi road & low psi MTB tires!
It wasn't easy but I did it... & Lawrence just because you joined our discussion, I'll give you a sneak peek... (Not hard now Schwalbe is selling it. To be fair, they may have figured it on their own or I may have been careless who I told but I'm OK with it & saves me a lot of work)
Google "procore" & Schwalbe... Basically, it's a hybrid between tubular & tubeless. It uses a high pressure tube (+80-+120psi) within a cover to limits expansion & in a sealed tubeless rim/exterior tire at very low psi (-10-20psi).
The only difference between my design & their's is I use 2 valves & they use a special valve & adaptor to fill both sections at will. Time will tell which is better... But basically it gives the rim/tire protection, suspension & rolling resistance of the road tire with the traction, suspension, handling of the MTB tire!
If you are interested in DIY instead of buying, its easy. Make a no-stretch cover the size the tube will be limited to; a rim with/out beadhook, with beadlock & able to sit a tube (must); your ideal tube & tire (tubeless); tubeless tire sealant; loose valve for tubeless conversions; & either a few pieces of pipe or Schwalbe's adaptor (a few bucks).
1st- Prepare your rim as for an inner tube, I.e. rim tape, etc. & remove any old sealant from prior tubeless conversions & reseal any spot that leak..
2nd- Drill a 2nd valve hole wherever you want & install the spare valve in it as typical for tubeless conversions & make sure it's well sealed.
3rd- Whether you use the bits of pipe or Schwalbe adaptor, seat around the newly installed valve so it a allows air to pass from behind the inner tube to outer compartment.
4th- Put tube in the cover to limit it's expansion & seat in center of channel with valve in hole (I like some sealant around tubes' valve) & partially inflate. Add any tire liners next.
5th- Seat tire as in any tubular install but be sure all's 100% in place. If you use a lube to seat, make sure it's gone before sealant phase. Check it's all in its proper place. Test you can get air beyond the inner tube to outer chamber. If all good, seal tire as in any tubeless conversion...
6th-A- Once finished adding sealant, finish inflating the inner tube to full psi (forces tire sides firmly against rim to seal but if it doesn't stay filled, fix the leak in tube before continuing).
6th-B- Fill outer chamber & check carefully for any leaks, bubbles, voids, etc. & add sealant to areas that aren't fully sealed; retest until seal's complete (you may need to keep adding air to the outer chamber until sealed but not as much as typically- the tube helps that).
7th- Leave it until finished curing (however long the mfg says to wait). Adjust psi in both chambers to suit tastes (but keep big difference between high/low) & go for a spin... Adjust psi as desired & enjoy knowing you'll never have another snake bite again!
Ride on!!!
Adam
