The other night I went to the monthly meeting of The Silver Wheels Cycling Club.  It’s a great group of riders and I found the photographer from my wedding of thirty years ago.  As a UPS driver I used to deliver to his studio in the late seventies.  It’s a small world.

There was a small crafts show and it was interesting to see what people were in to.  I think next time I’ll take my guitar or banjo and give a mini-concert while people browse the crafts.

We had a guest speaker, one of the owners of Swerve Bike Shop in beautiful Oberlin, Ohio.  He brought in a bike with the biggest tires I’ve ever seen.

He said this bike could be ridden all year round.  What really surprised me was his claim that he kept tire pressure at 8 psi!  The he talked about how it was tubeless.  He then gave an extensive talk about converting a normal road bike to tubeless.  I had assumed you needed special rims and such but he said you didn’t.  For a reasonable fee they would do it for you.  They clean the rim and put gorilla tape over the nipples and put the tire on.  Then put in the sealant that approximates blood due to its clotting nature.  They blow up the tire, spin it a few times and it seals.  Every few months you need to put in a few ounces of sealant but once in it is very hard to get a flat.  Plus you can ride with a lot less air pressure since you don’t have to worry about snake bite flats.

I’m not quite ready to do it yet but it is an intriguing idea.  Next year when I take it to the next level I may consider it.

I did a quick search on YouTube and found lots of videos on how to convert your bike.  Doesn’t seem that complicated.  Take a look.