Airless Tyres concept

SHADOWMATE
SHADOWMATE Posts: 85
edited November 2012 in Road general
Just seen this on Likecool.com. This looks alright if it actually works but i cant really get my head round it. :?
The 'energy return wheel' concept by colorado-based designer Brian Russell demonstrates the possibilities of advanced wheel technologies. Instead of air, it uses rubber stretched over a series of carbon nano tube reinforced composite rods to provide its cushioning. These rods can be adjusted, changing the tension of the rubber to suit different types of terrain, improves flexing and recoil cycling.
Airless-bicycle-tires.jpg
Airless-bicycle-tires-1.jpg
Airless-bicycle-tires-2.jpg
Specialized Roubaix Sport Comp 2013
with....gears of war.

Comments

  • AchillesLeftKnee
    AchillesLeftKnee Posts: 713
    Nice idea, but there's something missing from the photo.

    Mud.
    Mangeur
  • michaelappleton
    michaelappleton Posts: 10
    I like the idea, would be good to see some videos up on youtube maybe with a more in depth explanation.
  • tiredofwhiners
    tiredofwhiners Posts: 598
    they just look vaguely like the Lunar Rover wheels - a metallic looking frame with a treaded surface on them.
  • SHADOWMATE
    SHADOWMATE Posts: 85
    Yeah video would be much better. I think we would see how they ride quite accurately. In these photos they just look stiff as hell, like solid tyres.
    Specialized Roubaix Sport Comp 2013
    with....gears of war.
  • fevmeister
    fevmeister Posts: 353
    Mud would RUIN those tyres. Would get into all the holes which could compromise the ride..

    Imagine cleaning them too! I thought the spokes on my car alloys were tough to clean in between!
  • Mikey41
    Mikey41 Posts: 690
    This kind of concept has also been tried on car tyres. Michelin had several prototypes running and it seemed to work very well!
    Giant Defy 2 (2012)
    Giant Defy Advanced 2 (2013)
    Giant Revel 1 Ltd (2013)
    Strava
  • michaelappleton
    michaelappleton Posts: 10
    Mikey41 wrote:
    This kind of concept has also been tried on car tyres. Michelin had several prototypes running and it seemed to work very well!

    Just looked these up, very interesting!
  • Mr Will
    Mr Will Posts: 216
    Bad idea. There is a reason why nobody has managed to get an airless tyre working well, not just in bikes but for any type of vehicle.

    When your bike with air in it's tyres hits a bump, the air around the entire circumference of the tyre works to absorb the shock. With air-less tyres, it is only the tyre between the bump and the wheel that is absorbing the shock. From an engineering point of view this is a huge difference, which results in the air-less tyre having to be far stiffer, far heavier and usually providing a lot less grip on anything remotely rough.

    Lovely pipe-dream but so are space-elevators, air-conditioning on the tube and a hundred other things.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD9 Tiagra
  • hulla the hulla
    hulla the hulla Posts: 338
    Fevmeister wrote:
    Mud would RUIN those tyres. Would get into all the holes which could compromise the ride...
    not to mention adding a load of weight just where you don't need it...
    A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it

    Canyon Aeroad 7.0 summer missile
    Trek 2.1 winter hack
  • marz
    marz Posts: 130
    Even in the video they do look sort of stiff. If they can keep the weight down and make them ride better over rocks I will be interested in getting a pair.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v9SWIsY8rzQ

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