Bridgestone Airless Tire

[SubLGT]

http://www.bridgestone.com/corporate/news/2017041701.html

Will be available in 2019, for bicycles. Meanwhile, Michelin has been selling their airless "Tweel" for several years now, for multiple applications. Why so slow to market, Bridgestone? Patent issues?

 

[skyactiv]

Airless bicycle tires have been around long before you and I were born.

 

[twouvakind]

Airless wheelset including "tire", no need to repair a flat anymore....simply replace the entire wheel? I'll stick to my patch kit or $5 replacement tube thank you very much.

 

[Kira]

From the 1970's I recall the big, Danish "O" rings which replaced the tube. They were featured in Popular Science magazine.

What a farce.

They were made of sponge-like rubber. They couldn't support a 40 lb. rider. Pure nonsense.

 

[OneEyeJack]

I certainly hope that you early adopters do a good job sorting everything out.

 

[IndyIan]

They do seem to be a solution in search of a problem....

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Bridgestone had lots of airless tires thru their subsidiary Firestone

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
They do seem to be a solution in search of a problem....


Agreed. And now when the tire wears out, you have to replace the entire rim as well, at 10X the price.

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Bridgestone had lots of airless tires thru their subsidiary Firestone

:lol:

 

[circuitsmith]

Basic physics will always favor the pneumatic tire.
Pneumatic tire uses all the air in the tire as a cushion.
Whereas an airless tire can only use the material near the contact patch at any given time.
Also air has extremely low internal friction, which reduces rolling resistance.

 

[DBMaster]

What about tires made of something other than natural rubber? I'd sure like to see something someday that would obviate the need to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars every 2-3 years replacing tires.

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
What about tires made of something other than natural rubber? I'd sure like to see something someday that would obviate the need to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars every 2-3 years replacing tires.


Deleted.

 

[555]

Cornering will be different, two wheels or four. Lifeless steering will mask it.