Airless Tires, do they have a future?

[johnnymossville]

http://digg.com/u1BvnD

I got this release from Hutchinson Tire just now. I don't have the specifics, but something like this might not be bad for training/commuting/touring on?

[Steve in SLO]

Looks like some good ideas...perhaps an arched composite endoskeleton with a central depression acting as a treadwell for a rand of tread? I'd love to open the link, but I can't get it to go.

[WadePatton]

it has been tried before, and before that, and before that even...

maybe they'll get it "right" someday.

[johnnymossville]

Looks like some good ideas...perhaps an arched composite endoskeleton with a central depression acting as a treadwell for a rand of tread? I'd love to open the link, but I can't get it to go.

Try this one Steve.

http://www.chainsaw.fr/clients/hutchinson/Serenity-Hutchinson-Press.pdf

[MattTuck]

I give hutchinson a lot of credit for pushing the envelope on tires. If I don't have to carry around a tube or a pump and CO2, that seems like a plus for me.

If the the ride quality and rolling resistance are competitive, I'm not sure who wouldn't want them. Assuming the price is fair. :beer:

[spacemen3]

Sounds like Michelin's Tweel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweel) technology. I'm all for never getting a flat in the middle of nowhere again. :)

http://www.rense.com/1.imagesH/tiresdg.jpg

[Steve in SLO]

Try this one Steve.

http://www.chainsaw.fr/clients/hutchinson/Serenity-Hutchinson-Press.pdf

Thanks for the link, JMVille. Once again, no go.
Oh well, I'll see it in 2010.

I like the idea of bike runflats. To those who can see the secondary link, is this an entire wheel/tread system like the Tweel, or is it meant to mount to a conventional wheel?

[alancw3]

being the perpetual optomist i can't help but think that at some point in time someone will invent an airless tire that rides and has all the attibutes of a conventional tire. of course the tire manufacturers, tube makers and pump makers will not be happy though! oh, just saying! :-)

[MattTuck]

If this pans out, it would be a great case study on disruptive innovation and the innovator's dilemma.


To answer whether this is a full wheel system or just a tire, from my reading of it, it appears to be a tire with a composite structure that can then be treaded with various types of outer casing.

I don't think it is a whole wheel.

[I Want Sachs?]

Lance Armstrong won the Leadville 100 with no air in the tire this year, and Dave Wiens won the Leadville 100 with no air in the tire last year. So the answer to your question: Yes. ;)

[nahtnoj]

They certainly have a past!

I think in certain applications they would be immensely useful.