Quote:
Originally Posted by dddd
The part of the article about the tire deflection through the rim-to-pavement "travel" range caught my critical eye when it was stated that the wider rim results in a regressive spring rate and thus an easier-to-collapse tire.
I question that since the narrower rim would appear to more easily intrude into the tire's volume and thus use up the critical travel range because of the same sort of regression of the spring rate of the inflated tire.).
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I question this too, and I think it is a wild supposition on Jan Heine's part. Contrary to common perception, the tire does not behave like an air spring, at least in the sense that 'traditional' air spring works by changes in the air pressure. When loaded and flattened against the road, there is no significant change in air pressure. Instead, loads are transferred by a tire by changes in the direction and magnitude of tension in the casing. I'd be interested in seeing actual data on changes in force/deflection as a tire loaded, for different combinations of tire/rim widths.