April 13, 2010
Steps taken toward "airless" tyres
It’s not truly airless, but it doesn’t rely on inflation, does it? So as a concept it’s the perfect, non-puncturing bicycle tyre – if it doesn’t weigh a tonne and have the rolling resistance of blu-tack.
Reinventing the wheel – the airless tire
The patent-pending Resilient design relies on a precise pattern of six-sided cells that are arranged, like a honeycomb, in a way that best mimics the “ride feel” of pneumatic tires. The honeycomb geometry also does a great job of reducing noise levels and reducing heat generated during usage – two common problems with past applications.“We definitely brainstormed,” says Foltz. “We wanted to create more of a matrix of cells within the tire, and it seemed kind of natural to go with the honeycomb’s hexagon shape. We tried some other shapes, such as diamond shapes, and they didn’t perform as well.”
