The next 'step' in cycling?

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Friday, November 2. 2012

The next 'step' in cycling?

Do I presume we have some bi-cyclists (that is, cyclists who go both ways) in the audience? Is there any merit to this? The video's kind of lame, article is here.

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 11:50 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

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I don't think those tires will work on real off-road: those holes will pick up, and throw, twigs, grass, dirt, mud, water, rocks, small animals, etc.

But I'd still consider them for road riding.

#1 amanda on 2012-11-02 13:51 (Reply)

In the 70s you could buy solid tubes to use instead of regular tubes.

1. They were very very hard to get tire on the rim. Many screwdriver hand stabs involved.

2. The tread wears through eventually and then you have to get the tire off again.

3. The hub fractures because road roughness is transmitted to the hub more than with air in the tubes.

They were possibly valuable if you ride commutes with bits of wire and glass on the shoulder of the road, but flats are easy enough to fix so that even that's doubtful.

The video suggests the tire is remarkably inflexible, which is not a good sign. That's probably necessary to make the rolling friction low, but it's going to make a rough ride.

#2 rhhardin (Link) on 2012-11-02 13:53 (Reply)

I'm not currently a bicycle rider, but I used to be - ten miles a day and 25 on Saturday and Sunday so I can at least address the tire thing.

rh mentioned the '70s solid bike tires were available. I never tried one, but I had friends who did and didn't like them.

Part of the reason is that the tire, even those really skinny, disc shaped time trial tires, become part of the bikes suspension. Same with a car tire. A rough ride on a smooth surface isn't a whole lot of fun.

The video isn't really a good one as it doesn't really show that happens when the tire hops over bumps and rocks and such, but from the little part you do get at low speed, there isn't a lot of give - which to me would make the bike really unmanageable in a real life, high speed ride situation.

#3 Tom Francis on 2012-11-02 14:10 (Reply)

The article does say the resistence is adjustable, although I can't figure out how it could be.

Me, I used to use these tough 'liners' placed in between the tube and tread. They were about 3/4" wide. They weren't heavy, like solid tires, but sure kept the nails out. I gather they're still around somewhere.

#4 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2012-11-02 14:34 (Reply)

There are still solid rubber tires that work...ok... if you're just riding a beach cruiser around town. Otherwise there are liners, slime, kevlar side walls, and numerous other attempts to minimize flats. But riding on air filled tires is still best, so carrying spare tubes, patch and a pump is still the way to go.

#5 Amanda on 2012-11-02 14:54 (Reply)

The video's not so lame from a biker perspective, because it helps suggest that the riding experience isn't compromised - usually the biggest concern of freewheelers like me. The unanswered question is the amount of rotating weight. The rim of the wheel is the #1 worst place to have mass. (Corollary is that light frames are cool, but your old steel or aluminum frame would feel many pounds lighter with a good wheel upgrade.) I share the concerns above about trapping debris in those carbon leaf springs. I presume they show a mountain bike because it is nowhere near light enough or thin enough for a clincher (road bike).

#6 Andrew Hofer on 2012-11-02 15:53 (Reply)

You make an excellent point. When I said the video was 'lame', it was referring to the lack of narration, explanations, etc. But one thing it does point out is that the rider isn't showing any concern for the tires, like he's somehow worried about them. He appears utterly confident in his bike, that it'll do exactly what he wants it to do. Good observation on your part.

#6.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2012-11-02 15:59 (Reply)

Britek doesn't seem to currently be making or selling any tires, mostly add-on lamps, bells and whistles.
So not a lot of interest for a new type of tire from a company that doesn't have a track record making or selling bike tires...

Doc, (that is, cyclists who go both ways)... backwards and forwards, uphill/downhill??? I'm confused.

#7 John the River (Link) on 2012-11-02 16:13 (Reply)

"backwards and forwards, uphill/downhill"

You're sure making it sound sexual! You forgot "panting heavily from the exertion".

#7.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2012-11-02 16:18 (Reply)

I'd like a tire that didn't need to be pumped up every couple of days, but I have my doubts about the airless variety. If the usual inner tubes were just a bit thicker, say, thick enough to make purists scream and faint about the extra weight, but not so thick as to be mistaken for solid rubber tires, I'd probably be happy.

#8 chuck on 2012-11-02 17:17 (Reply)

I'd guess that somewhere out there in that big, wide, wacky world of ours somebody makes such a beast. Sounds like a fun Google search.

#9 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2012-11-02 17:24 (Reply)

I wouldn't ride with those things. Now that I am older I don't ride as much but I use to be a 25 miler / day kind of guy. Those tires would destroy your kidneys over the long haul. Too rough, not enough "give", and you would lose the "feel" of the road. You can only get those with inflated tires ... even my rocking chair has inflated tires! ;-)

#10 Doc on 2012-11-02 20:05 (Reply)

PHYSICS.

Air-filled tires absorb and dissipate pressure (= load and road shocks) over their entire volume.

Solid-foam tires and contraptions like these do not - it's just the immediate area of the road contact patch that takes the hit.

It's easy to make air-filled tires acceptably puncture and blowout-proof. When I commuted by bike in bad old NYC (before Giuliani and Bloomberg cleaned things up) I bought special plastic strips that I inserted between inner tube and tire. There are now hi-strength inner tubes for off-road biking. Etc.

These ugly things are a solution in search of a problem.

#11 Ben David on 2012-11-03 13:42 (Reply)

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Friday, November 2. 2012

The next 'step' in cycling?