this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2023
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NASA-inspired airless bicycle tires are now available for purchase::undefined

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[–] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 116 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Misleading title. They're not "available for purchase". There's a kickstarter.

[–] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 50 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Wow, I saw this tech on Veritasium's channel and wondered how long it might be before we might see it. And here it is. Just like that, a future where bike tires never go completely flat may almost be here.

[–] smort@lemmy.world 56 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I’m hoping they actually make it to production and they’re a fantastic replacement to pneumatic tires.

BUT, it’s a Kickstarter, with estimated delivery almost a year from now. I’m withholding my excitement until they’re actually in use by regular people in the real world

[–] Swim@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 years ago (1 children)

ya, im done throwing my money away on kickstarters

[–] silent_clash@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 2 years ago

Cycling kickstarters have an awful track record. Make sure it's make by an actual cycling company and even then it's better to do a late pledge after some fulfillment and reviews.

[–] psud@aussie.zone 4 points 2 years ago

It also looks like a Kickstarter where one is paying well above the future price to get to be one of the first

I don't think I want to be an early adopter here. I know how my current tyres handle a fast corner, I would like to see theses on bikes ridden fast before considering them.

[–] June@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

Yea I really think that an established brand would pick this up if it were really viable. They have the r&d capacity to make this work where I’m not convinced a startup does.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 28 points 2 years ago

No they're not

This is Kickstarter scam #3752726, don't waste your money

[–] WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world 26 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I guess it would be cool if these worked. There are already similar products in the market and they suffer from being difficult to install, deadening and heavy.

[–] dublet@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

My biggest worry on this would be where you'd get them re-threaded.

[–] psud@aussie.zone 6 points 2 years ago

You'd have to buy them from the manufacturer. Probably have to subscribe.

[–] waterbogan@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Interesting tech but there are already decent available solutions such as the Schwalbe Marathon Plus and similar that are effectively glassproof, I have these on my bike and they work really well, one is over 15 years old now

[–] Winter8593@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

glassproof

No, I like glass in my tires, thank you very much

[–] waterbogan@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

You should ride around the city centre here, you will have so much glass in your tires in no time flat, you'll love it!

[–] number6@feddit.nl 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How are they for coming off ? The various reinforced tires I've tried (randoneur, gator, 25mm) are really hard to put back on. Like you peel the skin off your hands trying. I've notice that most tires, even cheaper ones, don't give you trouble for the first 500 miles. So have gone back to a medium grade tire that doesn't require special tools to replace.

[–] waterbogan@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I dont know, I have never had to replace one, so never had to take one off. The one time I ever had one fail was when I hit a piece of timber with multiple nails in it, and I got my local bike shop to swap it. Tyre was already over ten years old at that point, and given I ride somewhere between 200 and 600kms a month probably had well over 10,000 kms on it

[–] 21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com 18 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Well for that price they can go fuck themselves and also isn't that the same metal as high end vape coils?

[–] JoBo@feddit.uk 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You're probably thinking of Nichrome, which has been the bog standard for vape coils since forever. It's the same metal as used in most toasters, used because its resistance doesn't change with temperature. The 'high end' version is Kanthal, which is even more stable at high temperatures (and it tastes better). They're used because most heating applications need a consistent power delivery based on a constant voltage input, which you don't get if the resistance changes as it heats up (power = volts-squared/resistance).

But then, for vaping, temperature control (TC) came along. This prevents burnt hits, and can help get the best flavour out of e-juice because some flavours are temperature-sensitive. TC relies on using a metal which does change resistance with temperature, because this is what allows the technology to measure the temperature of the wire. For safety, resistance needs to rise (not fall) as it gets hotter. Early TC used nickel, whose resistance increases a lot with temperature, but the tech is now good enough to work with stainless steels, whose resistance changes so little that it can be used in both watts mode and TC mode.

This has been your enitrely irrelevant interlude. Back to bike tyres.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 2 points 2 years ago

I think you're thinking of Nichrome.

[–] Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I had airless tires on my BMX bike in the 80's. Not so cool now, are you NASA?

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Nah, they're still pretty cool: NASA invented this tech in the 60s.

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The tires on my bike right now are airless.

[–] NewNewAccount@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

Because they’re flat?

[–] sverit@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Wooden wheels were airless before it was cool!

[–] darth_helmet@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

And sustainable

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 years ago

I always thought this tech was cool, and this implementation seems promising, but I'll definitely be taking a wait and see approach.

[–] daniskarma@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Airless tires exist since forereve though.

[–] Johandea@feddit.nu 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Do they come in a studded version? A necessity during the winter months

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

Doesn't look like they do yet, but if these are successful they probably eventually will.

[–] June@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

Any notion on weight limits? Didn’t see it in my skin of the article or the kickstarter.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] porkchop@lemm.ee 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

It’s in the article. 450g

[–] Chreutz@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Yeah, for 700x35c. That's not bad at all

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 years ago

... I somehow glossed over that lol

Not bad!

[–] bender@insaneutopia.com -5 points 2 years ago

They’re so light they’re weightless