

Industrial Designer Ron Arad Reinvents The Wheel For A Smoother (Bike) Ride - sprinkle
http://crispgreen.com/2011/11/designer-ron-arad-reinvents-the-wheel-for-a-smoother-ride/

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AlexMuir
This article is a bit unquestioningly gushing - although I love the creativity
and concept. For starters, I can't see how it has any lateral grip. Nor is it
explained how it negates the need for a hub or bearings. I assume disk brakes
are used, but that's left to the imagination.

How I wish there was a news source which got down with the technicals.
Thinking about it, that's the space that HN comments fill.

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__david__
> For starters, I can't see how it has any lateral grip.

I thought that too. He rides the bike in the video but notice that he only
goes straight and makes no turns, doesn't accelerate or decelerate very fast.
There's no way there's any traction there. Now if it were covered with rubber
it might work nicely.

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dpark
Even covered in rubber you'd have basically no traction when turning. Bicycle
wheels are rounded so they still have a decent contact patch when turning.

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Game_Ender
This looks like a variation of the Tweel: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweel>
It's drawbacks are noise and heat, this one looks like it at least has the
noise problem. At high speeds it probably has the heat problem as well.

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andrewfelix
I'm no engineer, but I imagine there would be substantial energy loss through
the movement within the wheel. Not to mention lack of traction with the road.

Looks like another solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Bicycle wheels
are light, cheap and can be adjusted easily by changing the air pressure.

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blhack
Hello rolling resistance? Goodbye traction?

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nl
A better title: Industrial Designer Ron Arad Reinvents The Wheel For an
Interesting look

If you want a really smooth ride, get a fat tired 29er, put smooth but fat
commuting tires on it and pump them up to as low an air pressure as possible.

It'll still have less rolling resistance than this, be quieter and smoother.
It'll be horrible for any real purpose (like, say, riding...), but it will
absorb road bumps well.

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miahi
Actually, they fail to demonstrate the smooth ride. The ride in the movie is
on a clean road, with no bumps.

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pmorici
The author of this article doesn't appear to know anything about bikes.

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Groxx
I wonder if the metallic sounds during the ride were added after, or if
they're the result of reducing other sounds from the video. If they're from
just turning the volume down, I can't imagine these would be very widely used.
Given the street sounds in the beginning of the ride, I'm thinking they might
_actually_ be that much louder than a car.

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quanticle
Did anyone else see those and think of the smartwheels that YT's board had in
_Snow Crash_? Granted, the wheels pictured aren't actually "smart", in that
they don't dynamically alter their rigidity to compensate for detected
imperfections, but they're a damn good start towards a mechanism for building
smartwheels.

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aaronbrethorst
chiseled spam... yes.

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jeza
It goes to show how elegant and simple the humble bicycle is. I enjoy cycling
because it's fast, efficient and peaceful. I'm not sure that this design meets
that criteria at all. It might look pretty when viewed at certain angles but
on the whole (particularly after hearing the sound it makes) I think its ugly.

Yet the traditional bicycle wheel with spokes works surprisingly well. It's
light weight, rigid and overall quite simple. I'm averaging about one broken
spoke a year at the moment but it's not too difficult to replace.

Though certainly there are incremental improvements that are useful, such as
making frames/components lighter while maintaining the same strength through
the use of various alloys. But I don't think I'll be changing to these new
wheels anytime soon.

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techverde
A mesmerizing design, but yea, doesn't seem practical when you think about
traction. Still with some modifications, it's nice to know that we could still
have bikes if rubber suddenly disappears!

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baddox
I had to click around a bit to find the video. Here it is:

<http://vimeo.com/30555070>

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ivan_ah
I am surprised this design works: I would have thought that all those pieces
of metal deforming would absorb a lot of energy and slow you down.

If it were an ideal spring, E would be conserved, but I am not sure for this
structure. It is reminiscent of the old style automobile suspensions.

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gcb
It DOES slow you down. can't you notice on the video? They guy is pedaling
standing up and it barely moves.

btw, this is the same concept that forces racers to use slim tires. less
cushioning, but less drag.

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andrewflnr
It's almost exactly like the tires are always flat.

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adamtmca
What would the equivalent of a popped tire look like? I couldn't help
picturing shrapnel..

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diziet
It might look interesting for when you're riding at <10 mph to your local
coffee shop, but I would not want to make a tight turn at 20 mph or rely on
the lower coefficient of friction when making an emergency stop.

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ff0066mote
Is it louder? Is it heavier? Is it less able to stop and turn at a moments
notice?

Certainly innovative, but does this make things better?

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latch
It sounds louder. It looks heavier. Quack.

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danbmil99
wear a helmet, please

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ghuntley
helmet? Pfft. How about attaching some brakes!

Ugh.

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gcb
It's art. not design.

design is the marriage of form and function.

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gcb
See the video. it's the bumpest ride of all history.

utter crap. and i'm not even trying to figure out how to break!

if you want "A Smoother Ride" get a 29er

