> Michelin's new Unique Puncture-Proof Tire System (Uptis) does away with one of the defining aspects of tires as we've known them for more than 100 years: the air inside.
Absolute nonsense. Airless tires have been around for about that long also. I've seen airless motorcycle tires from circa 1920 in a museum: they looked a lot like that picture of the new one: basic hub shapes with lateral voids in them.
They are in use currently; I've seen them from time to time over the years on various earth-moving equipment around town.
The idea of airless tires for general motorist use gets periodically trotted out by snake oil salesmen as some new revolutionary thing that will take over the industry.
Pneumatic tires have superior performance because the entire volume of air around the wheel provides the suspension and shock absorption, rather than just the compression of a small amount of material around the contact patch.
Absolute nonsense. Airless tires have been around for about that long also. I've seen airless motorcycle tires from circa 1920 in a museum: they looked a lot like that picture of the new one: basic hub shapes with lateral voids in them.
They are in use currently; I've seen them from time to time over the years on various earth-moving equipment around town.
The idea of airless tires for general motorist use gets periodically trotted out by snake oil salesmen as some new revolutionary thing that will take over the industry.
Pneumatic tires have superior performance because the entire volume of air around the wheel provides the suspension and shock absorption, rather than just the compression of a small amount of material around the contact patch.