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This company started off making bike wheels circa 2013 - https://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/loopwheels-spokeless-suspension-wheel-on-show-37032/ https://www

• dochtman 8y ago
  I was wondering about an application to bikes -- now I wonder why (it seems like) they pivoted to wheelchairs.
  • bencompanion 8y ago
    In their FAQ they say they're working on MTB wheels, but that the challenge is the (lack of) lateral stiffness in a bigger wheel, which makes sense. The larger the diameter the spring needs to cross, the harder it is to have it only flex in one dimension.
  • philjohn 8y ago
    I would imagine weight - especially for road bike tyres. For comparison, a lightweight Zipp wheelset comes in a just over 1Kg. A mid range lightweight set will be in the 1.4Kg range. There are other ways to make a road bike handle bumps and road buzz, e.g. specifically constructed carbon seat post, or flexible seat stays. A good race to watch for these kind of things is the Paris Roubaix, some of the bikes had rubber inserts to the seat stays a few years ago, but now have enough damping just from carbon layup of that section.
  • gameswithgo 8y ago
    Aerodynamics would be horrible, on road bikes that would be a first order downside. As well, tires are already integral suspension and often enough for bike applications.
• twic 8y ago
  A friend of mine has these on a folding bike. I've ridden it a few times, and it seems fine. He certainly likes them - he considers it a shame that he can't get any more!