I kind of takes tires for granted in a lot of ways. My assumption was that technology around the "tire" wasn't going to change substantially any time soon and

I kind of takes tires for granted in a lot of ways. My assumption was that technology around the "tire" wasn't going to change substantially any time soon and there has to be a number of very good reasons I'm unaware of as to why we accept the risk of blow-out for the remaining benefits of the technology (the article mentions road grip, but yodelshady in the comments mentioning suspension medium explained the reasoning really well). A lot of thought has been put toward reducing "blow-out" and other risks associated with "rolling around on a balloon". I started looking at "run-flat tires" after having suffered a blow-out on the road at 70MPH on defective (two-day old) tires and experiencing what it really is like to have your life "in God's hands" for twenty long seconds. I was in my car, that time -- had it been a blow-out on my motorcycle... After some research and discussion with a trusted mechanic, I opted to save $100-or-so/tire[0] and skip the technology. I wanted tires that I wouldn't have to concern myself with the pressure, I was being sold tires that handle a nail pretty well. Having suffered a blow-out in a car, it's something that's on my mind on my motorcycle. There's just not a lot you can do -- the best tires are designed to prevent the typical causes of this but defects in the tire/chemicals involved can make it impossible to verify that the tire is safe to ride on prior to use for certain defects. Some won't be an issue until the tire has been driven at speed enough for it to reach a certain temperature (that was my issue) and there won't be a scar or bubble on the tire where it's about to fail. So all of this to say -- this looks like a really excellent thing if they can truly eliminate pressurized air and maintain the performance of a regular tire (while not costing an unrealistic amount -- that's probably tricky). I doubt it would "eliminate the tire" in every application -- it makes sense to start with bikes -- but I'll be an early customer when they have a motorcycle tire replacement. :) [0] His explanation was that they'll let you get to the shop if you "roll over the business end of a screw". Regular tires are designed to handle punctures gracefully, already. Run flat will do a little better than a regular tire but they blow out, especially if the car doesn't have a pressure monitor because the tires don't appear to be as low as they are, causing the driver to damage the tire rapidly. He also confirmed my suspicion: "It's a pretty safe bet that if the tire has 1,000 miles on it, it won't blow out until after you should have replaced it" -- basically, brand new and really old tires are the ones that just spontaneously "fall apart".