I wonder, though, if the rubber can be more rugged as a result. Materials/chemistry is so far out of my wheelhouse, I can't even imagine what that might be. B

I wonder, though, if the rubber can be more rugged as a result. Materials/chemistry is so far out of my wheelhouse, I can't even imagine what that might be. But I'd imagine there might be a way to optimize the synthetic rubber for handling friction against the road surface while not having to optimize it for handling pneumatic pressure. Unfortunately, I suspect that the things done to make the tire survive road friction better also make it grip the road worse. And that there's likely not a chemical formula that one can apply which wouldn't work equally well under a pressurized tire... but hey, most things are evolution, not revolution, anyway, right?