8 ms·
Complete layman here, every 6 months or so for the past decade I see an article claiming someone got air-less tires working. What are the chances this would be
by ddlsmurf 5y ago
Complete layman here, every 6 months or so for the past decade I see an article claiming someone got air-less tires working. What are the chances this would be it ?
- bkanber 5y agoAt some point they will be viable... whether this is that point or not is yet to be seen.
- OnlineGladiator 5y ago> At some point they will be viable Why do you assume this?
- gregoriol 5y agoBecause at some point we used wood for wheels?
- _jal 5y agoYou can still use wood if you want. Many of the reasons you don't are the same reasons airless tires have not escaped niches.
- bserge 5y agoHmm, not the worst idea. But who makes wood tires for bikes nowadays? And oh God, the splinters :D
- JAlexoid 5y agoWe still do use wood for wheels... So...
- dahfizz 5y agoHow does wood --> inflated rubber imply inflated rubber--> airless rubber? I don't see any logic in that.
- bkanber 5y agoBecause this is primarily a materials science problem, and we are still novices at materials science.
- rightbyte 5y agoThere does not have to exist a solid material with the properties of a gas.
- bkanber 5y agoWhat? I don't understand what you mean by that.
- OnlineGladiator 5y agoThere's no reason to assume this is a solvable problem, just because it's a new field. I remember when cold fusion was considered inevitable. You don't actually have any reason to assume it will happen other than blind optimism.
- bkanber 5y ago... you don't actually have any reason to assume it won't happen other than blind pessimism. So let's just agree to disagree.
- OnlineGladiator 5y agoI love to disagree because I'm a betting man. Want to wager some money on a bet? Pick a timeline (5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years) and maybe we can make this fun!
- bkanber 5y agolol. No bet. Not because I doubt my position (I see an aerogel-inspired material working out). Rather because the 50 year timeline that I would feel safe betting on is basically my end-of-life. I'm not really interested in paying out a longbets.org payment on my deathbed.
- arghwhat 5y agoA lot of heavy equipment drives around with water-filled tires, so it's already there. Definitely not what you meant though.
- xxpor 5y agoHmm, why water filled? I can't think of any advantages, but can think of downsides such as a massive increase in unsprung weight.
- kazinator 5y agoA disadvantage is that only the rubber absorbs impacts, since the fluid is incompressible for all intents and purposes.
- cat199 5y ago... but for 'intensive purposes' on the other hand the story is less clear
- robocat 5y agoThe tyre is only partially filled (for example 40%) with water - so the tyre is not “incompressible”. https://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tractors/2006/feature/ballasting_and_optimizing_performance/7020lf/7020lf_ballast_liquid.html https://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tracto...
- kazinator 5y agoI see. Furthermore, there is an admonishment: IMPORTANT: Never fill any tire to more than 90% full. More solution could damage tire.
- erik_landerholm 5y agohttps://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/ https://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/ Beet juice is interesting! lol
- hollander 5y agoI use nitro oxygen in my tyres. Pressure problems are gone.
- dsr_ 5y agoThe Earth's atmosphere is about 80% nitrogen and a little less than 20% oxygen, with some carbon dioxide, argon, variable amounts of water vapor, and some pollution. What's "nitro oxygen", then?
- bananapear 5y agoMaybe just nitrogen? Costco inflates tyres with nitrogen. The pair of tyres on my vehicle inflated with nitrogen don’t seem to lose pressure, the other two need topping up occasionally.
- dylan604 5y agohttps://www.tireamerica.com/resource/nitrogen-vs-oxygen-for-tires https://www.tireamerica.com/resource/nitrogen-vs-oxygen-for-... That at least helps with some of the logic. However, doesn't directly answer what "nitro oxygen" is. Guessing some sort of slang. It's definitely not a scientific phrase. Nitrogen oxide or something maybe too much for grease monkies so they call it nitro oxygen??? just guessing.
- bkanber 5y agoMy guess is parent comment misspoke and meant pure nitrogen -- which does indeed help with tire pressure. The ideal gas law still applies, so there will be seasonal changes in pressure, but there will be much less exfiltration (via 'permeation', specifically) of gas through the material (N2 has a larger 'kinetic diameter' than O2; O2 will permeate 3-4x faster through rubber than N2).
- checker 5y agoSo if regular air is 80% nitrogen already, won't the tires move towards 100% nitrogen with each top off since the tires will be retaining the nitrogen more than the oxygen? Sounds like a marketing trick unless they're filling newly mounted tires with 100% nitrogen.
- kllrnohj 5y agoAir-less tires have been working fine for decades: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/wheels/ https://www.nasa.gov/specials/wheels/ You'll also find industrial equipment examples like https://www.sourceproequipment.com.au/crocodile-skid-steer-bobcat-ewp-scissorlift-tyres https://www.sourceproequipment.com.au/crocodile-skid-steer-b... As the person you're replying to said, though, the problem for passenger cars is NVH. They aren't quiet. Even with that downside, though, they are still used in consumer-facing applications like some bike sharing programs: https://medium.com/@fredchang/by-now-youve-probably-heard-of-the-chinese-bike-sharing-companies-mobike-and-ofo-with-their-5650efa4cc8b https://medium.com/@fredchang/by-now-youve-probably-heard-of... Where a smoother ride is less significant than unlocking a bike & finding a flat tire.
- bserge 5y agoWhat the hell, I've been looking for something like this for the past few months. Only ones I could find were Tannus (too soft) and Schwalbe (garbage). Don't care about weight, noise, ride quality, just need unbreakable tires because riding through neighborhoods where people break glass bottles on the bike paths will make me smash someone's head with one someday.
- gambiting 5y agoHow about just regular Schwalbe Marathons Plus? In my experience those tyres are literally unpuncturable(at the cost of a huge weight penalty).
- sour-taste 5y agoI rode across the country on a pair (two pairs actually, first set wore out) of marathon pluses. I got 1 flat from a metal staple, which is pretty good for 4200 miles :D
- justinator 5y agoThese are great tires, but the rolling resistance can absolutely be felt. They do suffer in grip in wet conditions as well.