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So. Suspension wheels have been around for quite a while now. The most well known is the Pantour. http://www.atob.org.uk/bicycle-accessories/pantour-suspensi

So. Suspension wheels have been around for quite a while now. The most well known is the Pantour. http://www.atob.org.uk/bicycle-accessories/pantour-suspension-hub/ http://www.atob.org.uk/bicycle-accessories/pantour-suspensio... The Pantour does suspension inside the hub. That's not a lot of room so we're talking a centimeter of suspension. But that's all that many bikes can take anyway, since they have rim brakes and more suspension than that would move the rim too far from the brake. A similar approach, albeit more high-tech and intended more for efficiency, was recently showcased by Gosiko. http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/03/05/nahbs-2013-gokisos-amazing-suspension-bicycle-hubs/ http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/03/05/nahbs-2013-gokisos-amazi... Though Softwheel gets credit (?) for using what amounts to shock absorbers, a much lighter and more robust approach has been done for a while now, using leaf springs: http://www.gizmag.com/loopwheels-suspension-bicycle-wheels/27129/ http://www.gizmag.com/loopwheels-suspension-bicycle-wheels/2... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O11hFiu43RQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O11hFiu43RQ Here's a few problems I see with the Softwheel, at least for bikes (I have no idea about wheelchairs). 1. It would appear to be very very inefficient. As the wheel is turning, each suspension spring is constantly being pushed and pulled. One would think that a single suspension, like a suspension fork or the Pantour hub, would be much more efficient. 2. It's likely heavy. Rotational inertia could be a problem. 3. It's likely not very strong. Perhaps the suspension compensates for this a bit. 4. It'd only work with disc brakes.

pkulak 13y ago
1 is the real deal breaker here. People fill their tires to 140 PSI just to get rid of a little bit of the friction caused by the tire deforming as the wheel turns. That has to be nothing compared to actual shocks. It must feel like riding through dry sand.
- jessaustin 13y ago
  I think the whole bicycle wheel thing is just a ploy to scam clueless investors. No one who had ever tried to ride one of these wheels up a hill would think they were a good idea on a bicycle. And the descending stairs thing? I've descended much steeper on my regular old hardtail. Since motive force is applied to the rim of wheelchair wheels, it probably works fine for those.
floatrock 13y ago
There's also the time 10 years ago when we used a design like this on another freakin' planet: http://marsrover.nasa.gov/technology/is_autonomous_mobility-01.html http://marsrover.nasa.gov/technology/is_autonomous_mobility-...

pkulak 13y ago

1 is the real deal breaker here. People fill their tires to 140 PSI just to get rid of a little bit of the friction caused by the tire deforming as the wheel turns. That has to be nothing compared to actual shocks. It must feel like riding through dry sand.

jessaustin 13y ago
I think the whole bicycle wheel thing is just a ploy to scam clueless investors. No one who had ever tried to ride one of these wheels up a hill would think they were a good idea on a bicycle. And the descending stairs thing? I've descended much steeper on my regular old hardtail. Since motive force is applied to the rim of wheelchair wheels, it probably works fine for those.

floatrock 13y ago

There's also the time 10 years ago when we used a design like this on another freakin' planet: http://marsrover.nasa.gov/technology/is_autonomous_mobility-01.html http://marsrover.nasa.gov/technology/is_autonomous_mobility-...