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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Metal bike tires

Old 03-17-21, 10:25 AM
  #1  
popeye
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Metal bike tires

"It’s incredible technology that will soon be available in the coming years for a vehicle that will probably never leave Earth’s atmosphere: your bike. A startup called The Smart Tire Company has announced that it’s creating a metal bicycle tire using NASA’s Nitinol alloy that never needs to be inflated, will never spring a leak, and will probably survive a lot longer than the bike itself."

https://gizmodo.com/nasas-nearly-ind...igh-1846488605

I had to really restrain myself on the title, think of the possibilities.
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Old 03-17-21, 10:30 AM
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It's hard to imagine metal having a good grip on asphalt while cornering.
Even worse when the road is wet.
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Old 03-17-21, 10:34 AM
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You paint on a rubber like coating for grip. Why not do that with something other than metal that would provide a better ride?
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Old 03-17-21, 10:41 AM
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Oh lord, it’s the tweel again
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Old 03-17-21, 11:24 AM
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polyurethanieum. hmm.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:12 PM
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I'm really trying to be open minded but there are some howlers.

"Over time the tread will wear out and need to be reapplied, but that maintenance is expected to be a lot cheaper than having to regularly replace a set of tires." Shipping alone kills that. How many thousand miles does the "coating" last?

"We have identified several R&D goals related to dropping our material costs by up to 90%. In addition, there is intense ongoing research at the laboratory stage involving comparable materials that are ~80% cheaper than NiTinol." Spoiler alert - it's steel
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Old 03-17-21, 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
I'm really trying to be open minded but there are some howlers.

"Over time the tread will wear out and need to be reapplied, but that maintenance is expected to be a lot cheaper than having to regularly replace a set of tires." Shipping alone kills that. How many thousand miles does the "coating" last?
I caught that too.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:21 PM
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I did not even look at the link.

The pneumatic tire solves so many problems that I am skeptical that there is anything better coming down the pipeline. I could be wrong, but I suspect not.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:24 PM
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When costs vs performance vs durability graphs cross at the proper places then we'll take a look.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:25 PM
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"never needs to be inflated"

Fantastic, I can't wait to buy a suspension system that isn't tuneable!
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Old 03-17-21, 01:42 PM
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I don't want to discount that these are some serious people doing real engineering. Nitinol isn't new - it's the same stuff used for glasses frames. Read the list of applications at that link, it's good stuff. The idea of making a tire for the consumer market is the innovation. In terms of price they are making some visible compromises. Their tire is made only of wire that appears to be laid on the bias ply and only bent a little like a mesh - their buggy wheels have much more complex weave of much more shaped wires. They are working with real industry, not using Kickstarter to "innovate" a couple of microchips together in a little block of plastic.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:46 PM
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But how many grams are they?
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Old 03-17-21, 02:08 PM
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Heavy and expensive: What's not to like?
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Old 03-17-21, 02:13 PM
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They’re still not here, though, not even for bikes, which is just about the least demanding application for the technology.
Hey, now.
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Old 03-17-21, 02:17 PM
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A solution looking for a problem.
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Old 03-18-21, 01:58 AM
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Yeah nah, count me out
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Old 03-18-21, 02:33 AM
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Ignoring Covid, I’m an all-year commuter in a place where winter really means something. Due to medical reasons, I really need to avoid flats during winter.
I’d be willing to consider a studded version.
Summer use, meh.
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Old 03-18-21, 04:39 AM
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Good. I just had a sidewall blowout from a damn stick yesterday. Wife wasn’t thrilled per usual.
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Old 03-18-21, 07:36 AM
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So they would be like a tattoo? The same looking tire on your bike forever? Wonderful. You might have some Regerts later on after installing them.

It makes me think of this:


Last edited by seypat; 03-18-21 at 07:40 AM.
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Old 03-18-21, 07:41 AM
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Man will never fly! Amiright, guys?
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Old 03-18-21, 08:49 AM
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From the article:
For cyclists who are happy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their bikes, ...
Pretty much says it all.
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Old 03-18-21, 08:52 AM
  #22  
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You guys will appreciate this tech more once we are all riding fat bikes around the Martian desert.
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