Originally Posted by
sd5782
Not an engineer, but the plastic bearings would seem to be a major drawback to anyone using this design for more than super casual riding. It would seem that deformation of the bearings would zap lots of rolling efficiency. You’re not going to spin a wheel and marvel at how long it keeps spinning. Similarly, I’ve read that heat kills bearings. While these have a large diameter bearing area, I wouldn’t want to be the one making descents down many mountain passes. Of course, that isn’t really the niche they are after I suppose.
I was thinking the same thing…those bearings have to travel all that extra distance over an increased race diameter for every revolution compare to a standard wheel, and that is multiplying the wear, especially for a plastic bearing.
I like innovation. Just not quite sold on the ‘eco’ hussle of it. Now if they made bikes out of that corn-derived stuff, you could ride your bike and when the frame cracked or got worn out you could just eat it and then eco problem solved!
