How Airless Tires Are Reinventing The Wheel

So what happened? One would think with a few decades’ head start, we’d all be riding around on this new technology, but its inherent limitations have turned out to be very difficult to overcome. For years, the only vehicles that have been able to make use of the technology are low-speed and heavy-duty machinery because while the designs are durable, they’ve until recently proven incapable of handling the rigors of the mass market.

For all of the faults of traditional pneumatic tires, the air used in them does two things very well – dissipate heat and smooth out the ride. Making a tire that is durable but not too rigid is hard enough, but also needing it to be pliable and heat-resistant throws a wrench into the mix. Then you need to worry about low rolling resistance, the tire’s weight, and its higher production cost. Pneumatic tires also allow you to adjust air pressure to compensate for different loads and grip situations.

Not to mention, it needs to be able to start, stop, and turn just as well as a normal tire; otherwise, there’s no way the US government will approve it for road use. There are so many ways for things to go wrong the industry has to take its time ensuring it gets it right from the outset, lest innocent lives be lost in the pursuit of innovation.