Two years ago, we heard how the Ohio-based Smart Tire Company was developing shape memory airless bicycle tires. Well, the resulting Metl tires can now be purchased via – you guessed it – a Kickstarter campaign.
NASA-inspired airless bicycle tires are now available for purchase::undefined
Wow, I saw this tech on Veritasium's channel and wondered how long it might be before we might see it. And here it is. Just like that, a future where bike tires never go completely flat may almost be here.
I’m hoping they actually make it to production and they’re a fantastic replacement to pneumatic tires.
BUT, it’s a Kickstarter, with estimated delivery almost a year from now. I’m withholding my excitement until they’re actually in use by regular people in the real world
It also looks like a Kickstarter where one is paying well above the future price to get to be one of the first
I don't think I want to be an early adopter here. I know how my current tyres handle a fast corner, I would like to see theses on bikes ridden fast before considering them.
Yea I really think that an established brand would pick this up if it were really viable. They have the r&d capacity to make this work where I’m not convinced a startup does.
I guess it would be cool if these worked. There are already similar products in the market and they suffer from being difficult to install, deadening and heavy.
Interesting tech but there are already decent available solutions such as the Schwalbe Marathon Plus and similar that are effectively glassproof, I have these on my bike and they work really well, one is over 15 years old now
How are they for coming off ? The various reinforced tires I've tried (randoneur, gator, 25mm) are really hard to put back on. Like you peel the skin off your hands trying. I've notice that most tires, even cheaper ones, don't give you trouble for the first 500 miles. So have gone back to a medium grade tire that doesn't require special tools to replace.
I dont know, I have never had to replace one, so never had to take one off. The one time I ever had one fail was when I hit a piece of timber with multiple nails in it, and I got my local bike shop to swap it. Tyre was already over ten years old at that point, and given I ride somewhere between 200 and 600kms a month probably had well over 10,000 kms on it
Those look really cool! I wonder what the installation process is like. I installed tannus solid tires on my commuter bike and I like them but they where a nightmare to install. My arm and shoulder where sore for like a week after I put them on because of how much pressure and finesse it took to get the 200 or so plastic pins to pop into the rim. At least I'm confident they will never come off on there own.