BETTER PARTSThis airless tire was actually developed for Mars, but you can buy it now
The company starts with bicycle tires
The tire without air is the holy grail that has been promised forever, but never seems to arrive. This year there could suddenly be some movement. Michelin sent the first cars on the road with airless tires and you can place an order for two airless tires today. Two, because the company first starts quietly with bicycle wheels.
The band is made of a material called nitinol, which is an alloy of nickel and titanium. The great thing about this stuff is that it has a so-called memory effect. If you bend it, it will automatically return to its original shape. It would also be virtually indestructible if used for wheels.
The airless bicycle tire comes from NASA
Nitinol was used in space travel to make antennas, for example. The antenna could be folded before take-off and once at the destination the astronauts could unfold the antenna again. Due to the memory effect, the antenna folds into the correct shape. NASA later figured out how to turn them into airless wheels that could handle the unforgiving terrain of Mars.
The Smart Tire Company has permission from NASA to commercially exploit the invention. They make the shape of the tire from nitinol wires. The prototypes were kind of braided and looked a bit like chain mail (or chain mail for those who like to play English games). Now they want to produce a bicycle tire where the wires simply form a tire next to each other.
First airless tires for the bicycle, then for the car
The company dreams about airless car tires or tires for the military, but they start with the bicycle. The airless bicycle tire still has a piece of rubber as a running surface, because otherwise you probably have no grip. According to the company, replacing the rubber costs about ten euros. In addition, only 50 percent of the rubber would be needed for the entire tire, if you compare it with normal tires.
On Kickstarter you can buy the so-called METL tire for 500 dollars per set, which is about 470 euros. More expensive than a tire at Hema, but this Smart Tire should last a lifetime. Just calculate how often you replace your bicycle tires and how long you think you will live. Is it worth the investment?