Bridgestone Introduces Air-Free Concept Tyres 

The U.S. military is already using these on some HUM-V's because they can take a blast or 50 MM rounds and the wheel will still perform until 30-40% is blown away. The cornering is very stiff because the wheel material is made to only flex circumferentially to take shock from the road. These are also available for skid-steer loaders where punctures are a huge problem and they are working great. The wheel can also be retreaded when the tread is worn down which will reduce landfill waste.

These types of tires are being used in either wheelchairs, utility vehicles like earth movers, off road Hummers for Military, forklifts, but not yet ready for race cars, and cars driven on the highways. The articles I read about the Michelin Tweel, which has been in a development for about 10 years was that the ride quality, handling, speed were issues. It's a great idea, but I think it will be a while until passenger card get them.

this concept has been around for over 50 years its really just now they have made the materials strong enough somewhat to hold up a automobile or similar type.

Michelin created it in 2005. Just saying. It's called the Tweels.

that's the concept, and it is visible for expo, the tires will be obviously covered in both sides.

This idea has been around for quite some time. It has a lot of little problems with it but like all tecnolagy it will get better with time. It does have a lot of potential, when I was still in my teans I played around with the idea and one my schools sience fair in 8th grade by messing around with the spokes on a bike wheel

Look to the right. There are all kinds of designs coming out. Watch "No more flat tire." or "The energy return wheel." My idea was much like the energy return wheel. But I like what Bridgestone is developing.

Love the 60's go-go boots, and mini skirts! Its safe to say that Bridgestone has re-invented the wheel? Hey, I get royalties for that commercial phrase... right? Bridgestone has re-invented the wheel! Sounds good.

Im just waitin til these come I LOVE THESE WHEELSive been serisouly dreaming about them

People in wheel chairs going 60 MPH. They use these things in wheel chairs. There are various companies doing various designs that are much different and there are military hummers, earth movers, etc. that use various versions of these types of wheel made by other companies. Michelin has what they call the Tweel for many years. I think they were the first to come up with it. But I could be wrong. It's interesting, but I'm not sure how many people will want them over 18+ fancy rims.

from what i understand, the drawback is that they are significantly louder than air filled tyres, particularly at highway speeds. I do hope they integrate some sort of energy regeneration into the spokes though, do something with all that constant flexing 'cides just make heat.

For people asking why this hasn't been put to use commercially yet, if you think about it, it's pretty clear. They have no way of keeping things from becoming lodged in the tire itself, which would cause it to become blocked and not change shape properly. Some people said hubcaps. Look at how the thing changes shape. A perfectly circular hubcap will not shape to the tire, and when the tire bends, will not match, thus, won't work. Pretty simple. But as is, the tire is not functional, cool though.

they look cool but how will they fare with repeated use, does the rim work harden with use? I suspect that you end up with a wheel thats really hard and inflexible or one that will only work in a small temperature range

We like the way you think! Check out ERW a serious contender. We are high speed and rely on a strong yet flexable composite hoop elastically sprung from the hub. We can adjust the tension, add a vacuum boost on the hoop side of our tensioned diaphragm like membrane attachments. We would love to work with Bridgestone!!

Those things are amazingly strong. Look how easily they can support a 76 pound girl. They are an engineering marvel.

I've been watching airless tire development since the 70s, and they were looking at deformed eccentric spokes like this back then. Material development is evidently the main stumbling block. Add a sidewall to keep stuff out of the spokes, but then you worry about the spokes overheating from constant flexure...it's a tricky problem, finding the just-right balance.

Nice concept. One problem I do see with these is that lateral forces could cause the two sets of spokes to rub upon each other. It remains to be seen how these hold up at speed.

That would work to, anything see through and capable of possibly coming into contact with the ground occasionally.

How could a hubcap prevent that when you STOP in mud, fine sand or amidst tiny gravels? A hubcap deflects only gravel etc WHEN IN MOTION (when the wheel truns) but if you take a pause, the wheel and tire ARE IMMOBILE and what then? Mud gets stuck when you start pedaling again and can't get out from the cavities of the due to centrifugal forces inside the special tire?

I like how they decide to show off the technology using quite possibly the most useless vehicle ever

If this will actually help the consumer with saving money over a period of time then we will see the fall of tire shops. However, with new products people have to be trained on how to use them. Granted it is just a wheel and it is straight forward but the fact that it is a new design people will be skeptical and once the mass public fully embraces this design I don't think tire shops will have anything to worry about. If I was a tire shop owner I would immediately inquire about this wheel to the distributors so that I could easily have these readily available when they expose themselves to the public.

Great idea need to get one for my wheel barrow.

Since the plastic is constantly fatiguing, when it does eventually catastrophically fail(even if that means not a pop) how does it hold up?

The only thing about this design is that the tire life looks like it would be short and over time would the spokes wear out and get loose? Also how smooth is the ride?

sounds like a good idea but how long do the tires last

The internal/sub structure of the tyre is made up of triangular shapes, which is the most efficient shape to take load right? So why dont i have this on my car yet?

If open sided wheels was that damn good, they would be all over the market by now. But look, it has been over 8 years since this video, and the wheels (nor any type of wheels using the same or similar open airless design) are still not for sale. Imagine why...

7years later this is still a concept tyre.

very nice, do you have a 18" spare car tire?

looool.. That's what they'll record but if u ask anyone who has lived here they'll tell you summer '08 was one of the deadliest summers of all.. Even this one has gotten up to the early 50's X_X

Mud and snow does not linger in it by Coriolis forces. And there is nothing stopping the cell close to the sides of the tires.

EnergyReturnWheel (the ERW) is int the process of manufacturing a solution to the problems you've mentioned

Good for single passenger small and slow electric carts.

I used to work for GoodYear a a tire changer. It makes no sense that someone hasn't just bonded rubber to a large hub and gotten rid of the need for air.

I need four wheels. Can the wheels be available in Bangladesh? 235 / 60R18 / 103H

When the outer ring fails, how accident prone is the vehicle?

Well, just saw the rest of the video.... they actually consider leaving the spokes visible so i hope they at least use a clear side material :)

what if we use that tire on zx-14 2012 and going up till 350 km/hour, what will happen?

Wait wait wait...Michelin came out with this idea around 2005 right? They are called Tweels. So who was first? Also really want these babies on my car ASAP

love it can i order four 22” airless tires? link to buy please for my tesla model X

how this new tire design, will react to cornering pressure during high speed driving?

ERW has solved all of the TWEEL ills. We started in 2001 with almost hard wheel rolling efficiency with cushion. The past 12 years steady progress at the patent office and dozens of novel prototypes. See our slow motion videos.

Right there with ya pal.

Michelin® X® TWEEL®

What price?

how about Mud & Wet Conditions?

I thought of these but didn't realize they made it.

How much noise do they make at high speeds? If you really have overcome all of the issued with heat from the spokes flexing and whatnot, then that's pretty exciting news. When can we expect to see these on the market?

We are living in the last days..

arent these pretty heavy? wont the materials be exhausted too?

How about if the street full of dirt or mud??

The noise is high frequency but quieter than low frequency pneumatic tire's drumming. Try this experiment...Take a rubber band and place between your lips, stretch and contract. Notice heating upon stretch, cooling while recoiling. ERW tug of war recycles heat. Our success at the patent office is from novel solutions, issue by issue. Under review from industry leaders your wait may not be so long.

nice concept and positive thinking for the environment but be a long time before everyone switches from regular tyres

Awesome. No more tire pressure adjustment in when weather changes. However, I wonder how it would work in the Racing environment? Simply because now you can't adjust chassis balance simply by changing your tire pressure??

I am looking forward for tireless car...that shoud be the future.

¿Que material es? ¿what kind of material it is?

@1971SuperLead Tell me more about this Bonded Rubber to the large hub thing. Would it make the tire to heavy? How would it effect the car? Inbox me

what happens when they fill with snow/slush and get way off balance?

still havent seen them in stores yet tho

I wonder how they function at sustained high speeds. Like on a long highway trip where you'll be going at 60+ miles an hour for hours on end. You know after they heat up. As far as what took so long to develop them. The design wasn't the problem, it was coming up with a material that had the right properties.

That's all part of the fun.

I do believe hell must be this hot cause I can't imagine a place hotter =P

what about collapsing sideways with how thin

they can pop dude!

Just cover the outside. Right now its just open for demonstration purposes. You would need to cover it in such a way that air can still escape though.

How much for a 17 in rims on camry

will it work in winter condition?

cuando salen al mercado??

These tires would be for indoor use only. What happens when even dry dirt or sand gets stuck inside the spokes ? I see abrasive cutting of the spokes and then failure of the tires.

What happens when they get brittle and dry rot?

they could be arranged in a self-cleaning pattern like the tread pattern in mud tyres.

As a valeter, I'd refuse to clean those

can't wait to take this through the mud

Travelling at anywhere above say 30 mph creates G force in a tire that could rip you face off. Snow would be pushed against the edge of the tire so hard it was simply slide off the side. driving under 30 mph with a slight off balance isnt dangerous.

another factor besides snow/mud would be friction, that constant bending produces heat... maybe they thought of that too already!

when does this technology comes to trollhättan?

Basically, but also with different curvature.

I should've been more explicit. I meant covering with rubber, like a regular tire, not with a plastic disk or something.

It will take only 150 years before these are in full production

I bet they are trying to re-engineer them to break down faster because right now they are so durable they would have to charge you 10 times more than what a conventional tire cost today. It's like that with every mass produced consumer product that isn't something edible. They don't want it to last too long .

I don't people in wheel chairs will have that problem. Also, I don't know how well they do at high speed cornering and ride quality. Michelin has been working on this for probably around 10 years now.

These are a nice concept but... will they blend?

what country spells tires tyres

I'm wondering how those handle drifting...

oh and every time a company tries this they never talk about sidewall give (side traction) under force and the way they work compared to a normal tire

it would be good if you added little heaters underneath the car near the tyres. if not the slush would just make the tyre stiffer.

we need those in Chicago asap I've went through so many tiers on these pot whole filled streets.

a esta rueda le falta una seccion que recubre y se cambia tira por tira formando una capa durable que se bende por modulo para refaccionar en caso de baches o truene cada seccion

Not sure what you were going for with that first sentence. also i would asume the ride quality would be not bad but cornering and speed probably wont be much of an option as you said. Mainly becuase the tire lacks a side wall lol.

I wonder how it would preform on high speed corners.

yes, but will it blend?

I wanna see something like this for motorcycles.

What happend if you take a corner with high speed? :)

What about the air that will then be sealed inside? Then there will be air pressure affecting the design, It will also be a problem with punctures, where it could then fill up with water. It would basically be a normal tire with extra shit inside which would only maybe help you keep the tire going until you got it fixed if you got a puncture. This would be a good alternative to a spare tire, but probably much more expensive.

I don't see why they couldn't cover them with a flexible/stretchy cover of some sort to seal it from the elements

the real question is... will it drift?

They should make these for motorcycles where flats are a much bigger concern, and there's no way to carry a spare.

I love how I'm still more intrigued with the female models than the actual design, even though the physics behind the design is absolutely brilliant. Thanks evolution... :p

What if one of the tires ripped?

i would love to share and idea to make your company more marketable