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Thread: Michelin unveils tyre without air

  1. #1
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    Michelin unveils tyre without air

    From nzherald.co.nz
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnews...section=latest

    Michelin unveils tyre without air

    22.09.2004 2.45 pm

    PARIS - Europe's biggest tyre maker Michelin unveiled an airless tyre on Tuesday designed to weather tough road conditions countries like China and India.

    Michelin said its "Airless Wheel" and "Tweel" tyres, which will be presented at the Paris auto show this week, were still at the concept stage but would hopefully hit the mass market in 10 years.

    The tyres, which Michelin hopes to adapt for motorcycles, cars and heavier vehicles, are non-pneumatic and made of elastic.

    That means they are better able to absorb shock, making for a smoother ride on often pothole-riven roads in less developed countries, it said.

    "There is a robustness that is especially designed for fast-growing markets, like China and India, where the roads and infrastructure are not as well developed as ours," Didier Miraton, Michelin's head of Research and Development, told reporters at a briefing.

    Miraton said designs for future tyres like the Airless Wheel tended to use an increasingly wide range of materials, so Michelin would be less reliant on natural rubber, which currently dominates the tyre industry.

    Michelin, famed for the star ratings it gives upmarket restaurants, will also present its "Active Wheel" concept tyre at the auto show, which opens to the press on Thursday and the public on Saturday.

    This tyre would react better to road conditions and to turning corners, and would be able to operate via a cleaner electric fuel-cell engine, said Miraton.
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  2. #2
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    so tyres have come full circle then? next we'll be seeing the rubberless discs like blimmin chariots!

  3. #3
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    This was done about ten years ago

    yeah i think i read this about ten years ago but using balls inside the tyre my question is how heavy would these tyres be?

  4. #4
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    I'll believe it when I see it. Heard this all before. Some one with a better memory than me will be able to correct me on the details. IIRC Mercedes came out in conjunction with a punctureless tire, and they were going to be releasing them mass market, yada yada, never to be heard from again.

    Lets face it, the tech has been available for decades to make more resilient tires, but where's the money in it for the tire manufacturer. So instead every so often they pop up with this carrot of hope just to disappear as quickly, never to be heard of again... until the next time.

    *Damn I'm getting cynical in my middle age.*

  5. #5
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    Goodyear do a run flat tyre, it has steel belts in the side wall.

  6. #6
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    Hopefully, any radical changes in tyres will also be more environmentally friendly.

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ghost Lemur
    IIRC Mercedes came out in conjunction with a punctureless tire, and they were going to be releasing them mass market, yada yada, never to be heard from again.
    There are a range of 'run-flat' tyres available, and are becoming more and more available, especially in Europe and the USA.
    This 'airless' tyre doesn't appear to be the same thing.

  8. #8
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    Michelin lets the air out of tyres

    Michelin has showcased an integrated tyre and wheel combination operating entirely without air.

    The company unveiled the revolutionary ‘Tweel’system at the Detroit motor show. At the heart of ‘Tweel’ is a simple looking hub and spoke design that replaces the need for air pressure. The flexible spokes are fused with a flexible wheel that deforms to absorb shock and rebound.

    Michelin has also found that it can tune Tweel performances independently of each other, which is a significant change from conventional tyres. This means that vertical stiffness (which primarily affects ride comfort) and lateral stiffness (which affects handling and cornering) can both be optimised.



    "Major revolutions in mobility may come along only once in a hundred years," said Terry Gettys, president of Michelin Americas Research and Development Center in Greenville, S.C. "But a new century has dawned and Tweel has proven its potential to transform mobility. Tweel enables us to reach levels of performance that quite simply aren't possible with today's conventional pneumatic technology."

    "The Tweel automotive application, as demonstrated (on an Audi A4), is definitely a concept, a stretch application with strong future potential," said Gettys. "Our concentration is to enter the market with lower-speed, lower-weight Tweel applications. What we learn from our early successes will be applied to Tweel fitments for passenger cars and beyond."
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  9. #9
    Now where is my ''Revolutionary New Tyre'' file - it must be around here somewhere...ah,there it is...I was using it to get the TV up to viewing height from the floor.I have to use a hand truck to move it around.
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  10. #10
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    Fuck that's ugly.
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  12. #12
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    Goddamn...

    See, that's what makes true entreprenuers. Ever sat round thinking to yourself, there must be something they haven't invented yet, or at least something they haven't revolutionised.

    I'd never have thought of wrapping the innards from a mattress around a hub and calling it "the new tyre revolution!". hehehe. revolution. geddit?

    Somebody get my meds....

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    They actually chose those mag wheels specifically as they match up with those ugly spokes, Their attempt to make their invention look less ugly failed miserably.

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    Arrow Good o.

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    This is being muted again by Michelin. Seems to be lots of talk, but where are the tyres!? The free CycleTorque (Aus) has a bit about it, but not online. It has pics of a bike tyre as well. Here is some more:
    http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/front/a...porate&lang=EN
    http://www.gizmag.com.au/go/3995/
    Marty

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