See You Later, Flat Tires!

You’re driving on a hot summer day with your windows down and CD radio player on full-blast. All of a sudden you start to feel something seems a little off and realize one of your tires is losing air. Whether you decide to fix the tire yourself on the side of the road or give AAA a call, even the best Navigation Unit isn’t going to get you to your destination on time. Bridgestone is hoping to end these situations all-together with their air-free tire concepts shown here.

The color-choice of green would probably be customizable, but in concept form it alludes to the fact that the materials used are 100% recyclable. Its recyclable “thermoplastic” internal spokes are what gives these tires all of their strength and flexibility. The outer rubber on the tire offers a more traditional tread surface required for use on our sometimes rough roads. One criticism has been the possibility of noise due to wind resistance in commercial use. However, if commercialized these tires are expected to be sealed by a thin sidewall of rubber for these reasons. Each tire also only has a weight capacity of up to 330 pounds, but innovations to this technology will undoubtedly be made in the future.

Benefits obviously include the recyclability factor, but they are also safer and less wasteful because they eliminate the risk of punctures. Check out these tires in action on YouTube! (And by “in action”, I mean a girl riding a small scooter equipped with these tires five feet across a stage).