Eli5: Why and how isn’t there any bicycle tire that is 100% rubber? Like, no air on the inside so no puncture risk isn’t it? Is really technology that far behind yet?
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The technology exists however this makes the tires expensive (more rubber) as well as uncomfortable to ride and heavy. All qualities you don’t want in a bike you have to pedal.
There are some special inserts like foam tubes that replace the air. 100% rubber would be to hard i imagine. And it’s all about money no punctured tires is no sales.
It would make the wheels too hard and too heavy. you really don’t want that in something that rolls. If it is too hard, then it would end up being very difficult to control. especially on something very large but thin like a bicycle. And if it’s heavy, it would be harder to both accelerate and steer, and worst of all, braking would be much much slower. cuz momentum.
Moreover riding on hard and unforgiving terrain like gravel would be a lot harder because rubber would transmit every single little bump. So in a way air also acts as a suspension fork like in motorcycles.
It has absolutely nothing to do with technology and I have no idea why you think that. You really think we don’t know how to make solid rubber tires?
Tires are not solid rubber because they would be heavier, more expensive, and uncomfortable to use because of how much they would vibrate and shake the rider. In other words, worse.
Well there are many brands of solid and airless tyres for bikes. ( Tannus for example) A quick google will find them in all sizes. The trouble is getting a consistency that offers the resistance and cushioning of pneumatic tyres. The general consensus at the moment is that are fine in a straight line, but very poor when turning which can make turning unpredictable.
But you can certainly buy them and try them for your bike.
Original bicycle tires long ago in the misty past, were solid rubber.
They are and we’re horrible to ride on. Air filled act as shock absorberd
I am sure there are some who sell such tyres. However outfiting your bicycle with such a tyre would not be very comfortable. The road surface is not flat but have tiny pits and bumps. When you ride over this at speed you get a lot of vibration. The air in the tyre will be able to compress very well and absorb this vibration. If you have a solid rubber tyre then these vibrations will be transferred to the rest of the bike. Other suspension will not be able to handle this due to the high frequency of this type of vibration.
Sooner bikes do, notably kids bikes. By BMX had some at one stage but I replaced them with air again. Fairly quickly the weight wasn’t worth the imperviousness.
The problem isnt that we cant make them, the problem is that the benefit of not being able to be punctured is outweighed by enough negatives that it just isnt worth it
60 years ago my father would put the solid rubber tires of my child tricycle in the oven to soften them. Then they could be stretched just enough to fit over the steel wheel rim.
I still remember the smell of the hot rubber.
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