A new gen of car tire with spoke! THE Michelin TWEEL

Doctorbass

100 GW
Joined
Apr 8, 2007
Messages
7,496
Location
Quebec, Canada East
Wow, it's been a while since I've heard anything about these. I remember Segway getting in on the action with their Centaur concept.

tweel-centaur.jpg
 
Cool! I wonder when / if they will be available retail. I'd like to try them.

One thing I noticed back in my road racing days, If I blew a tire but didn't shred it badly, or got a flat when driving a fairly light car with good weight distribution, the tire would still keep the rim off the ground due to centrifugal force, and keep the vehicle fairly maneuverable until I slowed down below about 80mph or so.

So, the basic idea doesn't surprise me. Keep just enough rigidity to support the vehicle at lower speed until centrifugal force can take over. Best of both worlds!
 
No more flats!

It would be nice to be able to ride right through a patch of thorns and not worry about it.
 
I think this guy was teaching my history class at the University of Scranton in 1961. It was then I learned to sleep sitting up with my eyes open. What a unique product, what a dreary presentation.

Mike
 
They were claiming with this they could separate lateral stiffness and vertical stiffness. So you could have a comfortable ride and excellent handling. No compromise. Which would rock.
 
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