On Thursday, May 2, 2013 7:51:58 PM UTC-7, Jan Heine wrote:
>
> Airless tires have so much resistance that you'd rather change a flat
> every 10 miles! We tested a set of airless tires for our latest tire test
> (Bicycle Quarterly Spring 2013), and found that they used 50% more power
> than a good racing tire. Maintaining 20 mph was very hard work. And in
> corners, they squirmed so much that it was really disconcerting.
Jan, all due respect, I think you're still completely missing the point.
I doubt that many riders on the Dahon which is the current target of this
work are trying to maintain 20 mph. Additionally, the small diameter of
the 20" wheel reduces rotating weight to an extent which might somewhat
offset rolling resistance. (No doubt I'll be mathematically
proven completely wrong about that, but consider that urban trips are
heavily stop-start-stop-start.) If one considers the likely trip distance
and trip type of an urban Dahon, utility effectiveness may trump other
factors.
On another subject -- I have to give the inventor credit for a campaign
which has exceeded its investment target. The kickstarter is pushing
$US70,000, more than 10% over its target, with two weeks yet to go.
Apparently a number of people think this idea has merit. Even if it
ultimately fails, I sincerely congratulate Mr. Pearce on his efforts.
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