Fabian
Well-Known Member
(moderators, please relocate this thread if it's not in the appropriate area)
This company seems to make a variation on foam filled, no flats style bicycle tyres.
http://www.airfreetires.com/shopping/c-14-26-inch.aspx
The main points and benefits seem to be:
How do Air Free tires compare to rubber, air-filled tires?
In most cases, Air Free tires compare favorably and can satisfy just about every cycling application. While we may call the Air Free tires "solid" or "airless," the tires actually are made of dense polyurethane foam that traps millions of microscopic air cells - so the truth is, they have a fair amount of air in them. We created these tires to imitate the most popular types of rubber tires on the market, so you'll see the tread patterns and shapes and sizes are similar. For example, our Airless 700 X 20 Daytona TT tire is designed to imitate a street-type rubber tire in the 700 x 20 to 700 x 23 range. Both tires would be slick and fast and fairly hard, without a whole lot of give, because the rubber tire would be inflated to about 120 PSI and our tire is designed to feel and look just like that type of tire.
Why do Air Free tires have a PSI?
Air Free tires have what we call a "pounds per square inch feel." If I were to pour urethane into a cup, and let it foam up and harden, the resulting urethane would have a PSI feel of about 25, which feels fairly squishy - like a soft bicycle tire. However, if we spin a tire mold at about 400 revolutions per minute, the spinning motion collapses some of the foam, which lets us add more urethane and create a denser material - one that has less "give" to it. The faster we spin the mold, the more urethane we can add and the more firm the tire will be. Most of our tires have a PSI equivalency of about 55 to 60 - that is, they feel about as firm as a rubber tire inflated to 55 to 60 PSI. However, we make some stock tires, such as those in the Daytona and Teton lines, at higher PSI equivalencies for riders who need or prefer a firmer tire. We can also customize the PSI of tires to your specifications
This company seems to make a variation on foam filled, no flats style bicycle tyres.
http://www.airfreetires.com/shopping/c-14-26-inch.aspx
The main points and benefits seem to be:
How do Air Free tires compare to rubber, air-filled tires?
In most cases, Air Free tires compare favorably and can satisfy just about every cycling application. While we may call the Air Free tires "solid" or "airless," the tires actually are made of dense polyurethane foam that traps millions of microscopic air cells - so the truth is, they have a fair amount of air in them. We created these tires to imitate the most popular types of rubber tires on the market, so you'll see the tread patterns and shapes and sizes are similar. For example, our Airless 700 X 20 Daytona TT tire is designed to imitate a street-type rubber tire in the 700 x 20 to 700 x 23 range. Both tires would be slick and fast and fairly hard, without a whole lot of give, because the rubber tire would be inflated to about 120 PSI and our tire is designed to feel and look just like that type of tire.
Why do Air Free tires have a PSI?
Air Free tires have what we call a "pounds per square inch feel." If I were to pour urethane into a cup, and let it foam up and harden, the resulting urethane would have a PSI feel of about 25, which feels fairly squishy - like a soft bicycle tire. However, if we spin a tire mold at about 400 revolutions per minute, the spinning motion collapses some of the foam, which lets us add more urethane and create a denser material - one that has less "give" to it. The faster we spin the mold, the more urethane we can add and the more firm the tire will be. Most of our tires have a PSI equivalency of about 55 to 60 - that is, they feel about as firm as a rubber tire inflated to 55 to 60 PSI. However, we make some stock tires, such as those in the Daytona and Teton lines, at higher PSI equivalencies for riders who need or prefer a firmer tire. We can also customize the PSI of tires to your specifications