A new airless tyre is coming into production which is promised never to go flat.
Michelin research engineers have created a tyre which, instead of being pneumatic, is a combination of a wheel and a tyre which forms one solid unit.
The Tweel has a rigid hub with an internal structure of flexible polyurethane spokes. The spokes absorb road impacts the same way air pressure does in pneumatic tires.
Because it does not need air it cannot burst, leak pressure or go flat. Michelin claims that it requires no maintenance and will wear two or three times longer than conventional tyres.
The outside tread can be replaced when it gets worn. Not having to get rid of a whole spent tyre means that Tweel’s environmental impact could be lower than a pneumatic tyre.
The Tweel is designed for commercial vehicle use, such as landscaping, construction and agriculture. It has been specified as original equipment on certain John Deere commercial mowers.
Michelin’s creation may be the very solution that Venice has been looking for to counter the noise pollution created by hard-wheeled luggage bags.
