When you’re exploring another planet, the last thing you need to deal with is tire damage when AAA is millions of miles away. It is a concern that caused NASA to develop one airless titanium tire it is flexible like rubber, but almost indestructible. As has been the case with many of NASA’s inventions over the years, this space-age tire technology will do just that. will soon be available to consumers.
The use of air-filled rubber tires in a vehicle is not a practical solution for exploring nearby celestial bodies whose natural terrain is covered in rocks and sharp objects. So for the handful of wheeled vehicles that NASA has sent to the Moon and Mars, metal wheels are a better alternative. For the Lunar Rover, which the Apollo 15 brought to the moon, wheels were created made of hollow metal springs that could absorb potholes to make the journey more comfortable for astronauts. But most metals lose their shape over time and become brittle when bent repeatedly, causing deformed wheels that don’t roll as well, and even worse, severe damage that prevents them from rolling.
Alternatively, NASA has spent several million dollars over the past seven years developing Nitinol – a metal alloy of aluminum and titanium that behaves differently. Metal springs eventually lose their ability to return to their original shape because the bonds between their atomic structures become so stretched that they can no longer return to their original disposition. But Nitinol has a more orderly atomic structure and has something known as the shape memory effect, which allows it to deform but return to its original shape manufactured over and over again without permanent damage. It allows you to create metal tires that can be deformed to absorb the impact of uneven terrain such as rubber, without the possibility of a flat tire.
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It’s an amazing technology that will soon be available in the next few years for a vehicle that will probably never leave the Earth’s atmosphere: your bike. A startup called The Smart Tire Company has announced that it is creating a metal bicycle tire with NASA’s nitinol alloy that should never be inflated, that will never produce any leaks, and that it will probably survive much longer than the own bike.
Named the METL (Martensite Elasticized Tubular Load) tire, its creators hope it will be available as an alternative to premium bike tire options as early as 2022. It remains to be seen how much a titanium alloy bike tire will cost, but i can guess it will be a long time until the kids find a bicycle with nitinol wheels under the christmas tree. For cyclists who are happy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their bikes, METL tires could be the last set they have to buy, although they will still need regular maintenance.
The most common problem with airless tires is that they often feature open structure designs that can allow debris to get inside and undo the balance of the wheel. The use of a structure made of metal instead of rubber further complicates matters, as its soft finish makes the tire not have much grip. To address this, METL tires will also be fitted with a rubber-like tread made of a material called polyurethane that adds grip and makes them suitable for driving on all terrains, including pavements, gravel and dirt. Over time, the tread will wear out and need to be reapplied, but this maintenance is expected to be much cheaper than having to regularly replace a set of tires.
METL tires are not suitable for all riders. After all, they are made of metal and are expected to be heavier than the premium lightweight tires used by professional cyclists and athletes. But for most other applications, including athletes who use larger bikes on off-road terrain, the tires won’t feel any different during a trip.
The Smart Tire Company makes many promises about the advantages of its Nitinol tires over rubber ones; see Frequently asked questions on your website promoting the virtues of technology, and there are good reasons to get excited about technology. NASA, obviously, NASA considered it important enough to spend millions of dollars on its development. But we have been promised airless tires for many years, from industry giants like Bridgestone who have the manufacturing capability to make them a reality. They are not yet here, however, not even for bicycles, which is almost the least demanding application for technology.
There is little doubt that one day shredded tires will be a thing of the past, but will it be thanks to the efforts of this startup? If you can deliver METL tires in the next two years however you want, there’s a good reason why Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone are worried.