Not only do the curved resin spokes of Bridgestone’s new Air-Free tyres mean you may never have to change a flat again, they also serve as rolling eye candy, and the sleekest upgrade to tyres since white walls.
Last week we only had a couple of photos of the new tyres, but DigInfo managed to catch them in action at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. They’re still in the R&D phase at this point, but Bridgestone demonstrated smaller working versions on an electric cart. In their current form the tyres can support up to 150kg, enough for a single rider, but no where near strong enough for a full-size vehicle with multiple passengers.
And while Bridgestone realises that consumers will certainly want the aesthetic appeal of the curved spokes to be visible at all times, there is the slight issue of something getting caught in there preventing them from bending. So they’re working on a solution to the problem that balances safety with their wow factor. [DigInfo]