9/19/23 11:34 AM

I like. ;)

https://www.extremetech.com/science/new-bike-tires-made-from-nasas-rubbery-metal-alloy-are-now-available

9/19/23 1:57 PM

Nice try


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0IoF9LH7Ao

9/19/23 2:37 PM

Tire guy: We'll sell the wheelset for around $2500-$3000

Shark who is CLEARLY NOT A CYCLIST: Whoah! I could buy a bicycle for that!

Me:

<img src="https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/030/710/dd0.png">

9/19/23 3:35 PM

Ready to plunk down that for one of their wheel sets?

My take was that they had no clue whatsoever how they were going to get a tire to market. And they already got a 6,000 waiting list? When do you expect to take delivery?

You can get a perfectly good bike for $3k. You going to get one of their wheel sets for a $12,000 bike?

9/19/23 5:09 PM

I wonder if existing rim/bead tech will be excepting physically. More likely be made to use proprietary rims they will sell, and patented...

I really wonder about the attachment of tread. I got go fast 28mm tires that are 215-225 grams each...

9/19/23 8:14 PM

Definitely a lot of unanswered questions. Are these racing wheels where that price might not be completely out of line? What's the weight? What is the rolling resistance? How will you market to casual riders?

And what's the grip like? Will these slide out on fast corners?

@dan, just trying to make a joke, not making a statement with that

9/19/23 8:47 PM

For all the hemming and hawing cyclists do about supple feel, good luck.

I was riding along the river downtown today. Sections along there all concrete, and as we all know... seams.

My 303 firecrest tubulars (tubeless of course), Tufo 28mm hi-carbons @ 85 PSi.. blip, blip.. so nice feeling. How they going to match that ride quality wise?

I haven't taken my FMB cotton 27mm down there yet. Gotta be more sublimerer...

9/20/23 4:42 AM

It's funny what can be noticed. Been through various tires this year with my 404 firecrest.

Schwalbe Pro One...supple, nice rolling, but quite fragile. Lots of punctures.

Pirelli Zero Race...very comfortable, fast. Much more sublimerer but also with the punctures

Conti gp 5k...so far (only two weeks) they feel fine, no punctures yet (also moved to silca sealant) but definitely a slightly harder ride. BY that i mean they are a little bit harder than the pirellis...still very supple compared to old school 120psi clinchers.

9/20/23 9:33 AM

I was running 30mm Pirelli P Zero with TPU tubes before I would decide if valves and sealant will go in. And 2 years later TPU still in there. No flats either.

I just sold my last TL [road] with juice Madone the other day, Sector 28mm Hutchinson, handed the guy two 2 OZ Stans bottle and told him he should do tat before any long rides. 3 year old sealant that should be rejuvenated a few times by now. ;)

I have no road or all road tire with sealant in them right now. And those are tubular and I carry sealant and a min plug kit. But unlike most TL clinchers that need sealant to seat and hold air, not to mention to seal sidewall weep/seepage often... Tubular TLs hold air better than anything TL or tubed. Even Buytl tubed, and the Tufo Hi-Carbon excel at this particularly. Thet are on my Strong Allroad 'raod' wheels. I stopped typing and went to see, not been pumped up for 3 months. I could still ride the rear, the front needs air. Valve locks open for the valve extension. Probably seeped outta valve.

But I suspect my choice these last 5 year of where to ride may have the most to do with good flat luck. Being superstitious I hate to claim even that out loud.

Luckily here I can go up to a 80 mile ride on dedicated bike paths if I connect two. The bike lanes and shoulder are strewn with battlefield debris. I can't recall last time I rode that crud for more than a 1/4 mile for a sidewalk detour now and again... Sometimes the paths have shared double wide cement here.

9/20/23 9:54 AM

Call me a curmudgeon, but a new breakthrough tire system comes around ever decade or so, and none of them ever get any significant market for all the reasons you all have listed above. The holy grail of eliminating punctures with a good ride and handling at a realistic price is still far, far away. Let's say these actually are just as good as a high-end tire today. Who's going to pay that price premium just to avoid a flat tire every few thousand miles?

9/20/23 10:23 AM

When I rode with the club here I got a flat weekly VS every few thousand miles. City bike lanes bad bad bad. And a few accidents happen sporadically when a bike swerve outta the lane to aviod something bad. Add a car staying tight to white line just at same time. The mention of some road rage dealings from same. Don't miss it...

9/29/23 4:44 AM

Nitinol is not going to be supple. It has to support the entire weight of the bike and rider - without the benefit of air pressure - so it's going to have to be stiff. Fabric tire casings are incredibly light; Nitinol won't be. Nitinol will bend and dent. While it has an amazing ability to return to its original shape when you heat it, how are you going to do that with a rubber-covered tire?

These guys are obviously enraptured by the amazing properties of Nitinol and haven't fully thought through the process of actually making a viable product with it. The Sharks saw that and called them out on it. Buh-bye.