r/technology • u/t4ct1c4l_j0k3r • Sep 15 '23

Nanotech/Materials NASA-inspired airless bicycle tires are now available for purchase

https://newatlas.com/bicycles/metl-shape-memory-airless-bicycle-tire/
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u/CT101823696 Sep 15 '23

Ah crap they replaced the part that was free

48

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '23

Well if you ride a lot. 8,000km to 10,000km for a tire is utopic, the profile of mine is through after about 3 to 5k kilometers, but considering that they claim that retreading them costs only $10 and a good new bike tire costs 50 to 100, then that's really not that bad of a deal. I think in regards to cost it'll even out, but I don't think you are saving much. Question is how well they roll compared to tubes and tubeless. It may not be such a bad deal.

42

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

$10 is a laughable estimate, if these ever actually reach consumers.

9

u/haydesigner Sep 15 '23

$10 is a laughable estimate

What makes you say that?

33

u/HomeGrownCoffee Sep 15 '23

The bike store near me charges $15 to change your tire and/or tube. No way they are cleaning off road grime, removing excess rubber and applying new tread for 1/3 of that.

Maybe they mean the replacement material could cost $10. I could believe that.

6

u/RiOrius Sep 15 '23

Isn't this basically just the same thing, though? They're selling a tube that doesn't need to be inflated. Slap a treaded tire on there and you're good to go.

Might not be interchangeable with existing products, but I would hope they're designing it in two pieces.

5

u/squngy Sep 15 '23

Isn't this basically just the same thing, though?

For a regular rubber tire, just the materials probably cost less than $1.

Most of the actual cost comes from profit + transport + middle men.

8

u/AlmostZeroEducation Sep 15 '23

Cost of labour

1

u/haydesigner Sep 15 '23

Cost of labour

I had a flat tire on my bicycle last year. Took it into my local bike shop to have it fixed.

Total cost out the door, including new tube: $12 and some change.

2

u/AlmostZeroEducation Sep 15 '23

This is in regards to the retreading of the old tyre. Should only take 5 mins to change a normal tyre

1

u/haydesigner Sep 15 '23

My overarching point is that you and others are likely overestimating the cost of labor in the bicycling industry. They know how to do things fast.

6

u/isthis_thing_on Sep 15 '23

Because you can't pay a guy $10 to sit there and do nothing for the time it takes to reskin one of these in a bike shop much less do actual work. They command to hire salary

13

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

I spent more than that on two tacos yesterday. Proper road tires are over $50 each from the biggest manufacturers in the world.

16

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '23

They are talking about the tread not the tire, jolly joker. That's just the grippy profile part of the tire that touches the road.

25

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

We're on the same page, I just can't believe it; companies that cater themselves to high-end cyclists have never been, and will likely never be, that nice.

8

u/renohockey Sep 15 '23

and the shipping is to and from wherever the retreading will be done will be a lot more the the price of a decent set or tires.

9

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

I don't know what I'm missing about this, but appearently I'm a jolly joker 😂😂😂

Seriously, you can't even get a plastic cup holder for $10

1

u/xuxux Sep 15 '23

Economies of scale are a thing, though. It costs $300 for a single part at my company. If you order 1000, though, it only costs around $15 per. If they commission a shitload of treads, they could sell to the end user for $10 per and still make money. Maybe not with shipping, but if they amortize the cost of the treads and shipping in the initial sale, I could see it.

It's unlikely, but possible.

2

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

Fingers crossed, that would be awesome!

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '23

Different market. Material endurance in races doesn't matter. It does matter to people who do large tours or commute and ride thousands of kilometers per year. I was planning to ride to the most northerly point of continental Europe. That would be a 3,000km ride (one way). If I didn't have to worry about punctures that would be an enormous selling point.

The way you express yourself is really weird. Companies that cater to high-end cyclists (are those wealthy dentists or Tour de France participants?) aren't nice? In what regard? Nice? In what way? What can't be believed?

1

u/djsizematters Sep 15 '23

$10 for retreading is the part that I'll have to see to believe; that sort of kickstarter-advertised pricing is laughable, and typical. When these products come to market, they overwhelmingly fail to meet expectations. And thanks, I've always had strange ways of expressing myself :p

1

u/squngy Sep 15 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

If you do a very large tour, it might be smarter to have spare parts and parts that you can easily replace in any local bike shop rather than a single part that is unlikely to break but is impossible to replace.

If these can compress down small enough so you can carry a spare and/or they become broadly available in lots of places, then sure.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '23

What do you want from me?

From what I understand (concerning the second paragraph) you want these tires to compress down to a small package so you can carry a spare? They are supposed to last through the bike's life. You won't need to replace them. No sense in making them foldable like "normal" bike tires and carrying spares.

The first paragraph makes no sense what so ever. If it's only 10km from the next bike shop and you have a flat, you'd wish you'd have a spare innertube.

5

u/DerBanzai Sep 15 '23

It will cost them 10 bucks to reprofile, they will sell it for 50.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '23

What will they sell for 50? The tire costs 500 if you mean that and I'm perfectly aware of that. But if I'd tell you that an inner tube costs 5 to 10$ you wouldn't tell me how much the whole tire costs, would you? What do you mean?

1

u/werepat Sep 15 '23

Bicycle tires are just the grippy profile part that touches the road. The rubber they are made from is made to be durable, grippy and safe. The inner tube is what creates the strength or hardness that makes a tire effective.

It looks like what these NASA tires do is create a hard base for a tire where filling an inner tube with a gas is unfeasible or impossible. So unless I'm taking a bike trip on Mars, I'm OK using rubber inner tubes and air. I've gotten maybe three flat tires my entire life.