Tire That Self-Inflates Whenever It Rolls

(Video Link)

Benjamin Krempel founded a company called PumpTire, which is marketing a rather unique bicycle tire. It has a partially open tube on the outer circumference. As the wheel turns, it opens and closes the tube, which draws air from the outside and pumps it into the interior of the tire. When the tire reaches maximum pressure, it shuts off. In a test ride featured in the video, the tire inflated from 22 to 52 psi after three and a half minutes of riding. Link -via DVICE

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@joe2: Actually, air drag and gravity (when going uphill) are much greater "enemies" than rolling resistance. This might increase rolling resistance compared to a smooth racing tire, but the pump tube actually looks smooth so even with the collapsing of the tube it might offer less resistance than some treads.

Seems like this will work best for large, low pressure tires.

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I dunno. I don't have a problem with pumping air into a tire. I have a problem with tires springing leaks.

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That's pretty neat. Ingenious designwork.

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Would be great for the occasional rider who always finds the tires half flat after storage.