bridgestone's bouncy airless tires for cars and bikes spring into testing

Bouncy airless tires with resin spokes

Bridgestone and Idemitsu Kosan Co. in Japan will test the former’s airless tires in February 2023 using a compact electric vehicle operated by the latter to see if the future of tire technology can rely on the resin spokes of bouncy tires that do not need to be inflated with air.

designboom has reported the entrance of the airless tires for bicycles where Bridgestone’s ‘Air Free Concept’ began as a patented idea way back in 2011. The tires can be seen loaded with spokes inside their interior and a rubber lining for the exterior. When the tires wheel over rough and speed bumps, they follow the uneven curves, preventing the drivers from being launched off their seats when they ride too fast.

images courtesy of Bridgestone

Eliminating tire maintenance

The airless tires from Bridgestone aim to eliminate the need for tire management, especially with air pressure and having a popped one. As the tire manufacturer puts it, conventional tires are inflated with high-pressure air, which gives tires a spring-like function to support vehicle weight and absorb shock from the road surface just like an inflated ball.

‘If the air pressure is not appropriate or the tire is flat, there may be a problem with driving,’ says the tire manufacturer. Bridgestone adds that the resin spokes of its ‘Air Free Concept’ technology provide higher flexibility for design and recyclability than conventional tires.

the airless tires need no air-pressure filling

Shifting to electric vehicles

Experimenting with the capacity of Bridgestone’s spokes-filled tires with Idemitsu Kosan Co. electric vehicle can help the two further look into the potential carbon-neutral effects and resource-recycling uses of materials when people try to start to shift to electrified cars and even biked in the future.

As Idemitsu Kosan Co.’s General Manager Akira Oishi comments, ‘We believe that the Air Free Concept developed by Bridgestone is environmentally friendly. The puncture-free tires contribute to reducing the risk of vehicle stoppages and are expected to improve utility value for customers.’

the tires are also suitable for bikes