Sunday, July 20, 2014

Why does solid foamed rubber tire are not used on the place of air-filled tires?

Why does solid foamed rubber tire are not used on the place of air-filled tires?
For tires that see hard use, like heavy and/or fast vehicles, the heat build up when the tire is squished and released repeatedly can actually go on to the point where the tire will be destroyed.
It's also a comfort issue. An air filled tire will do a better job as a suspension element than what a solid tire will do.
Then there's performance. In some cases you want to be able to adjust the tire pressure depending on riding conditions. easily doable with air'filled tires, but for "solid" tires you're pretty much stuck with only one setting.
There's also weight, a solid tire will be heavier than an air filled tire.
There's also fit. A solid tire have to be a very good fit to the rim, while an air-filled tire will be quite flexible, with the same tire fitting several types of rims.

With all that said, there are still some places where solid tires are used, mainly in places where reliability is preferred above pure performance.

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