This week’s selection is the Airless MTB Tire by YouTube biking channel Berm Peak.
Airless replacements for inflatable objects have been a thing in 3D printing for a while. Perhaps the most notable example of this category is the airless basketball, which proved so popular that BIQU designed a new TPU filament product specifically for printing these airless basketballs.
Another area of exploration has been airless tires. I’ve seen many examples of these over the years, but most of them have been entirely impractical and often made for promotional purposes, not for actual use. And none were specifically designed for use on mountain bikes.
Seth from Berm Peak decided to break that barrier by designing his own 3D printable airless MTB tires.
After an exploration of existing work, Seth designed several attempts and ended up making a fascinating design with an “S-curve” for spokes. The “S” would compress without causing distortion on other portions of the tire.
Seth’s version 1 of the MTB tire appeared to work pretty well, with good traction and enough durability to survive some basic trail testing.
The design process in the video was enlightening to watch, and you will see some of the challenges and solutions developed. Designing a tire is not as simple as you might think.
In the end, Seth realized that there never will be a market for airless MTB tires because they compete against non-3D printed airless tires. Those alternatives turn out to be lighter, better performing, and actually cheaper than 3D printed tires.
But he 3D printed them anyway because of 3D printing.
Via YouTube
