Tweels

Danny Colyer

This looks rather interesting - wheels with adjustable length spokes and
bendy rims, instead of tyres:
<URL:http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease01102005a.html>

They're quoted as saying: "Our concentration is to enter the market with
lower-speed, lower-weight Tweel applications", so perhaps we'll see them
first on bikes (I wonder if the lateral stability will be sufficient).
Obviously rim brakes won't be an option ...

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Mark Thompson

> <URL:http://www.michelinman.com/differen...srelease0110200
> 5a.html>
> so perhaps we'll see them first on bikes (I wonder if the lateral
stability will be
> sufficient). Obviously rim brakes won't be an option ...

"The Tweel prototype...is within five percent of the rolling resistance and
mass levels of current pneumatic tires."

Does this suggest it's slightly heavier and with greater rolling
resistence? Might be a while if that's the case.

This bit sounds good..

"Additionally, Michelin has increased the lateral stiffness by a factor of
five, making the prototype unusually responsive in its handling."

Jon Senior

Mark Thompson wrote:
> This bit sounds good..
>
> "Additionally, Michelin has increased the lateral stiffness by a factor of
> five, making the prototype unusually responsive in its handling."

Equally entertaining:

"Segway LLC's Concept Centaur, a prototype that applies self-balancing
technology to a four-wheel device"

Unless you're daft enough to put all four wheels on one long axle, it'd
be a challenge for most engineers to make a four-wheel that wasn't
"self-balancing"! ;-)

Jon

Tony Raven

Jon Senior wrote:
>
> Equally entertaining:
>
> "Segway LLC's Concept Centaur, a prototype that applies self-balancing
> technology to a four-wheel device"
>
> Unless you're daft enough to put all four wheels on one long axle, it'd
> be a challenge for most engineers to make a four-wheel that wasn't
> "self-balancing"! ;-)
>

The two wheel Segway had some problems with the self balancing mechanism
and with the US consumer litigation climate has probably now been fitted
with two extra wheels so that if the self balancing fails, the user
won't get injured ;-)

Tony

Alan Braggins

In article <1105496045.87196.0@demeter.uk.clara.net>, Jon Senior wrote:
>Mark Thompson wrote:
>> This bit sounds good..
>>
>> "Additionally, Michelin has increased the lateral stiffness by a factor of
>> five, making the prototype unusually responsive in its handling."
>
>Equally entertaining:
>
>"Segway LLC's Concept Centaur, a prototype that applies self-balancing
>technology to a four-wheel device"
>
>Unless you're daft enough to put all four wheels on one long axle, it'd
>be a challenge for most engineers to make a four-wheel that wasn't
>"self-balancing"! ;-)

But the point is to let you easily do controllable wheelies. Hmm, perhaps
"point" isn't the right word here. "The rather pointless reason they built
it is"?

Tim Hall

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:33:41 +0000, Danny Colyer
<danny@speedy5.freeserve.giggle> wrote:

>This looks rather interesting - wheels with adjustable length spokes and
>bendy rims, instead of tyres:
><URL:http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease01102005a.html>
>
>They're quoted as saying: "Our concentration is to enter the market with
>lower-speed, lower-weight Tweel applications", so perhaps we'll see them
>first on bikes (I wonder if the lateral stability will be sufficient).
>Obviously rim brakes won't be an option ...


Wot? No "Tyre company re-invents wheel" headline?


Tim