Been a busy end to the old year here at 88Nine but Freewheel, the bike blog, is here to stay. Big thanks if you peeped the first entry; today we continue in our bold (and cold) new year with what may be the future of bike wheels.
Imagine... a wheel that need neither air nor sidewalls, a wheel that innovates and adds energy into every stroke of the pedal; no more flats, no more pumps. This is the revolutionary notion behind BriTek's Energy Return Wheel. While the bikes of our era still require air pressure to keep them coordinated, BriTek's futuristic wheel needs nothing but a simple adjustment of tension of the rubber streched around a 29-inch carbon fiber wheel.
BriTek's wheel is two layers of rubber; one at the center, stretched and held in place with adjustable rods while the other is what we think of as the conventional outer tread of the wheel. The space that would be filled with air is (at present) partially exposed (to dramatic effect), holding a series of elastic cushions and the aforementioned rods. This internal structure allows the tire some give and take that according to the company allows it to react better to compression. As the internal rubber layer gets compressed, the elastic energy stored in the wheel is converted into forward motion. As of now the wheel is still more for serious afficionados, with a price tag at around $2500 per wheel; one has to hope/think that this may be the future of wheels. Still, it's pretty cool, all things considered...
