Nitrogen tyres

[TimberWolf]

I use only the best: Helium-3

[Lumiere]

Get it from Costco - the cheapest Michelins, Nitrogen filling and further top-ups free ..

[Grinder]

Get it from Costco - the cheapest Michelins, Nitrogen filling and further top-ups free ..

Michelin is one of the most expensive makes going - Costco can trim the price down because of their volume selling, but they are still double the price of a budget tyre which does the job nicely, unless you drive like a nutter.

[OwlHoot]

Have them filled with helium to make the car lighter.

or uranium hexaflouride to make the car heavier and increase tyre grip

[Turion]

Is this worth it?

Only a quid a tyre at Kwik Fit.

Needing a new set of fronts (get through 3 sets a year due to the mileage)

You're either a shiite driver and / or buy cheapo tyres. Fronts should last 30k miles of normal driving.

[OwlHoot]

I sometimes wonder why tyres, and especially bicycle tyres, can't be made of an aeriated rubber, i.e. solid but full of air pockets.

That would make them practically puncture-proof, and if manufactured right (maybe with lighter materials) they wouldn't be heavier than conventional air tube tyres.

The only slight snag is that they might be harder to fit.

[Money Money Money]

I sometimes wonder why tyres, and especially bicycle tyres, can't be made of an aeriated rubber, i.e. solid but full of air pockets.

That would make them practically puncture-proof, and if manufactured right (maybe with lighter materials) they wouldn't be heavier than conventional air tube tyres.

The only slight snag is that they might be harder to fit.

Why would a tyre manufactuer want to make a puncture proof tyre that stops you buying more tyres???

[RichardCranium]

I sometimes wonder why tyres, and especially bicycle tyres, can't be made of an aeriated rubber, i.e. solid but full of air pockets.

I queried the same of a boot manufacturer regarding hiking boot soles about 30 years ago. I asked whether it would mean that as the soles wore there would be new holes exposed so grip would never be reduced. (How sad a Boy Scout was I?)

They wrote back and said it had been tried and that a 'foam' sole would wear out in no time at all due to the exposed edges and flexing going on internally.

The same is probably true of car tyres: they would wear out in no time, with little chunks coming off at the leading edge of the bubbles.

[gingerjedi]

I sometimes wonder why tyres, and especially bicycle tyres, can't be made of an aeriated rubber, i.e. solid but full of air pockets.

That would make them practically puncture-proof, and if manufactured right (maybe with lighter materials) they wouldn't be heavier than conventional air tube tyres.

The only slight snag is that they might be harder to fit.

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/bike.html

[TimberWolf]

I sometimes wonder why tyres, and especially bicycle tyres, can't be made of an aeriated rubber, i.e. solid but full of air pockets.

That would make them practically puncture-proof, and if manufactured right (maybe with lighter materials) they wouldn't be heavier than conventional air tube tyres.

The only slight snag is that they might be harder to fit.

Bear in mind tyres make a huge difference to bicycle performance. Though saying that, stiffer tyres might work well on flat surfaces. And what about a small light (200W, 1/3 BHP) internal combustion engine for bikes?