Self-inflating bike tires campaign for dollars
August 26, 2011 by Nancy Owano 
(PhysOrg.com) -- Bicycle owners are being offered a no-hassle solution to keeping their bicycle tires sidewalk and road-worthy. The solution is called the PumpTire, billed as the world’s first self-inflating bicycle tire. Thanks simply to the rolling motion of the tire, and inventor ingenuity, it can happen. Right now, it’s an advanced prototype, not something to yank off any shelf. PumpTire is promoting this off the Kickstarter project site. The PumpTire team hopes that, with enough donations, they can transform their prototype into products for cyclists everywhere.
PumpTire is the company and product name of a set of items that consist of a tire, a tube, and detachable valve. The inner tube clips into the tire to allow the air to pass from the tire to the tube. Once the desired pressure is reached, the pump stops. The valve senses the increase in pressure. and closes the air pathway so that no more air is pumped into the tire.
This video is not supported by your browser at this time.
PumpTire developers have in mind two end products, one for casual cyclists and the other for cyclists who want high performance. For the latter, The City Pro has a max 100 psi, and the City Cruiser is a 26" x 1.5" tire with a maximum 65 psi.In the video showing how it works, the founder of the project, Benjamin Krempel, hops on his bicycle and takes it for a ride. We see the pressure on the tire rising from 22 to 52 psi in over a mile. As for the higher-performance tire product, the user is allowed to set the pressure from 65 to 95 psi.
True to the Kickstarter project practice, Krempel and team are posting project details on the Kickstarter site, hoping backers will donate toward their goal, which is $250,000. They want to use that money to work with vendors and engineers to put in place the right materials and processes and to get tools and materials for assembly. The project will only be funded if at least $250,000 is pledged by October 5, according to the site. At the time of this writing, they have $3,619 with 43 backers. As offers to those who pledge, they give those who pledge $75 two Cruiser tires, two valves and two tubes at the expected retail value of $129.90. Those who pledge $45 get one Cruiser tire, (you guessed it). one valve and one tube at the expected retail price of $64.95. Pledges of one dollar or more get the team's warm thanks for doing a good deed.
More information: http://www.kicksta … bicycle-tire
© 2011 PhysOrg.com
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Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
Just weeks ago I rode 200 miles with a group of seniors (55, 62, 65, 68, 72, 75) on a mix of tire sizes and types. There were no p*nct*r*s. All avoid the trash lane, the curbed shoulder never cleaned of sharps.
This is a reason that bicycles belong in the travel lane, beyond being traffic too. Take the lane!
Like bicycle hell-mutts, PumpTires are a marketeering solution in search of a problem and customers with more money than good sense.
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 1 / 5 (2)
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
But I have never really had a problem with punctures (on or off road). For short rides I take the risk. For longer rids I have a micro repair kit and a very small pump (never had to use it, though). So no - I wouldn't buy this type of tire. Like Fabrice Arfi says: I have never felt the need for such a gadget.
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
You'd be trading less (no) punctures for an increase in bicycle rim failures. Fixing a tire is a lot easier than fixing a broken rim while on tour.
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: not rated yet
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3.5 / 5 (2)
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
This gadget would be a sizable off-center weight. That would weaken the area where it is attached and introduce an unnecessary element in how the tire rolls.
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
Unlike other posters I get a lot of punctures. Maybe its because I live in a college town, and there are broken beer bottles everywhere.
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
With respect to the nay sayers, you have to think outside of the box and don't be afraid of creativity.
wwwilrcornelledunews082611_goncaloResearchhtml
Best regards
Aug 26, 2011
Rank: 3.5 / 5 (2)
.
Re: earlier post by Doug_Huffman referencing "hell-mutts": I've seen more than one cracked "hell-mutt" in E.R, where a head would be cracked instead, and some cracked skulls where a "hell-mutt" would have spared injury, so I'm not sure what you're saying here.
Aug 27, 2011
Rank: 1 / 5 (2)
Anything that makes biking more accessible to the masses is a good thing. The purists and traditionalists can go the way of the big wheel bicycle.
Aug 27, 2011
Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
Now, the auto-inflating tires, I'll get them after I install the OnStar system on my bike. "Hello, this is OnStar, we've received a distress signal that your air pressure is low..."
Aug 28, 2011
Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
Aug 28, 2011
Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
But back to cars-would this thing also result in premature replacement of tires,this time at considerable expense merely because the inflation tube was badly worn?
Aug 28, 2011
Rank: 3.5 / 5 (2)
Aug 30, 2011
Rank: not rated yet
What's wrong with tyre pressure sensors/monitors?
Having a self-inflator like this on a car wheel would cause all sorts of balance issues at high wheel rpm rates.
Aug 30, 2011
Rank: not rated yet
You'd be continually compressing air in a small tube for nothing - this takes energy which has to come from somewhere - i.e. increased fuel comsumption
And it will only help you once in a blue moon when you actually do have a drop in pressure, but only if that drop isn't due to a real puncture. In that case the system won't prevent a flat.