Airless tires anyone?

James912 · Jan 31, 2012

I've been lookin' for quality airless cruiser tires. Anybody seen any? So far, i've only heard bad things about airless(solid tires). People have said on reviews, that they com out of the rim on some rough bumps, thay they are rough, squishy, and it feels like your pedalling thru sand on pavement. Anybody got anything on this topic? I have an airless tire on my wheel barrow, and it can't stand up to weight. When we hauled dirt around the yard, that tire was squishing and squealing and comming half off the rim.... If they aint any good, i'll just switch to slime.

The_Aleman · Jan 31, 2012

Airless tires went out of vogue what? 100 years ago? They're not going back into favor anytime soon.

They're fine for slow, industrial bikes used in factories to carry heavy loads, but they aren't ideal for anything else, really.

RandyWhite · Jan 31, 2012

Just because you don't like airless tires, doesn't mean everyone shares your opinion Aleman.

One of the bikes I motorized I got from a local thrift store. The rear tire was a solid and to be honest, it took me almost 2 weeks to even notice. It had alot of tread and i never had an issue with it ever. You will need them professionally mounted though.

As far as them being "in favor", I can get them at my local les schwab. I know, you would never have thought to look there, but they do carry them. And for the fat cruiser tires as well.

The_Aleman · Jan 31, 2012

What opinion? Let's look at the facts here:

Airless tires reduce acceleration, increase stopping distance, decrease handling, decrease ride quality, and can come off the rim at high speeds with a load.

Whether or not _I_ like them has absolutely nothing to do with this. Pneumatic tires replaced solid tires for very good reasons

RandyWhite · Jan 31, 2012

I don't argue with any of your points, but not everyone replaced solid tires with pneumatic. There are certain situations where solid tires are better than regular tubes. It's up to each user to decide if they want to use them.

It's not like regular tubes don't have issues either. Flats, blow out, dealing with slime etc.

The_Aleman · Jan 31, 2012

Of course they have their place. Many factories have bicycles and tricycles that use solid tires. The NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA, for example, had dozens of these cycles when I toured the plant in the 90's. Vance & Hines has quite a few right now, as well. These cycles also don't typically exceed 10MPH at any time.

I've tried solid tires before, I found them heavy, dangerous handling-wise, and uncomfortable. As for Slime, I've been using it for 20 years with great results. A blowout of a pneumatic tire is arguably less dangerous than a solid tire when it comes to rim/tire separation.

If you'd rather use solid tires than Slime and/or a decent tire liner, that's your choice.
I've put well over 100,000 miles on bicycle tires and know better. I honestly feel solid tires are dangerous on a motor-assisted bicycle.

RandyWhite · Feb 1, 2012

Just out of curiosity, what is your basis for "Airless tires reduce acceleration, increase stopping distance, decrease handling, decrease ride quality, and can come off the rim at high speeds with a load."

A little research shows that most of those issues have been solved by the few companies that sell them.

The_Aleman · Feb 1, 2012

RandyWhite said:
Just out of curiosity, what is your basis for "Airless tires reduce acceleration, increase stopping distance, decrease handling, decrease ride quality, and can come off the rim at high speeds with a load."

A little research shows that most of those issues have been solved by the few companies that sell them.

What "little" research? These are facts. Solid tires do these things, mostly because they are heavy and unforgiving compared to pneumatic tires.

No amount of solid tire fanboyism will change the fact that this is the 21st century and solid tires are 19th century technology.

Get with the times. Solid tires were obsolete before you or I or anyone else here was in the nutsack.

James912 · Feb 1, 2012

Thanks ya. I kinda guessed that cuz yall gave me the same facts that reviews did. lol They rough on roads since they are solid and they don't take bumps well at all. They tend to come off the rim...I'd rather not have any tire on my bike come off the rim and get swished up in the wheel stays and rim. lol That would be a bad, bad ending. There he goes over the handlebards. . .BAM! into the pavement. lol

RandyWhite · Feb 1, 2012

Listen Aleman. It has nothing to do with fanboyism or anything like that. I simply asked you to cite your sources. I'm sure that at one time all of these were true. But isn't it possible things have changed?

Otherwise, explain how Bud Frankenthaler won 5 different Triathalons using airless tires.

As they say, put up or shut up, cite some sources.

happycheapskate · Feb 2, 2012

I have some foam tires. I have Nu-techs on one bike. They are "mushy", and the material feels softer than the Amerityres. For a pedal bike that sits around a lot, they are perfect, and they corner predictably. I have them on my wife's friction drive bike. They slip some with the roller drive, but she is lazy about bikes and won't let me put regular tires back on it. It gets the job done, goes about 20mph.

I like Amerityres a lot, and if I didn't have a stack of standard tires from over the years, I'd get some more.

I have an Amerityre BMX tread 26x1.95 tire (lost one from my truck). It rolls very well with no noticeable resistance compared to a regular tire of same size, and feels a lot like a standard tire. I'd run them on a motor bicycle. My mb rims are too wide for them though. Unlike a pneumatic tire you can just air up to fit, the foam tires come in specific widths and you can only use them on the correct size rims. I used one on a aluminum double wall mtn bike rim for a while, on a mtb, and it worked very well (front with shock).
I got mine from www.noflattires.net, but their website is gone now, and the phone number is irrelevant now (i just called it, said I had wrong number).

Do NOT order from airfreetires.com . They are rude and SLOWWWWWWW, and do not answer their phones for customer service.

Try http://www.amerityre.com/ and call them for a distributor with good ratings.

happycheapskate · Feb 2, 2012

Amerityres don't need to be "professionally mounted". Lol. You can pull them on with your own two hands, and maybe a plastic lever if you don't have the patience. They snap onto the rim and that's it, you're done.

http://www.myspace.com/video/videobob/amerityre-informercial/21803061

They are labeled "For single-wall steel rims" but I think the company offers aluminum rims that match the tires. I don't see why they wouldn't work on double wall alu rims if they have good bead hooks.

happycheapskate · Feb 2, 2012

Here, I just got off the phone with Bruce at Amerityre, and he gave me this number for Rob Slagel, a distributer of Amerityre bicycle tires. He said NoFlatTires is out of business and was not happy with them.

He said he recommended

Rob Slagle (S&S Tire/Affordable Turf Tires) in Phoenix AZ
602 721 2410

happycheapskate · Feb 2, 2012

For what it's worth, I have 2 20"x1.95 Amerityres on a kid trailer with aluminum rims, and have hauled my baby, and lots of groceries, for months, and have not had any problems with the tires. They roll FAST, and it's great to just hook up the trailer and go. I will be buying more in the future for my pedal bike. I don't think it will do well with a friction drive. If you use a FD on one and it works well, let me know (700c)

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...54730_218445778250153_468028_1216674675_n.jpg

happycheapskate · Feb 2, 2012

For the guy saying they had to be "professionally mounted" maybe he means these:
Hutchinson heavy duty bead tires with foam inserts.
http://www.hutchinsontires.com/en/a_la_une.php?id=351
For me requiring "professional installation" would immediately put me off.

Kenda sells high end foam tubes you can use with wire bead tires and do it yourself.

I'd rather have the Amerityre solid snap-on tire, all in one, light, rolls fast, no BS. It comes in the mail, you strip off your tire and rim tape, pop it on and go ride.

jolfstn · Feb 2, 2012

Geez, James, why did you want to start a fight between Randy & Allman? What did they ever do to you?

Dan · Feb 4, 2012

Wow Happy, some good information. Thanks!

andrewflores17 · Feb 8, 2012

when i bought my mtn bike the PO had put one in the front tire didnt notice until i couldnt find the valve stem i prefer the extra thick rubber silime tires though .

they do work and i havent noticed anything negative about it . :-||

The_Aleman · Feb 8, 2012

I'll admit haven't tried any airless tires since the 90's. But I'm pretty dang sure I'd notice immediately if they were airless or not by the ride.

I typically run 65-80psi, too. It would be real hard for me to trust airless bending a corner at 25

Goat Herder · Feb 8, 2012

Another thing about airless I don't think I like is rather than the suspension of air and tube acting like a uni body structure and distributing the load. You get localized pressure at one region of the spokes. I hear airless is actually harder on spokes for this that dynamic is lost.

Airless tires anyone?

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