No more punctures: Nasa’s airless tyres to be used on bikes

The SMART tyre could soon banish flat tyres

Credit: NASA

Flat tyres could soon become a thing of the past for cyclists thanks to new technology that was first tested on Nasa’s Mars rover.

The US space exploration agency has developed an airless “superelastic” material that can traverse rocky and sandy terrain.

The shape memory alloy (SMA) is made up of wires that are woven together to create an airless structure that can flex in line with the ground its covering, unlike the existing rigid tyres in use.

Nasa said SMA acts like a “shock-absorber” and can cross rock-laden terrain effortlessly without breaking or damaging the tyre.

Now the material, once reserved for journeys across the red planet, is being deployed on bicycles for use on Earth.

The SMA material that will be used on road bikes

Credit: NASA

The SMART Tire Company, a start-up based in Los Angeles, wants to deploy the technology on traditional bicycles.

“Due to their ability to undergo phase transitions at the molecular level under strain, SMAs are unlike any other material, exhibiting perfect shape ‘memory’ over time,” said Earl Cole, chief executive of The SMART Tire Company. 

“The result is cycling products that are innovative, light-weight, durable, and never go flat.”

Mr Cole is an entrepreneur and philanthropist but is also well-known for winning the reality TV show Survivor. The Kansas City native won the show in 2007 where “castaways” were handed a series of challenges on a remote island.

Nasa claims the technology could be used in cases beyond cycling too, such as trucking, all-terrain, and commercial vehicles. The space agency also claimed it could be used in the military as well as high-performance sports and aircraft”.

Harvey Schabes, the technology transfer division chief at Nasa’s Glenn research centre, said the tie-up with SMART was an opportunity with “great potential”.

“This is just one technology available for license in NASA’s extensive patent portfolio,” he said.

SMART was picked to use the technology though the space agency’s “Startup Studio”, which matches entrepreneurs with space technology that’s primed for commercial uses.

SMA was first developed as a solution to the high-level of damage on the threats of the Curiosity rover’s aluminium wheels.

Nasa is still working to develop a “Mars-grade material” that will “greatly improve” the capability of SMA.

Would you choose "superelastic" material for your bicycle tyres? Tell us in the comments section below