This looks amazing and certainly something that I can see working well on bikes.
that’s pretty clever. I’d be worried about all 3 of the shocks exerting equal pressure though.
or there are these!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1205277475/loopwheels-for-a-smoother-more-comfortable-bicycle
I’m sure I’ve seen some new mars rover wheels designed a bit like that. A soft wheel, but entirely made from metal to withstand the insane temperature variation on Mars.
Reminds me of the wheels Neil Stephenson described in his cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. Essentially a wheels with millions of tiny spokes jutting out from the wheel the extend/contract according to the surface to provide a smooth ride. Bit like these Michelin’s:-
Softwheel looks good. It just makes me think that, whilst being very good at dealing with relatively small forces that you’d expect on a wheelchair wheel, it may not be that good when dealing with the forces you experience when a 200kg bike is slowing down from 60-70mph…but if it could deal with that surely you’d be able to get some decent weight savings as well as comfort/ride improveents…
Reduces unsprung mass… something something.