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| Self Inflating tire from PumpTire |
Have you ever heard of bicycle tires inflating on their own? The PumpTire team of San Francisco have come up with such a tire which inflates on its own while riding the bicycle.
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| A Tire With An Adjustable Valve |
This new tire consists of three parts- an inner tube, a tire and an adjustable valve. The inner tube of PumpTire, unlike the inner tube of the general tubes, clips into the tire to enable air to pass from the tire to the tube. The pumping mechanism inflates the tire as the atmospheric air enters the tire, into the lumen surrounding the tube, from where it is pushed inside the tube. As the pressure rises gradually, the valve senses the increased pressure and the pathway for the atmospheric air entering the tire is closed. This system does not require any additional changes for its functioning and can also work on normal rims . The valve of this tube is a specially designed valve that allows air to enter the tire before it is pushed into the tube, unlike the Presta/Schrader valves.The pumping mechanism(valve assembly) works simply by screwing it into the special valve stem of the tube. This is either a fixed pressure valve or a user adjustable pressure valve. The fixed pressure valve closes as a fixed air pressure is reached inside the tube, while for the adjustable valve, pressure is adjusted by turning the valve to reach a higher or lower pressure. The top of the valve has an air inlet and is compatible with Schrader/Presta fittings to use with a traditional pump, as desired by the user. There is also a filter which keeps dirt, water, and other debris from entering the tire.
There are two models of the tire which are to be introduced shortly. One is City Cruiser for casual riders, a 26"x1.5" tire with a fixed pressure valve which can pump from a flat up to 65psi, and is designed generally for ride over pavements. The other is the City Pro high performance tire, a 700c x 22mm with an adjustable valve which can adjust between 65psi-95psi, and is designed for cyclists who seek better performance.Well, with this PumpTire technology, we would not need to worry about the air pressure in our cycle tubes and can enjoy cycling on the roads with good pressure in the tube.For me, I would prefer the City Pro high performance tire, and would like to get it soon and would suggest the same to all the readers who want a better performance from their cycles.
[Via Physorg]
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