Tires

A new study shows that lettuce readily takes up particles produced from rubber car tires as they roll along our roadways. The research is part of a growing body of evidence that materials we use everyday are flowing back into our food supply.

Australian researchers have analyzed the structural properties of walls made from end-of-life car tires packed with dirt, giving engineers some figures to work with and making a well-known upcycling technique available to the construction industry.

In recent years, we've heard about efforts to replace some of the aggregate used in concrete with crumbled used tires. Now, however, scientists have succeeded in producing good quality concrete in which all of the aggregate has been replaced with tire particles.

Changing up the recipe could help roads last longer. Researchers in Australia have now shown another advantage of adding rubber from old tires to asphalt – extra Sun protection that could help roads last up to twice as long before cracking.

Bicycle tire pressure is a compromise – high pressure is best on smooth roads, while low pressure is better on rough terrain. The Scope Atmoz system allows cyclists to incrementally switch back and forth between the two, while the bike is in motion.

A new study has assessed the value of concrete made with crumb rubber from discarded tires by using it as a residential slab and monitoring its performance over several years, where it outshone conventional concrete in a number of ways.

We've heard about a number of uses for recycled carbon fiber, ranging from water-draining concrete to lightweight surfboards. Now, the stuff has been utilized in what is claimed to be a better-performing sealant for tubeless bicycle tires.

As part of a decade-long effort to make punctures a thing of the past, Hankook has shown the latest version of its airless i-Flex concept tire at CES 2022 where it provided the shoes for Hyundai’s L7 concept vehicle.

A special version of Goodyear's airless tire has been fitted to six-wheeled delivery robots at Ohio's Bowling Green State University campus in order to test factors such as tread wear, braking performance and vibration damping.

We've been reporting on Michelin's airless tire technology for more than 16 years now, and the company has finally put them on a demo passenger car for members of the public to experience what this re-invention of the wheel feels like to drive on.

While cyclists certainly don't like getting flats, puncture-resistant tires are typically heavier than others. According to French manufacturer Hutchinson, however, its Gridskin tires combine durability with light weight – and less production waste.

Checking your bike's tire pressure can be a fiddly process, which is why there are now valve stem attachments that let you check it with your smartphone. The just-announced PSIcle sensor makes things even easier, as it doesn't require a battery.