Air free tires?

[roguedog]

Anyone every tried or heard about these?

http://www.airfreetires.com/

I assume if they were the bomb we'd all be using 'em but still I'm curious.

[KnottedYet]

I just meandered around their website. Hmmm, wouldn't solid tires be awfully heavy? Seems like even the foam-filled ones would be heavy.

Good idea for medical equipment, though.

what do bike cops use on their bikes?

[DebW]

I know someone who's used them. He commutes on them only. They are solid rubber with air bubbles impregnated. Really hard to get on the rims - the company gives you a tool with them or you'd never get them on. Sheldon Brown has a write-up on how these type tires really defeat the purpose of a pneumatic tire and are very hard on rims. Probably hard on your butt too. The synopsis is that when a tire with an inner tube hits a pothole, you are compressing air in the entire tube volume as one area of the tire compresses. With air-free tires, you compress some microbubbles of air on only that area of the tire. There just isn't much capacity for shock-absorption.

[rachelcoburn]

Be very careful about buying anything from Airfreetires.
Please look them up in Google. You will find a long list of people who have ordered tires and never received them.
Air free tires is run by Hugh Waters. He says on his site that it takes four weeks for custom orders. I've been waiting for 8 weeks. They also say they return calls and next day and that you can look up your order info. I've never been able to get my order info. Hugh Water's company has replied only twice to the 14 calls, 1 certified letter, and 2 faxes I sent them. I've asked for a refund, but instead of responding promptly as promised in his website, airfree has yet to tell me when I will get my money back.
Airfreetires has 19 consumer complaints from the BBB this year alone.
The technology my be great, but airfreetires is not the company to buy from.

[Tuckervill]

Call your state attorney general's office and let them know.

Karen