Getting a flat tire is no fun, never mind the kind of vehicle you’re riding on/in. Cyclists hardly carry a spare tire around, especially those who take a far more casual slant towards it, but at least if you’re driving a car, all you need to do is pop open the trunk, roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty. Well, good thing someone decided to come up with a self-inflating bicycle tire known as the PumpTire – where you need not fill up the tires ever again, or even check the pressure. This Kickstarter project wants to deliver the City Cruiser and City Pro to the market, where both of these tires will target urban cyclists, incorporating the patented PumpTire technology.
PumpTire solves the issue with loss of pressure by incorporating a pumping mechanism directly into the tire – resulting in lesser pinch flats, eliminating the need to pump air ever again, while your hands remain free from grime and grease.
The PumpTire set will comprise of a trio of components – a tire, a detachable valve and an inner tube. The PumpTire inner tube works differently as it clips into the tire so that air can pass from the tire to the tube, and whenever the pump is working, air will move from the atmosphere, through the valve and into the lumen surrounding the outside of the tire. It is there that air will be pushed into the tube, and the moment the correct pressure is achieved, the valve will know so and closes the air pathway. Even normal rims will be able to live out this principle, so there is no need for further modifications or special equipment.
It might seem as though the PumpTire is still a long way off as only $2,253 has been pledged – a far cry from the $250,000 goal, so hopefully the next 41 days will see things looking up for this project.
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