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Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

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Re: Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

#61

Post by ggforpp »

analog31 wrote: post #46
eCa wrote: post #18

For normal world applications, a tubeless[1] setup will perform infinitely better. Though less eye-catchy. [1] https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/tubeless/

A lesson I've learned over years of cycling and maintaining other kinds of machines, is that all fluids require maintenance. Of course the air in the tires is also a fluid. But introducing yet another fluid to overcome a maintenance issue, is virtually guaranteed to introduce yet another maintenance issue. Ultimately it comes down to a matter of tradeoffs.

Well said. Tubeless is fora shaving off a few grams from the wheels, which translates to a very low (but measurable) energy saving on acceleration.

Re: Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

#62

Post by animal531 »

jp57 wrote: post #12

Everyone who plays tennis knows that tennis balls don't retain their pressure for very long once outside their pressurized cannister, though. I can't tell if this article is just ignoring that fact or if they are actually running on "flat" balls. (Balls that are too flat to play with still have some pressure and might work fine, I guess, though it seems like riding on them would just flatten them more.)

I'm thinking that you want them to go flat. When they're fresh off the factory floor we can think of them as perfect spheres. So while riding one ball touches the ground at its maximum radius, then it falls off a bit, then rises to the maximum radius of the next ball etc, so the rider keeps going up and down a bit.

Once they become a bit flat the 4 sides will squash down into a cube type shape, also equalizing with its neighbors so that the overall shape becomes flat and the ride becomes a lot smoother.

Re: Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

#63

Post by jp57 »

aspyct wrote: post #59
jp57 wrote: post #12

Everyone who plays tennis knows that tennis balls don't retain their pressure for very long once outside their pressurized cannister, though. I can't tell if this article is just ignoring that fact or if they are actually running on "flat" balls. (Balls that are too flat to play with still have some pressure and might work fine, I guess, though it seems like riding on them would just flatten them more.)

Oh, I had no idea! How long does a tennis ball live, typically?

Not that long. A day, maybe, before they start to feel pretty dead for regular recreational play. As the level of play goes up the tolerance for old balls goes down. In top-level pro matches they get out fresh balls several times in a match.

You can buy storage canisters with pumps or other pressurizing devices that will keep the balls fresh longer. (And may even repressurize dead balls. I've never tried that but it seems possible.) Still even at my very low level of amateur play, in my ladder league it was expected that each player would bring a fresh, unopened can of balls.

Re: Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

#64

Post by spokeonawheel »

bityard wrote: post #35

Okay, dumb question from someone who rides a bike but is not a "cyclist." Road bikes have a pretty high tire pressure, to the point that the tire itself basically offers no cushion at all, on it's own. Why are these tires pneumatic at all? Why not wrap a rubber donut around the rim and call it a day? I'm sure part of the answer is weight, but surely this can be reduced either by making the rubber relatively thin, or…

extra weight not ok

Re: Tennis balls serve as decent bicycle tires that don’t easily puncture

#66

Post by turdprincess »

davisoneee wrote: post #60
turdprincess wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have two bikes - one tubleess, one tubed. On my tubed bike, other than 1 or 2 flats in the last 5 years, these tires have required 0 maintenance. Even after dusting the bike off from the winter, they pump right up and are ready to go. My tubeless tires are a constant source of headache. They are constantly going flat, sometimes weekly, requiring more sealant, stuck valve cores, etc. Overall, I'd say my tubeless tir…

I would suggest looking at different tyre brands or models. I have been running tubeless (on road) for about the past 3 years...varying between 30mm and 42mm (gravel bike, but running basically slick tyres). Different tyres have different wall constructions, and so some can leak a lot of air. I find that after I put on a new tyre, they leak air for the first couple days, but it's greatly benefited by going for a few…

For sure part of it has to do with my fancy ultralight Rene Herse tires.
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