Lose the Tube on the Road
One of the most annoying “common” problems with cycling is that flat tires are all too, well common. But a solution could be to ditch the tube. Last week Bontrager showed off its new wheel models and tires that essentially allow riders to hit the road without tubes.
This might seem like a strange way to tackle the problem of flats, but it actually does work. First the tubeless tires require a special wheel, and a sealant for tube-free operation. The tires that Bontrager are introducing this year as part of the 2013 line up also feature a Kevlar bead instead of the more common carbon fiber one, and this should be strong enough to resist blowouts. Flats are also addressed by the use of the sealant, and the fact that these run on lower inflation pressure.
Sounds like a way to avoid flats and it means less stuff – like tubes and pump – to bring on the ride. Of course if you do get a flat you’ll need a phone to call for a ride.
[Via BikeRadar: Bontrager road tubeless wheels and tires hit the road]
This week Waterloo, Wisconsin-based announced that its pilot program Materials Innovation Technologies has cycled more than 70,000 lbs. of carbon fiber in the year since the program was first initiated. Since April of last year, all manufacturing scraps, non-compliant frame components, and select reclaimed warranty frames undergo processing at Material Innovation Technologies’s South Carolina facility for repurposing in reinforced thermoplastic applications, including aerospace, automotive, medical and recreational applications.
Trek won’t be a stick in the mud, or rather stuck in the mud, but the 2012 Trek World Racing gravity squad will instead pin its hopes to get through the mud – and much more – with the Bontrager G-Mud and G4 tires it was announced last week. The world’s top-ranked downhill team will race on the newly developed models. 
