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Reinventing the Wheel

bob zee sent in this link about reinventing the wheel, err, tweel, err, whatever. Wheels are an interesting challenge in engineering design: they need to be hard to be durable, soft for a smooth ride, grippy to grab the road, but smooth to reduce rolling resistance, flexible to absorb shocks, yet stiff to reduce heat build-up, and so on. Rubber tires are a relatively recent invention.

2 of 311 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wheels? by MikeXpop · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In all fairness, this really isn't reinventing the wheel. The Tweel is still a wheel. They did reinvent the tire though.

    --
    Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
  2. Re:horrible aerodynamic drag on paddle-wheel tires by mOoZik · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Are you an idiot? No, seriously. That was a CUTOUT so you could see what it looks like inside! Do you think any engineer would be so stupid to design a tire like that? If it didn't have a cutout, someone as ignorant as you would proclaim that it looks no different than a typical radial!