Nine mechanical engineering students at Yale have designed a working bicycle with a spokeless rear wheel. The goal was to prove the concept of a human powered spokeless bicycle.
The space freed up by a spokeless wheel design could be used to house an electric motor or even a gyro balanced storage basket.
Also check out: Bendable Bicycle Concept
T61891
This is pretty cool, i’d like to see more people riding these around my neighborhood hah!
Feb 17th, 2010
unDave™
It’d be awesome with both wheels….
-by unDave™
Feb 17th, 2010
Fresh
that’s incredibly cool!
Feb 18th, 2010
spencerj
I love all the outlandish design stuff, but nobody is making an ‘everyday’ bike for everyday use. I am.
Feb 18th, 2010
Joas
TOTALL SMART!!! GO YALE!!
Feb 18th, 2010
SpAt
Next step…PAINT!
Feb 18th, 2010
E1
GREAT… would be better is front wheel got same treatment
Feb 18th, 2010
Keckers
But if the front wheel did get the same treatment, it wouldn’t have been able to make turns…
Right?
Feb 18th, 2010
derschreckliche
Front wheel should have no spokes, too.
@Keckers: If they let the fork on it’s position an keep it turnable, then they can shorten the fork to 1/4 of its length and affix the wheel-carrying thing to the fork so it remains turnable.
Feb 18th, 2010
Heru
Wrong. Just need to use the same thing that hold the back wheel on the bike and put in front on the handlebar to move. =)
Feb 18th, 2010
theguy
It would work on the front too, just have the connection go around both sides and connect it directly to the wheel hub.
Feb 18th, 2010
Karin L.
Looks interesting. Would sell better with paint!
Feb 18th, 2010
chequecheque12
totally pointless exercise, the hubless wheel has been around for years on motorcycles, the stated goals are also redundent
Feb 18th, 2010
Daniel Jaeger
How do you change a tire?
Feb 18th, 2010
cassio
To end the issue about front wheel: http://www.toxel.com/tech/2010/01/08/10-cool-and-unusual-motorcycles/
Feb 21st, 2010
mwistrom
Seriously, this is a waste of effort and time. Maybe ya’ll will figure out the solid rubber tire, to prevent flats.
I don’t see why I would want one. What would I gain?
Feb 21st, 2010
Donal
What if the spokeless wheel develops a slight buckle? With a standard wheel, you can correct a wobble by adjusting the tension of the spokes. If this one goes off a little, you’re in trouble.
Feb 21st, 2010
Reilly
My only question is, why?
Feb 22nd, 2010
Biiirdmaaan
Reilly, try reading:
“The space freed up by a spokeless wheel design could be used to house an electric motor or even a gyro balanced storage basket.”
Not sure if I would use it, but it seems self-defeating to require every idea to be practical at such an early stage. There sure are a lot of nit-pickers on this site.
Feb 26th, 2010
toddonbike
spokes make the wheel stronger. without them the wheel will collapse under the slightest stress. just because it can be done does not make it better.
Mar 21st, 2010
bauke
what happens if the rim is a bit bent or has a dent on it, could get dangerous..
Mar 13th, 2012