Bridgestone's airless tyres are already on the market, but they have a serious problem

For several years now, we have been waiting for the airless tyres that Bridgestone promised. The brand’s engineers have worked to get these tyres onto the market so that they can be used on vehicles, increasing safety and ease of use. At last, these tyres have started to go on sale, but for the moment they have a serious drawback.

The thing is that these airless tyres, designed with a complex pattern that allows them to be used on vehicles, cannot be used at a speed above 20 km/h. This makes it unfeasible for them to be used as common tyres on passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and they are relegated, at least for now, to vehicles that do not exceed this speed.

In fact, the first vehicles to use the first generation of these airless tyres are a fleet of autonomous vehicles that circulate around the Japanese city of Higashiomi. These vehicles are ua transport solution for carrying elderly people around the city, at a very reduced speed, and they are the ones that enjoy a commercial version of these Air Free tyres.

In search of the airless tyre

The idea of manufacturing airless tyres emerged in 2008, which was when the brand began working on this type of wheel. Over the years, it refined the tyre, progressively replacing the material it was made from. At first it was made from a solid material, which was later replaced by a recyclable, more resistant compound that allowed the tyre to withstand normal use, although there was still a long way to go.

In 2023 the third generation of these airless tyres debuted. Tests showed that although the tyres were viable, they could not be used at speeds above 20 km/h. The resin the tyre is made of is flexible, and its structure distributes loads more efficiently.

The first step has already been taken, and solutions will continue to be sought so that airless tyres become a reality within a few years. For now, these tyres will only be used in certain fleets of slow vehicles, until considerable progress is made in their development.

The tyres that Bridgestone is developing for lunar vehicles are based on the design created for the AirFree, in order to make them more practical and efficient in hostile environments such as the lunar surface.