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I just saw this product and was wondering if any of you have tried them or know of any one that has? Seems like it would work and I like the idea of no flats!

http://www.tireballs.com

I definitely LOVE the idea and don't see why they would not work. I've never heard of them before. I've heard of the foam inserts, though. I'm sure there may be some argument about ultimate performance compared to a standard tube--somebody always brings up the 1.87% performance diff. If they mean virtually zero chance of flats while out on a 5 day ride in the Rocky Mountains, then I LIKE them.

Looks like a setup for an 18" and 21" wheel will cost you a total of about $400! Yikes! If they could get that total price down to about $50/tire, I'd think they sell a LOT of these. If they were more popular and thus were being manufactured in mass qty, I'm sure they could be sold for a lot less.

PS: Enjoy the random changing header image....I added 3 new images today and wrote code to randomely load an image each time you load a new page.

Leigh at Letko installed them in his bike when he ran in the Last Man Standing race. not sure how they worked I forgot to ask him.

I was there when they arrived and got a good look at them.
they seem pretty tough and would work well for dirt use from the looks of them. I am not sure how they would hold up to dualsport use, especially on the street.

High speed kills the bib mousse inserts I know.
that was part of the reason KTM couldn't keep tires on the 950 when they ran the Dakar, too much power actually melted the inserts!

Here's the official response. http://www.tireballs.com/limitations.html I'd love to try them, but not with the limitations they set forth, and the price.


Mike

I figured they were not even legallly approved for road use...they don't say that there is any legal issue, but the heat issues don't surprise me. Mike (science dude), you'd probaby love reading their theories of why tires heat up.

As for sustained speeds on pavement over 80 MPH---no worries with the ole' DR350! The only way that bike is gonna hit 80 is if I turn it off, take it out of gear, and tie a rope between it and the back of Mike's LC4!

So you are off this idea, eh Daryl? Yeah, I figured you didn't have the balls.

Article says not legal for highway (DOT) use. Didn't figure they would be.
Yeah, Troy, my 400 LC4 will increase your top speed from 80 to 90! Of course Tracy will still be kick starting (or trying to kick start) his Honda.

Yes, I did enjoy reading the article. Didn't see anything wrong with it, either.

FWIW: From Wikipedia: "A related principle, Newton's law of cooling, states that the rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the difference in temperatures between the body and its surroundings." This is why turning down your thermostat while not at home saves energy ... yes, the furnace runs for a long time to warm the house back up, but the rate of heat loss during the day is lower b/c the temp diff is lower.

Heat transfer is the root of the problem.
- Conduction (contact),
- convection (air, or another gas; both inside and outside the tire), and
- radiation (infrared, mainly)
are what cools the tire. They can also heat the tire if the road surface is hot (conduction and radiation) or the sun is out (radiation). BTW, radiation includes heat radiating from the ground. Sand is terrible, as it doesn't store much energy, rather, it radiates it back quickly (the desert gets cold quickly at night).

Some comments about the above and TireBalls:
- Conduction effects are much greater than cnvection and radiation (normally).
- solids and liquids conduct heat much more readily than do gasses. They also hold / keep / store more heat. Go out in 32oF air, now put ice water on your face.
- friction, of one form or another, is the main heat source in a tire. Friction here is mainly the twisting, moving, stretching of long hydrocarbon chains against each other ... the rubber molecules sliding across each other. Knobs, carcass, etc. A tire inflated to a higher P will produce less heat as it flexes less.
- the liquid supplied with the tire balls, to me, has two effects: one it reduces the friction (acts as a lubricant) of the balls sliding against each other and with the tire, and two, it provides a better conductor of heat from the ball to the tire. (Heat needs to get out of the tire ... ) If you have built any computers you know to use heat sink grease between the chips and heat sinks. This grease improves the conduction of heat.
- the tire balls would appear to be more massive (mass, material) than a tube (even a tube with slime in it). This mass is going to hold / store heat. Thus, once warmed up, it is going to take longer to cool down. The opposite is also true: it will take longer to heat up.

Try these instead:
http://www.ultraseal.com/Pages/Navigate.html
http://www.ride-on.com/
http://www.truegoo.com/
http://www.vikingseal.com/

Enough geeking for now ... off to go for ride once I get the machine screws in each of the knobs. :-p

safiri wrote:Enough geeking for now ... off to go for ride once I get the machine screws in each of the knobs. :-p

Are you serious?! Dude, it's 16 degrees....you don't need to prove anything here. We already acknowledge and respect your manliness. BE CAREFUL!

I guess all balls will have the same issues overheating due to to liquid and friction. Also shrinkage secondary to and with cold temps, like a frighten turtle, Jerry

Well back to working on my son's pinewood derby car!