Airless Bike Tires: NASA Tech-Inspired Innovation by Startup

NASA's Innovations Drive Startup Success: Introducing the Airless Bicycle Tire

NASA consistently emphasizes the terrestrial benefits stemming from its space exploration investments. Now, the agency is actively accelerating this positive impact by collaborating with startups. SMART, established in 2020, operates under a Space Act Agreement with NASA and participates in the agency’s formal Startup Program. This program is designed to facilitate the commercialization of NASA-developed technologies.

The METL Tire: A Leap Forward in Tire Technology

SMART has unveiled its inaugural product: the METL tire, an airless bicycle tire. This innovation is directly based on technology originally created by NASA engineers to enhance the durability of future rovers intended for lunar and Martian environments.

The METL tire represents the first tangible outcome of SMART’s collaboration with NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Dr. Santo Padula and Colin Creager, NASA engineers, pioneered the underlying “shape memory alloy” (SMA) technology.

Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center assemble the new shape memory alloy rover tire prior to testing in the Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory. Image Credits: NASA

How Shape Memory Alloy Works

SMA enables the construction of a tire comprised entirely of interconnected springs. This design eliminates the need for inflation, rendering the tire impervious to punctures. Despite lacking air, the tire delivers comparable, or even superior, traction compared to traditional inflatable rubber tires, and incorporates inherent shock absorption.

The crucial advancement made by Dr. Padula and Creager involved developing an alloy capable of regaining its original shape at a molecular level. This allows the tire to conform to uneven surfaces, including obstacles like gravel and potholes, and subsequently return to its initial form without compromising its structural integrity over time.

From NASA Lab to Consumer Market

SMART, co-founded by Earl Cole, winner of “Survivor: Fiji,” and engineer Brian Yennie, partnered with Padula, Creager, and former NASA intern Calvin Young. Their collective effort focuses on adapting the advantages of SMA for the consumer market.

The company is initially targeting the cycling industry with the METL tire, scheduled for public release in early next year. Subsequently, SMART plans to extend SMA tire technology to the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors.

Image Credits: SMART Tire Company

Partnerships and Potential Impact

SMART has already established a partnership with Spin, a bike and scooter-sharing company owned by Ford. This collaboration focuses on innovative micromobility solutions. The technology holds the potential to eliminate flat tires and under-inflation issues.

Furthermore, it could reduce long-term costs and waste by lessening the reliance on rubber tires, which require frequent replacement and can pose safety risks when improperly inflated.

Currently, SMART is utilizing WeFunder to solicit crowdsourced equity investment, with SAFEs available at an $8 million valuation cap.

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