Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Baker
We've been thinking about this too. Finding a commercially-available 4" pneumatic tire might be the big hurdle to cross. 8" tires (200x50mm) are easily available, but 4" are non-existent.
What about the pneumatic tire do you guys like?
Obviously, there is the "baked in" compliance, as Dr. Joe mentioned. The other feature is a high coefficient of friction.
Do you need this compliance to be variable, as with pneumatic tires (you just change the air pressure, of course)? Or, would you guys accept a compliant wheel that would not have variable compliance?
Andy
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Personally Andy,
A variable compliance would be great! In 2010 we were looking at pneumatic wheels and loved what 330/1114 did that year.
-They do have a nice coefficient of friction
-They absorb shock as you land!
-Perfect for offseason stuff/No replacing tread
-4" allows you to make custom gearboxes for drive within in 2 stages nicely/compact.
-Perfect for stair/obstacle climbing.
I've had some thoughts about these wheels a while ago. Andy, I believe there is a company that we spoke to that could make the same type of wheels in about 3-4" IIRC, with a min of 500 pieces. Let me see if I can dig up some information.
-RC