A pair of Shark Tank alumni are turning nitinol, a shape memory alloy developed by NASA for space travel, into something you can put on your bike. A Kickstarter campaign launched this week promises to replace your rubber bicycle tires with ultra-tough yet flexible ones that will never go flat.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center came up with the idea for nitinol in the late 2000s in preparation for bigger, heavier lunar vehicles. Faced with the possibility of traditional air-filled tires being too weak for large loads (or worse, going flat on the Moon), a pair of engineers thought to develop a web-like, airless tire design. Lab tests proved the idea was good, but existing materials became deformed prematurely, prompting the duo to seek a stronger, more resilient material. They eventually developed nitinol (short for nickel titanium), a shape memory alloy that “remembers” its original shape no matter how many times it’s bent.
Nitinol itself isn’t proprietary, and it was only a matter of time until an entrepreneur—or in this case, two entrepreneurs—thought to take it public. The idea to turn nitinol into bicycle tires arose during NASA’s 2020 FedTech Startup Program, a government-backed incubator. Program participants Brian Yennie and Earl Cole pitched the idea for nitinol bike tires as an alternative to air-filled rubber tires, and it took off, eventually landing them on Shark Tank the following year. They didn’t earn an investment, but they appear to have taken it in stride; Yennie and Cole have since built an advisory board and developed a 6,000-customer waiting list for their business, The Smart Tire Company.
Their Kickstarter campaign is the first direct-to-consumer outlet nitinol tires have seen. For a $500 donation, early adopters can order a pair of blue or clear nitinol bicycle tires with conventional rubber treads. Upgrading to a $1,300 donation tacks on a pair of aluminum rims and pre-assembly, while a $2,300 donation swaps those out for carbon fiber rims.
A pair of high-end conventional bike tires will set you back around $130, so splurging on novel technology—and, thanks to the way crowdfunding works, not having your purchase guaranteed—might feel a tad risky. The Smart Tire Company claims its tires are more durable, elastic, and shock-resistant than rubber tires and that nitinol tires negate the need for pressure checks, sealants, or patches. They even go so far as to say these are the last tires cyclists will ever need since they’re virtually indestructible. According to their Kickstarter blurb, they once shot a bullet through a nitinol tire and were able to keep riding—so if you’re planning on coasting through an active war zone, maybe these are the tires for you.
Those who do choose to support the cause can expect to receive their tires around June 2024.
