tubeless sealants in a tire make sense.
non-pneumatic tires are one of those Things that keep coming up and keep being a very stupid idea.
non-pneumatic tires are one of those Things that keep coming up and keep being a very stupid idea.
Does it?
They pay constant NVH penalties for the life of the tire, cost more and sacrifice performance, all to soften the impact of an exceptional event.
And it's not like you can't insert sealant into non-run flat tires in the event of an accident.
The overlap between type of damage that won't destroy a run-flat, but precludes you from using canned sealant after a puncture, is tiny to the point of practically being non-existant.
It's pretty much just marketing when they mention being able to run on their sidewalls if the sealant fails, because most impact that does that much damage will also damage your wheels, and even if it doesn't you'll put extreme stresses on your suspension if you take advantage of it.
And there's also the fact once you get to the tire shop, they're much harder to find, and can easily lead to a situation where you need to replace multiple tires if you want to get back on the road in a reasonable amount of time. That's a sacrifice some other tires make as well, but usually in the name of performance, making that sacrifice in the name of convenience is a little bit of a paradox
Different world, but tubeless-with-sealant has more or less taken over mid- to high-end mountain bikes. Lower pressures help prevent rim blowouts as well as allow you to fully exploit grip on unstable terrain, and then you don't need to care about sharp rocks or thorns or goatheads or whatever as much. The idea doesn't translate as well to road bikes, which have (even now) very high pressures -- usually 75 -- 120 psi.
The "sealant spooges you in the face" problem is certainly a real one. I don't have sealant in my car or motorcycle tires, but if i did i would warn the mechanics beforehand!
If you have a solid tire, only the arc between the axle and your contact patch is the shock absorber, and the rest of the tire remains relatively unperturbed and unable to contribute to smoothing out the road.
This results in a harsh ride.
Often, to get a tire compound to be sufficiently durable to work well in a solid tire, you have to sacrifice the ability to maintain grip over a reasonable operating temperature and road conditions. This also contributes to reduction of ride quality, and makes operating in wet or freezing temperatures potentially quite sketchy.