Every few years, the bike industry revisits the conversation of airless tires. Some are 3D printed, others are formed from a solid chunk of polymer. And some, well, are so high tech, they can go to the moon.
Yet, aside from a booth at the occasional trade show, we rarely see airless tires out in the wild (except on a few hybrid bikes like the Specialized Alibi). Could Aipex’s airless offering be the one that finally gains more widespread acceptance?
Aipex Aireless Tires
Currently, Aipex isn’t sharing much information about its airless tires. They are unreleased, and Aipex has an email sign-up to join a waitlist. From the pictures and video we’ve seen, which are a prototype, the tires have hexagonal cutouts in a 1-2-1 pattern. The tires also appear to have a road and dirt option.
As for how they are constructed or what the material is, Aipex hasn’t yet said. However, their airless motorcycle tires are manufactured by ND Rubber in Thailand. Aipex says this is the “manufacturing giant producing over 3.5 million tires annually for trusted brands like Yamaha and Suzuki.”
Here is what Aipex tells us. The Aipex Airless Tires have tread that will last up to 6,000 miles. Once the tread is worn down, it can be replaced. They are obviously puncture-free and have a weight capacity of 200lbs.
So, can we expect these to be the airless tires that catch on? Will we see them on any bikes soon? Well, not any bikes in my garage. At launch, these Aipex will only offer a 26 x 2.1 airless tire in the “road or off-road” tread.
That said, Aipex also claims to have more sizes in the future. Hopefully, we’ll also see a sneak peek into how to install the tires and replace tire tread.
Who knows, maybe we’ll get a set in for testing. But we’ll need to get a bike with 26-inch wheels first. See more at aipextires.com.
