square-wheel

Reinvented wheel?

For all the talk of patents, squares and radical new design, when you look at this wheel in profile, it’s still a circle. So essentially, the only thing different about this wheel is that the grooves are zigzagged. Grooves in a wheel, even on a skateboard, are nothing new. The wave pattern may be new on a skateboard, but look at your car tires and you’ll see a more intricate version of the same thing. The main advantage they can claim is more speed from a reduced contact patch, but then again any grooved skateboard wheel already has that. However, just like a car tire, these grooves should provide better traction in rain and dirt. So they look different, but at their core, they really aren’t very different at all from traditional grooved rain wheels. Let the science fight begin! The inventors of the Shark Wheel have been pouring their own prototypes in a garage, which is pretty cool, but of course there’s a Kickstarter project to fund mass production. Even if mass produced, these wheels will probably have to be offered at a premium because the molding and finishing process is going to involve more labor than the old (one piece) mold, pour and lathe method.

[Source: Core77]

http://vimeo.com/67631612

Make your own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xB1zq_e8A

Late 70’s era Z-Groove Jimmy Plummer skateboard wheels As seen on Ebay Watch. These sold for $274 in 2012.
zgroove274

Discussion

One thought on “Reinvented wheel?

  1. When I was a kid I used to use an angle grinder to get flatspots out of my wheels. That kid is right, urethane dust gets everywhere. I remember having to get up on a ladder to scrape the crap off the light fixture and bulb it melted to.

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