Bridgestone's second-gen airless tire prototype (pictures)

Bridgestone is developing tires that use slanted resin spokes instead of a cushion of air to absorb shocks. Here's what the company showed at the Paris Motor Show.

Stephen Shankland

Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.

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Stephen Shankland

Oct. 3, 2014 10:16 a.m. PT

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Air Free's slanted spokes

Bridgestone showed off a second-generation prototype of its Air Free tire at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The company is developing tires that use slanted resin spokes instead of a cushion of air to absorb shocks.

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Bridgestone Air Free tires

The outside of the airless tire is coated with a replaceable tread made of a thin band of solid rubber.

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Bridgestone Air Free concept tire

When the rubber part of the tire wears out, a new one can be fitted by heating it up and slipping it on, says Olivier Monbet, leader of Bridgestone's technical department for France and Benelux.

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These small Toyota electric vehicles in Tokyo will be used to test Bridgestone's Air Free concept tire. This one was shown at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.