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| Fewer friction points allow this skateboard wheel to roll faster. |
ONE of the success stories on the social fundraising site
Kickstarter has also reinvented the wheel.
Currently, the wheels are only fitted to skateboards, but The Witness predicts it won’t be many years before the mishapen
wheels appear on trailers.
Shark Wheels last year sought — and got — funding for its sine wave
wheel on Kickstarter, selling pledges for $50 (R506,21) and $55 on its different
wheels.
Having demonstrated the new wheels at Venice Beach in California on
December 15 last year, Shark Wheels says it has the money to start deliveries by
September 2013.
The creator of the spherical expansion wheels David M. Patrick said
his sine wave wheels are neither square nor round, but made up of three strips,
each of which create a helical shape when they roll. This forms a sine wave
pattern where the wheels make contact with the ground.
The tracks made by each of the wheels look like a wave drawn by a
child’s fingers in the sand.
Patrick said his wheels result in fewer friction points on the
ground, allowing the wheel to roll faster than a traditional skateboard wheel
and also allows for better handling in rough and wet terrain, which causes
problems for normal wheels.
The sine wave pattern also grants improved lateral grip, as the
width of the wheel is able to be increased without adding any unnecessary
friction, and thus, slowing down the board.
It also provides three lips for stopping, where a traditional wheel
only has one.
Another interesting application of Shark Wheels is the ability to
mix different hardnesses in the same wheel.
The hardness of a skateboard wheel is measured in terms of
durometers, and the three interlocking pieces of this particular wheel allows
the rider to choose three different ones in each wheel, which grants extra
customisation in terms of grip and slide.
