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Unique In-Wheel Suspension For Bikes Coming At Velo-City Conference

The wheel is probably the one invention that stayed quite the same, apart from not being made of wood and being wrapped in soft rubber. Hankook had some ideas, but we never saw them getting past the conceptual phase.
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But there’s a company out there that actually managed to change the way a wheel works, and you can see it live at the upcoming Velo-city conference in Arnhem-Nijmegen, the Netherlands, between June 12-15.

We first saw the SoftWheel when it was in concept phase a few years ago, but the company seems to have been made efforts as the product has been brought to reality and works exactly as described.

The contraption enables a bicycle to have all its suspension components in the wheel as the hub is connected to the rim through three shock absorbers. Why? The company claims there are fewer vibrations being transmitted to the frame and the rider when going over rough terrain.

SoftWheel’s system using three suspension arms built inside the wheel rim, equidistant around the hub, absorbs shocks from any direction. After an impact, the arms quickly reset absorbing almost all of the shock.

After 1/3 turn of the wheel, the three suspension arms are in their default position and ready to tackle the next bump. When going on a smooth surface, the arms are rigid and act like normal spokes.

The company claims that on initial impact with a bump, the rider feels 50 percent less G-forces. The in-wheel suspension absorbs all the shock in the wheel, so the bike doesn’t bounce at all, unlike a regular bicycle with conventional forks and rear shock.

The principle can be applied to any other wheeled vehicle, from wheelchairs to motorcycles and even cars.

If you happen to be in the Netherlands this June, you’ll be able to see the SoftWheel in action live at the Velo-city conference.

Or you could buy your own from any of the worldwide SoftWheel distributors.

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