I had this great idea...

[ColinJ]

Over 10 years ago I invented a new type of bicycle pump. The idea was to build a pump mechanism into each wheel hub. The pump in each wheel would be linked to its corresponding tube valve at all times so that the tyre could be pumped up by the rotation of the wheel.

My original concept was to use this on mountain bike wheels so that the tyre pressures could be remotely controlled and varied for each type of surface encountered - high for hard-packed dirt or tarmac, lower for more technical stuff, and lower still for sand and mud.

I also thought that such a device could come in handy in road racing to help maintain tyre pressure after suffering a slow puncture. It could be the difference between winning and losing if the puncture happened at a critical time in a race.

Anyway, I toyed about with the idea but did nothing with it. I mentally filed it under 'think about it again later when you have more time', and then promptly forgot all about it...

Many years passed, and then I visited a cycling website where I came across this. Great minds think alike, eh ?

I have a feeling that it won't catch on, but if it becomes big I'll kick myself for not acting when I had the idea.

 

[gavintc]

People spend serious money to save 100g on a road bike. You are not going to convince people that carrying around additional weight 'just in case' will be worth it.

 

[domtyler]

I can just imagine the mauling he'd get on Dragons Den!

 

[ColinJ]

I can just imagine the mauling he'd get on Dragons Den!

They really ripped into the woman who invented Rainlegs but she seems to be doing okay !

 

[ColinJ]

People spend serious money to save 100g on a road bike. You are not going to convince people that carrying around additional weight 'just in case' will be worth it.

These days it is relatively cheap to get road bikes down to what would have been stupidly low weights a few years back. If you are going to add weight, doing it in the hub is probably the best place to do it. Mind you, having some sort of plastic pipe attached from the hub to the valve probably isn't quite so good.

Don't forget, you'd normally be carrying a pump about with you so you could knock that off the total carried.

As I said, I don't think it will catch on. I'm glad it is the other guy, not me who has invested hundreds of thousands in the development of the idea! Good luck to him though.

 

[swee'pea99]

"hundreds of thousands"? More like two-and-six, surely.

 

[Mr Pig]

I can see a market for it. Not everyone has to love an idea for it to be viable and I think enough people would buy into this one. It's a perfectly sensible product.

 

[ColinJ]

hundreds of thousands of dollars later[/B], the result is the pump-hub, the first practical semi-automatic bicycle tire pump.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

swee'pea99 had it right then

 

[domtyler]

Sorry but I really don't buy that!