Compass Introduces Solid Rubber Tires
April 1, 2015: Flats are a major nuisance for cyclists. Nobody likes them, and various companies have tried to address the issue by adding puncture-proof layers to their tires. However, all these tires don’t address the issue at its core: They still contain air.
We’ve been studying bicycle history in search of ideas that may have enough merit to be resurrected. In our research, we came upon a solution for the problem of flat tires: Eliminate the air, and you have eliminated the punctures. Solid rubber tires used to be common before pneumatic tires were invented. It turns out that the air-filled tires are a blind alley of history. We’ve been misled to believe that they are faster, more comfortable and more fun to ride, when in fact all they do is prevent us from riding while we fix flats. It’s time to cut our losses and resurrect a classic, fail-proof technology.
Compass proudly announces a new line of 100% puncture-proof tires. The first one is the Compass Lark Pass 650B x 42 mm. Why start with a wide tire? Simple: You get much more wear out of it. This is probably the last set of tires you’ll ever buy! Since there is no air inside, you can wear them down to the rim!
Like all Compass tires, the new Lark Pass has a very round profile for optimized cornering. As it wears, its profile will square off, so we’ve worked with Peter Weigle to commercialize his tire shaving machine. Shaving the shoulders of the tire restores its round profile. After riding your solid 42 mm tires for 10,000 miles, you go to a shop to have them shaved down to a 40 mm. Another 10,000 miles, and you go to 38 mm. And so on.
This is especially useful since the trend toward wider tires probably has run its course. Over the next few decades, experts predict that tires will become narrower again. Rather than having to buy new tires every time cycling fashion changes, the new Compass Lark Pass tires will get narrower as you ride them. If you ride 6000 miles a year, your Lark Pass will be just 19 mm wide in 2050. As they wear, they get lighter, too, which is an added benefit as we all age and our performance decreases. At the same time, your bike handling skills get better with experience, so you’ll appreciate the quicker handling of the smaller, lighter tires.
We are so confident in our new tires that we back them with a lifetime warranty – a first in the tire industry. We feel that by taking inspiration from cycling’s long and rich history, we’ve finally cracked the problem that has bedeviled cyclists for more than a century: Flats and tire wear.
The new tires will be available on April 1.
Photo credits: Peter Weigle (tire shaving), Mark Vande Kamp (cornering)
