Vittoria graphene tyres

[Sweep]

As here.

£9.99 at the mo in some sizes.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVITREVG ... 50209ebaed

If they are so wonderful, smooth rolling, grippy, long-lasting, how come they are so cheap, while, as I understand it being a fairly recent introduction?

Apologies if I sound suspicious.

[rjb]

I'll await some real world reviews. Caveat Emptor.

[whoof]

I've no idea what the tyres are like but claiming that they are reinforced by graphene! They might as well say they are reinforced by moonbeams. True graphene is a single atom thick (~0.0000005 mm).

[alexnharvey]

I suppose they put graphene in because they can't make titanium tyres!

Are you thinking there's none in it or that graphene in tyres is pointless? What has the single atom thickness got to do with it?

[Brucey]

there may be some marginal gain to be had by using a different filler material; if so there is not much in the way of independent research to back it up, and car and motorcycle tyres similarly treated are conspicuous by their absence, last time I looked.

My (cynical) suspicion is that the reason there is graphene in these tyres is as much to do with the fact that the company that supplies it is obliged to have at least one 'real application' by a certain date, else they lose their funding.

When folk started to talk about graphene as a wonder material, I didn't expect it to be used as a replacement for 'carbon black' (i.e. soot)…..

Trivially, these tyres are made from several different types of rubber. The joints between rubber compounds seem to be vulnerable spots in the tyre tread; I have seen several of these tyres perish at the interfaces between compounds.

cheers

[AndyK]

Vittoria's rather woolly "explanation" is here: https://www.vittoria.com/us/graphene-technology

To be fair, a quick google reveals this article from Materials Today which summarises research indicating that "...graphene oxide (GO) can both crosslink and reinforce rubber in a single easy step", giving significant advantages over conventional techniques. So maybe there's something in it. I notice, however, that Vittoria started producing graphene tyres about a year before this research was reported.

[mig]

what % graphene is there in that tyre i wonder?

[MikeDee]

Bicyclerollingresistance.com says that the graphene version of the Rubino Pro has more rolling resistance than their predecessor. That said, people are saying that the Rubino Pro is more cut resistant than the Continental 4000S. I just bought a pair of graphene Rubino Pros. If they have as good a tread life than the 4000S tires, I'll continue using them.

[whoof]

I suppose they put graphene in because they can't make titanium tyres!

Are you thinking there's none in it or that graphene in tyres is pointless? What has the single atom thickness got to do with it?

The point is that's what graphene is. As close as you can get to a physical 2 dimensional material. If you think of a sheet as having an x and y direction then in the z direction (out of the sheet) graphene is one atom thick.

[Brucey]

Bicyclerollingresistance.com says that the graphene version of the Rubino Pro has more rolling resistance than their predecessor. That said, people are saying that the Rubino Pro is more cut resistant than the Continental 4000S. I just bought a pair of graphene Rubino Pros. If they have as good a tread life than the 4000S tires, I'll continue using them.

not difficult; they are absolute flint magnets hereabouts in the wintertime.

cheers

[alexnharvey]

I suppose they put graphene in because they can't make titanium tyres!

Are you thinking there's none in it or that graphene in tyres is pointless? What has the single atom thickness got to do with it?

The point is that's what graphene is. As close as you can get to a physical 2 dimensional material. If you think of a sheet as having an x and y direction then in the z direction (out of the sheet) graphene is one atom thick.

That's not a point, it's a material property. What I am asking you is what you think the implications of that property are as you seem to infer something from it.

I share the skepticism by the way and think we only have the manufacturer claims about benefits to go on, limited use reports and some rolling resistance data. I don't think there's enough evidence to know yet.

My point is that it could be a single atom thick and be an amazing additive for rubber tyres due to that very property or some other property of its own or its interactions with the rubber, or the road surface. Or it could just be marketing or a use to keep the funding as Brucey suspects.

[MikeDee]

Bicyclerollingresistance.com says that the graphene version of the Rubino Pro has more rolling resistance than their predecessor. That said, people are saying that the Rubino Pro is more cut resistant than the Continental 4000S. I just bought a pair of graphene Rubino Pros. If they have as good a tread life than the 4000S tires, I'll continue using them.

not difficult; they are absolute flint magnets hereabouts in the wintertime.

cheers

Oops, just saw the other thread where the tire tread on the Rubino Pros is cracking. Grrr...

[atoz]

Bicyclerollingresistance.com says that the graphene version of the Rubino Pro has more rolling resistance than their predecessor. That said, people are saying that the Rubino Pro is more cut resistant than the Continental 4000S. I just bought a pair of graphene Rubino Pros. If they have as good a tread life than the 4000S tires, I'll continue using them.

not difficult; they are absolute flint magnets hereabouts in the wintertime.

cheers

Oops, just saw the other thread where the tire tread on the Rubino Pros is cracking. Grrr...

Hope not, I have 2 of the new graphene Rubionos myself. They seem to ride the same as the old ones. Bit narrow for the stated size- 25mm isn't much different to 23.

[whoof]

I suppose they put graphene in because they can't make titanium tyres!

Are you thinking there's none in it or that graphene in tyres is pointless? What has the single atom thickness got to do with it?

The point is that's what graphene is. As close as you can get to a physical 2 dimensional material. If you think of a sheet as having an x and y direction then in the z direction (out of the sheet) graphene is one atom thick.

That's not a point, it's a material property. What I am asking you is what you think the implications of that property are as you seem to infer something from it.

I share the skepticism by the way and think we only have the manufacturer claims about benefits to go on, limited use reports and some rolling resistance data. I don't think there's enough evidence to know yet.

My point is that it could be a single atom thick and be an amazing additive for rubber tyres due to that very property or some other property of its own or its interactions with the rubber, or the road surface. Or it could just be marketing or a use to keep the funding as Brucey suspects.

It's very much the point. Graphene has many properties. One of which is being very 'strong'. But this is strong in comparison with other material if they were one atom thick. It's a bit like being the heaviest sub atomic particle. It might be heavy in comparison with other sub atomic particles but it's very very light in terms of everything in day to day life. The mechanical strength of any single atom later is very very low.
It's not a glue it doesn't have high adhesive properties. You can remove a layer of graphene from bulk carbon with a piece of Selotape.

In terms of wear I can remove a layer of atoms from a material by rubbing my finger over it. If you work with graphene it needs to be adhered to a substrate usually silicon and you don't touch the surface In case you destroy it.

If you apply multi stack layers then it's not graphene it's carbon which is probably what they have used. But it's better marketing to say they have used graphene as there is little general understanding of it's properties.