#1705: Diaphrim

Always keen on new cycle designs, I’ve been thinking a bit about filled-in wheels. Racing bikes have these to provide lower drag, but they suffer from sideways gusts of wind -especially when the front wheel is involved.

Today’s invention is a racing bicycle wheel, suitable for both front and rear use. This is a normal wheel which incorporates an iris diaphragm, made of something light like carbon fibre, in the outer rim.

Under calm conditions, the iris would be closed, allowing smooth airflow from front to back.

When the pressure difference from one side to the other crosses some threshold, as when a lateral gust of wind occurs, the diaphragms in both wheels would temporarily spring open, to avoid destabilisation of the machine.