Cool stuff from gizmag

[unixronin]

• Internal combustion/steam hybrid from BMW -- The powertrain is retrofittable into existing vehicles, down to a 4-cylinder 3-series
• French company Osmos "reinvents the wheel" -- hubless "orbital" wheel offers numerous advantages, they claim
• Peugeot shows off two-seater electric "city car" concept -- you enter and leave through the center of the hubless wheels

Some of these may be old.  But they're still cool.

Comments

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Actually, going back to this, the rim-mounted brake actually turns out to be a weight saving change, because although it's larger diameter, it's not MUCH larger diameter; and, mounted directly to the rim, it can be supported more rigidly, so it can be thinner -- plus the entire rotor carrier can be eliminated. On top of that, because the linear velocity for a given angular velocity is higher, you can get more braking effectiveness for a given size pad (though the downside is the pads heat up faster).