INSIDE: DEAR ABBY, HOROSCOPE, PUZZLES & FEATURES
C1
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021
bendbulletin.com/business
Space-age tire invention
Bend native spins
a new career
Young designed an airless bike tire
after an internship with NASA;
consumers can ride around on the
space age technology in 2022
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
G
rowing up in Bend, Calvin Young
had all sorts of interests. He was
passionate about science, math and
music. Later he pursued philoso-
phy. Engineering was never really
part of the picture.
Then a chance encounter while working at a
coffee shop in Portland introduced him to the
world of engineering, and his inventor spirit was
unleashed. Today he’s producing his very own
space-age tire invention that he hopes will one
day replace inner tubes and make flats a thing of
the past.
Young’s invention, the METL tire, is modeled
on the same technology developed by NASA
for rovers to be used on missions to Mars or the
moon. Young thought the sturdy tire has Earth
applications too and during the summer of 2018
came up with a design that would work for bicy-
cles.
The METL tire is non-pneumatic, that is, it
doesn’t require air. It holds its shape thanks to
tightly woven interlocking springs. The metal
springs are encased in polyurethane, and a dura-
ble outer tread adheres to the tire.
Non-pneumatic bicycle tires — also called air-
less tires or flat-free tires — already exist but are
not widely used because testing has proven most
brands to be too stiff compared to regular tires
with air.
Young, who graduated from Summit High
School in 2007 and Portland State University in
2012, was likewise not satisfied with what was
available on the market.
“They tend to do a poor job absorbing bumps
on the road,” he said.
Then came summer internships at NA-
SA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in
2017 and 2018. He was working with engi-
neers on designing wheels for rovers. The type
of tire being developed was airless and uses a
shape-memory alloy that springs back to its
Bend native Calvin Young adapted the Mars Rover
tires into airless bicycle tire. Submitted
original shape after being deformed.
“Colleagues suggested that I take it further and
explore new applications,” said Young.
Young set about creating a new tire that he
could fit on his commuter bike, a single-speed
Schwinn he bought in Bend years earlier.
“I decided it would be the perfect test rig for a
new design,” Young said. “The process involved a
lot of hands-on experimentation, and there was
an ‘aha!’ moment halfway through when I real-
ized I had hit on a working design.”
Young applied for a patent for the tire. Two
other NASA engineers, Colin Creager and Santo
Padula, were also credited as co-inventors for
their work on the rover tires that opened the door
to Young’s bike tire invention. The patent for the
tire drew the attention of two entrepreneurs, Earl
Cole and Brian Yennie. The pair had already cre-
ated a company called Smart Tire with the inten-
tion of bringing new designs to market. Young’s
design was a perfect match.
See Tires / C3
Getty Images