Frequently Asked Questions
The Michelin Tweel FAQ page provides answers to many commonly asked questions.
Like all Michelin tires, making them requires skilled professionals who work to very high safety and quality standards. We must have employees who are trained to operate the highly advanced equipment.
Michelin has adapted the best technical curing processes from its high performance tires for use in the production of Tweel airless radial tires. In addition, Michelin has developed proprietary casting, injecting, and bonding processes for Tweel products.
This is not the same kind of polyurethane you normally find in the marketplace. Poly-resin is structural polyurethane. It is specifically formulated for this application.
A Tweel Airless Radial Tire is comprised of a heavy gauge rigid steel hub, connected to a shear beam by means of flexible, deformable high strength poly resin spokes and a rubber tread band. The shear beam is made of either steel cable or proprietary Comp 10 Cable™.
Michelin is the only manufacturer of airless radial tires and has providing solutions since 2012 for commercial purposes. In 2018 Goodyear launched a product for ZTR’s, but its no longer on the market due to poor performance. Other companies have showcased prototype products that do not use air. We cannot comment on their performance claims or similarity to our Airless Radial Tire.
No. Currently Tweels are only made in South Carolina. There aere no plans to move production outside the United States. They are currently being exported to other regions of the world.
They are being produced in upstate South Carolina, just outside of Greenville.
Since 2012, the Tweel Airless Radial Tire and one of its co-inventors have been presented with over 15 awards.
- A Silver Award in the Transportation category was awarded to the Michelin XTweel SSL on April 26, 2013 by the 2013 Edison Awards. Of the 7,156 applications received, 131 finalists were selected by the Edison Awards Committee. The Michelin X Tweel was one of 42 winners, who represented 12 categories and symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison.
- The Michelin XTweel SSL was selected as one of the 2013 Contractors’ Top 50 New Products by readers of Equipment Today as one of the industry’s most innovative products for the year.
- In January 2014, Equipment World named one of the “five game-changing” construction products of 2013 for their 2014 Innovations Awards. The Michelin X Tweel SSL was named as one of those five product winners.
- Dr. Tim Rhyne, a senior research fellow with Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, was selected as a 2014 recipient by the editors at Engineering News-Record (ENR) as a top 25 Newsmakers of the year for his work on the revolutionary Michelin Tweel airless radial tire technology in April. The award recognizes individuals “with the passion, drive and courage to tackle the most difficult challenges and make our world a better place.”
- In June 2014, Michelin North America, Inc. received a Manufacturing Leadership Award in the Product Leadership category at the 2014 Manufacturing Leadership Awards for the Michelin X Tweel SSL by the Frost & Sullivan’s Manufacturing Leadership Council. The awards were presented in 11 categories and celebrate companies and individuals that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. They recognize outstanding projects undertaken and completed by manufacturing companies. According to the Manufacturing Leadership Community, the award winners distinguish themselves by “embracing breakthrough innovation and respond to customers with unmatched agility.” The Product Leadership award, one of the most competitive categories, recognizes companies that have introduced disruptive new products that expand or open new markets. The award winner demonstrates the ability to generate new ideas that lead to pioneering new products that change and create markets.
- In March 2015, Michelin Tweel Technologies received the John Deere “Innovation of the Year Award” for the Michelin X Tweel TURF. The award is presented to a select group of suppliers that have demonstrated innovation in a product or service they provide to John Deere. Award selections are based on four factors: creativity, feasibility, collaboration and bottom-line impact. John Deere created the supplier innovation awards in 2010 to promote innovation in the company’s supply base and recognize suppliers that think creatively.
- In October 2015, the Michelin X Tweel TURF™ received an Honorable Mention in the Automotive/Transportation category in the 2015 Create the Future Design Contest .Chosen from more than 1,150 new product ideas submitted from 60 countries, the 22 winners and honorable mentions were judged on innovation, manufacturability and marketability in seven categories. Launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation, the Create the Future Design Contest annual event has attracted more than 10,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide. More than 55 judges worldwide on the magazine’s editorial board of readers and contest sponsors reviewed the submissions in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive/Transportation, Consumer Products, Electronics, Machinery/Automation/Robotics, Medical Products, and Sustainable Technologies categories.
The characteristics that have made the air-filled tire the dominant technology on the planet include four characteristics. One of them is low contact pressure, which allows navigation through rough terrain with traction. Our proprietary technology gives us the ability to optimize that contact patch beyond what we’re able to do with radial technology. The next characteristic is low vertical stiffness, which reduces the shock to the machine and the operator. The polyurethane spokes absorb the energy and then give it back which allows the machine to be stable without hopping; the stability improvers the operator’s productivity. Low rolling resistance over rough surfaces is the third characteristic. Solid tires or wagon wheels, for example, lose all their energy as they encounter an obstacle, use all the vehicles energy to overcome the obstacle, and get none of this lost energy back. An air filled tire absorbs the energy and gives it back on the other side. The last characteristic is an air filled tire has minimal or low mass for the load that it carries. The Tweel Airless Radial Tire incorporates these four characteristics but eliminates the issue of catastrophic failure due to flats.
The Tweel Airless Radial Tire is a top loaded tire meaning that it performs similar to a bicycle tire or a suspension bridge. The spokes disburse the forces all the way around the tire radially much the same way air does in an air-filled tire. The tire’s construction pulls the spokes downward and from the outside of the structure to implicate the shear beam. It hangs the load from the top and creates a large footprint which ends up being a very low contact pressure footprint providing good traction and mobility.
Other tires that don’t have air in them, such as foam filled or solid tires, carry the load from the hub to the contact patch and are called bottom loaders. As a result, they get very high contact pressure, which results in poor traction and not a very good footprint.
Michelin introduced the first commercially available 12N16.5 X Tweel SSL in July 2012.
Over the following decade, the engineers worked diligently on various prototypes of the Tweel Airless Radial Tire and, in 2005, the product was finally showcased at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Michigan on the iBOT wheelchair and Segway Concept Centaur Human Transporter. The commercial launch of the X Tweel SSL for skid steer loaders was in July 2012. It was a short seven years from prototype to commercial launch which set a record.
It was over lunch in the late 1990s in Greenville S.C. that Dr. Tim Rhyne with fellow Michelin engineer and co-inventor Steve Cron had the idea of challenging pneumatic tire technology and exploring new and revolutionary concepts for this essential component of mobility. Patents began to be issued on various aspects of the concept in 1999, 2000 and 2003.
The Tweel Airless Radial Tire is a single unit replacing the current tire, wheel and valve assembly. It replaces the typical bias ply pneumatic, foam filled, or solid tire and is comprised of a rigid hub, connected to a shear beam by means of flexible, deformable polyurethane spokes and a tread band, all functioning as a single unit. Its name comes from the combination of its “Tire” and “Wheel” components.
Although it is acknowledged that the initial prototype automotive Tweel tires did demonstrate flaws with regard to noise and high speed vibration radial tire, these early issues were resolved in subsequent prototypes, and current automotive Tweel prototype products have been shown to be well behaved and reliable. As a demonstration of viability and reliability, three highway driven vehicles (a 2012 Honda CR-Z, a resto-modded 1955 Morris Minor Traveller, and an Aluma brand trailer hauling a Polaris ATV which was also equipped with Tweel tires) successfully participated in the entire 1500 mile 2013 Hot Rod Power Tour long distance road trip event in June 2013.
We are driven by what is best for the consumer. Innovation is part of Michelin’s DNA, and we embrace the changes that come along with introducing new solutions for better mobility to the market. Michelin has a long history as the leader in our industry in this area. The focus for the Michelin X Tweel Airless Radial Tire for the near future will remain on lighter weight and lower speed applications.
Michelin Tweel Technologies is currently studying other applications. The focus will continue to be in the off-road environment where tire satisfaction is low due to interrupted mobility or poor performance.
Please consult the OEM specifications for your application and the tire size differential. As a reference we suggest to have no more then 3% difference in height of the Tweel on the same axle.
No. The Tweel is a combination of tire and wheel.
The Materials in a Tweel are different from those used in pneumatic tires and operating conditions are also different therefore we do not apply a 10 year Service Life recommendation limit to Tweel Products. The performance and physical condition of your Tweel Products should be monitored on a regualr basis. If performance changes, or if you observe changes in appearance consult your Tweel dealer.
The service life of a Tweel varies dramatically by application from turf to construction. On average small Turf Tweels are lasting 2-3 times longer than their pneumatic counterparts. For SSL Tweels, the life of the Tweel varies based upon the underfoot condtions. Contact your local Michelin dealer for more information.
A certified Tweel technician can repair partially torn spokes by blunting the polyurethane crack tip to arrest further crack propogation, and once repaired, this can potentially double the life of the torn or cut spoke.
Since the Tweel incorporates the hub into the design, it is important that you know your vehicle bolt pattern and offset before purchasing a Tweel. Please consult a Tweel dealer to ensure proper fitment, and/or download the fitment guide available from this site.
If your vehicle is Tweel compatible, the potential advantages of a Tweel over a pneumatic tire may include:
- Pneumatic radial tire-like behavior
- Lower & more uniform contact pressure
- More gentle on turf than pneumatics
- Lower vertical stiffness
- Better side-hill stability
- Better ride than pneumatics
- Lower rolling resistance over rough surfaces
- Improved traction
- Better battery life / fuel economy
- Contact “air” pressure is fixed for life
- No flats or air pressure maintenance
Each Tweel has a maximum speed and load rating. Consult your vehicle specifications before purchasing a Tweel and contact a Tweel dealer to understand fitment capabilities.
The service life for a retread Tweel SSL will vary based on the application, retread compound and depth of the new tread on the retread.
Yes, only for the Tweel SSL. The core value is 20% of the original dealer price based on the retreadability of the core.
In order to maximize the ease of retreading and minimize the effort required to prepare the Tweel SSL core for retreading, it is advisable to remove the Tweel SSL from service with no less than approximately 4/32” (3 mm) of tread depth remaining.
Currently the Tweel SSL is the only Tweel capable of being retreaded. Retreadability will vary with usage history. While we have seen examples of Tweels being retreaded successfully up to 5 times, Michelin’s warranty on a Tweel retread is only for the first retread.
Service Tire is the original MRT certified retreader for Tweel SSL. Please refer to the Retreading Services Page for a list of independent retreading service suppliers or contact your local Michelin representative to discuss possible retread opportunities in your respective area.
Currently, the Tweel SSL is the only Tweel with commercially available retread options. Please consult a certified Tweel retread dealer for specific details on retread process recommendations.
There is not a “road hazard” coverage on the Tweel product at this time. If there is an issue please refer to the Warranty page.
Campaigns, incentives, programs are governed by sales department and are not pre-determined.
We offer a 22x11N12 as a plus fitment for Golf Carts, please see our full product portfolio as offerings continue to expand every few months.
Please refer to the Dealer Locator tab on the Michelin Tweel website.
At this time, the Tweel is only available for off-highway use. Any product announcements will be made via press release and will be listed on the Michelin Tweel website.
If you are not 100% satisfied, bring the Tweel and original sales receipt back to the place of purchase within 30 days.
You can purchase the bushings through your local dealer.
Please refer to the Caster pages on this website.
Please contact your local Michelin sales representative, or submit a request through our Contact Form.
There are 3 types of warranty cases from John Deere:
- John Deere serial numbered unit shipped from the Factory with Tweels installed: Same as vehicle.
- Tweels sold as attachments separately or installed onto a John Deere serial numbered unit: 12 months
- Tweels sold as a part number over the counter: 6 months.
Typically no, if the vehicle was fitted with a Tweel from the factory. It is receommended that you consult your vehicle manufacturer if you plan to mount a Tweel to a vehicle that was not originally equiped.
No. Follow the instructions in OEM service manual. After 8 hours of break in, re-torque the wheel hardware to the proper torque values using an x-pattern.
Yes, after the intial installation of the Michelin X Tweel Turfs the mower deck will need to be leveled. Follow the same levelling procedure as described by the OEM service manual. After approximately the first month of use the mower deck may need to be re-leveled.
Will a flat spot occur on a Michelin X Tweel Turf after being stored for an extended period of time?
A variety of factors come into play, and therefore a flat spot could potentially occur. However, after riding the Michelin X Tweel Turf for approximately 100 yards the flat spot will dissipate.
No, the polyurethane material used in the construction is very stable across all temperatures and shown robust performance from -30F to 100F.
This video explains the basics. About Tweel
In severe and challenging use environments, Tweel tires can experience spoke breaking normally as a result of physical impact/cutting damage. The Tweel unit remains useful even with up to 20% of damaged spokes. Cuts or tears in spokes can be arrested by blunting the leading point of the crack in order to stop the crack from progressing all the way across the spoke.
It depends on the application and the use. The Tweel airless radial tire can last up to three times longer than conventional bias-ply tires.
Additional hub configurations and new fitments for other OEMs will be available as we continue to add to our portfolio of products.
With a 50-mph speed rating at a maximum axle weight of 1430 pounds in the front and 2310 pounds in the rear, the Michelin X Tweel UTV is available with five hub configurations that will fit 4×110, 4×115, 4×137, 4×156 and 5×4.5 bolt patterns for a variety of machines, including the BRP Can-Am Defender, Kawasaki Mule, Honda Pioneer, Kubota RTVs, John Deere XUVs, and the Polaris Ranger.
This product is for use on construction, farm, landscape, recreation, quarry, mine, emergency service response, logging, parks, hunting, military operations, universities, beach patrol, camping, hurricane/tornado and other debris-laden areas where flat tires cause serious and extreme interruptions.
Tweel products are not covered by DOT registration regulations like passenger car and light truck tires are. The unique barcode / serial number (located on the interior hub surface) is the most important piece of information for warranty claim purposes.
Depending on your use, the Tweel may be used with 6 or more of completely broken spokes in total. If the number of broken spokes exceeds the warranty limit, 3 consecutive spokes, or 6 total it is recommended that you utilize the warranty process.
Yes, every Tweel comes with a date code identifying the week and year of production.
We strive to respond within days of hearing about an incident. This can sometimes be delayed when all the information is not immediately shared. Traceability and clear photos of the failure mode are required to speed up the decision making process. The phone app is meant to significantly reduce this wait time.
It is recommended that the dealer or customer keep the Tweel for 30 days in case it is requested to be sent in for inspection. After this time, the Tweel can be disposed of in the same manner as normal pneumatic tires.
Please contact your local Michelin representative.
Return to the location where you purchased your product based on their return policy. You can also contact your local Michelin representative.
>50mm (2 inches) of separation depth is covered under warranty.
>5 completely broken spokes or >2 consecutive completely broken spokes is covered under warranty.
>5 completely broken spokes, >2 consecutive broken spokes or > 50mm (2 inches) of separation depth.
