A problem which affects all preppers is the tires/tubes used on the vehicle wheels.
I ride a bike and the maintenance expense for wheels, tires and tubes is a major problem.
An even bigger problem is the availability of those parts in a PAW scenario.
This may be a possible solution, assuming that it reaches the consumers before a significant "event'
This is true for both bike and motor vehicle owners
http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/04/21/bridgestone-launching-airless-bicycle-tires-in-2019.htmlDO read the whole article which has some links to existing, non-inflatable wheels, which may be available right now.
There is no information on the expected lifetime of this type of wheel and I would expect that the initial products will be both expensive and have a limited lifetime. They may last somewhat longer than our current inflated wheels, but the manufacturers will have no incentive to make a product which doesn't need replacement on a fairly short time cycle.
Yes, there are airless inner tubes available now, but they have severe problems relating to installation (special tools) and they do not address the wear on the external tire surface, which makes repeated replacement necessary.
Looking at the pictures, in the linked article, the outer wheel surface will still be subject to the wear problem and require access to replacement parts. I have no idea how long these will last, particularly if they are being used offroad during a crisis, or on a heavy daily commute.
Keep an eye on this for the year 2019.
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