One of my friends from an online forum mentioned today about how the head mechanic from his work has developed a new prototype set of hubs that will inflate your deflated tire. When you have found that one (or both) of your tires are flat, you simply open up this silver valve that is connected to the hub body and you spin the wheel and air is pumped through a small air line that is connected to the valve. I will copy from his website because he so eloquently describes the technology:
The pump is built as a cartridge/module that slides into a matching wheel hub and locks onto it. The cartridge includes the wheel axle and one bearing and adds about 4 ounces to the wheel weight. Air is pumped from the end of the hub through a small polyurethane air line that connects to the tire valve stem. The outer diameter of the hub (center) is about 1.3″, which is similar in size to current bicycle hubs, and the outer surface of the hub (center) is smooth and cylindrical.
Desired tire pressure is set by the user via an adjustment screw. A small silver ‘button’ on the side turns the pump on. Typically, riding the bike inflates the tire until it is fully pumped up, at which point the pump shuts off. If the tire is flat, the wheel is spun by hand (or for the rear wheel by turning the crank) until there is enough pressure to ride. This usually takes less than a minute. For a standard road bicycle tire (700 x 23), a good approximation is 1 1/2 miles of riding to pump a tire up from flat. There is a light drag while spinning with the pump on, which goes away when it shuts off.
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