What's better at being a wheel than ... a wheel?

That is not a rhetorical question or a Zen kōan or the start to an awesome joke (sorry). Inventor David Patrick, an avid skateboarder, stumbled (or, you know, skated) onto a way to reinvent the wheel as something that he claims is better than the tradition cylindrical model -- something faster, more stable, and more ground-gripping. Its inspiration, Patrick says, "came from a cube." He calls his creation the "SharkWheel," and he has patented the invention -- and is now raising money for its production on Kickstarter. (A week into the campaign, the modified wheel has taken in almost double the amount of its original $10,000 funding goal.)

So what is the SharkWheel, exactly? And how is it possible that a cube -- an object defined, after all, by its 90-degree angles -- would inspire an object whose whole point is its lack of points?

It comes down to the materials used to modify the wheel. Patrick took six modular tubes, connected into a circle, and then bent them in such a way that, in their contours, "they formed a perfect cube." (The bending, thus mitigating the sharp angles while maintaining fidelity to the cube-like shape, would be key here.) And then he dropped that object on the ground -- and discovered that it rolled. And: it kept rolling. 

See also http://www.gizmag.com/shark-wheel-skateboard/27825/ or http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1537100752/shark-wheel-the-square-skateboarding-wheel-that-sh

This dude LITERALLY reinvented the wheel.

Their skateboard longboard wheels are cool.  Not sure about the rest of their product line. Their advantage is rouge surfaces for skateboards. This was their table at VC in the OC.

Is that related to Freeline Skates?

Video:

Source:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/1fxqy0/what_the_hell/

They look like they would be great on rough streets.  Can't wait to try them!

Looks like they are MADE for rough streets. Fun!!