Most of the wheels have a soft tread layer structure that acts as a shock-absorbing and slip-resistant function. By modifying the soft material, the wear resistance of the tread layer of the wheel can also be improved. Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) has the elastic properties of rubber and is therefore an alternative material for wheel tread materials.

Traditional wheel tread materials such as EVA, silicone, PVC, and rubber have their obvious disadvantages. EVA material has insufficient strength, and has a great odor after foaming and cross-linking, and the material can not be recycled and reused; PVC has large odor, is toxic, and is easy to become brittle at low temperature; silica gel has high cost and cannot be recycled and reused; The rubber material cannot be recycled again with large odourand longmolding cycle.

The thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and TPR can be quickly processed and formed without the need for vulcanization, and are environmentally friendly and non-toxic. In recent years, they have been widely used on the wheels of many products. At present, the  traditional materials of luggage wheels, toy wheels, pet toy wheels, industrial casters, silent casters for medical beds, and children's wheels are gradually replacedby TPE and TPR.

Although thermoplastic elastomers TPE and TPR have many advantages over traditional materials, their current application in the wheel industry cannot be said to be flawless. Current motor vehicles and bicycle tires still use vulcanized rubber as the tread material. This is mainly because the mechanical properties, wear resistance, tear resistance, and high temperature resistance of TPE materials are still inferior to vulcanized rubber and cannot withstand excessive load.

However, some well-informed sources in the industry said that the current public bicycles in urban subway stations began to use non-vulcanized thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials, using a solid structure of hard plastic skeleton + TPE tread. The author believes that the bicycle is used in the environment such as the subway station, the road condition is very good, no bumps, and generally there is no need to worry about the tire being tied. Therefore, as long as the high modulus raw materials are used and the wear resistance and tear resistance of the blend are improved, the TPE is not likely to fail to meet the relevant performance requirements.