Tyres FAQ: Why do tyres have air in them?

A tyre has to deform slightly at the point of contact with the road for instance in, order to achieve any change of direction or speed and it has to do this in a progressive and predictable way in all the extremes of conditions that riding on the road throws at it.

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It also has to do this without excessive wear, damage or permanent deformation.

Because air is compressible it allows a tyre to deform in order to take up small irregularities in the road surface the suspension and chassis are spared the vibration that would be transferred if the tyres where solid.