Check out this interesting invention
https://www.duncfitz.co.uk/wheel.html

The wheel goes from circle to elongated ellipse, but is it's area really reduced any? The ellipse might be a more convient shape for some bikes.

It's smaller in one direction, longer in another. Seems kind of a marginal improvement.

My idea is a segmented wheel. The key is that you only need the segments on the bottom. So as soon as a segment passes the contact point on the ground, you can pop it off and put it on the front again.

I first saw the headline that said "Folding Bicycle Wheel" and thought, "Big deal. They all fold. It's the unfolding that's the problem!"

The need to invent such a wheel is based on myths, on the front page.

I have experience with both bike types and I know that these are simply false.

Don't expect this invention to stay around...

Well, smaller diameter tires have more rolling resistance. On the other hand, skinnier tires also have more rolling resistance, yet they're all the rage on performance bicycles so rolling resistance obviously isn't everything.

Yeah, that was my reaction too. On the other hand, it is true that wheel size limits fold size. If they could make a good 20" folding wheel, that might be something useful. But if it folds up unexpectedly, such as when you hit a pothole, that would not be good.

To coin a phrase... reinventing the wheel!

A valiant effort, but I can't really see this being successful; Idea looking for a problem if you ask me.

Something so central to the success of a bikes' whole must really be 100% structurally integral, and the second you start messing with that you end up with something that can fail, and in the most spectacular way.

To me this is one of those ideas you have, dwell on for a couple of moments and dismiss. I'm amazed it's got to such an elaborate prototype stage without the form/function idea puncturing his bubble.

The best new thing done with wheels I've seen is that cgi doing the rounds where the wheels are different sized alloy with offset hubs that allow one to be surrounded by the other, making two wheels fit in the space of one. I don't much care for the rest of that bike either but the concentric wheel idea is true innovation in the name of space saving.

The use I see is you can then fit a 26" wheel in an airline legal suitcase

Yeah, but my point was, why would you in the first place? The design premise is not based on established fact.