Continental tyres have been chosen to help operate observation wheel Ain Dubai, by Dubai Holding, located on Dubai’s island destination, Bluewaters. Turning with the help of hydraulic motors, the 64 tyres from Continental’s TerminalMaster range serve as friction rollers in the drive systems at either end of the boarding platform to keep Ain Dubai turning on its slow and steady rotation, giving its guests unparalleled 360-degree views of the Emirate.
Designed and developed to withstand the extremely harsh conditions, huge payloads and a long service life required in its prime application of port container terminals, the Continental 310/80R22.5 TerminalMaster tyre is also the right fit for this niche application. Produced in Continental’s own production site in Otrokovice, Czech Republic this heavy-duty tubeless tyre features an extra-deep tread profile and industrial-strength casing, with a higher resistance to damage and punctures. According to Continental the reinforced bead construction, special wear-resistant compound and traction, interact seamlessly with the observation wheel’s drive system combine qualities to produce an incredibly long-serving, high-performance product, perfect for the hours of service and high levels of safety required for the operation of Ain Dubai.
To further optimise the performance, ch tyre is digitally monitored by ContiConnect and ContiPressureCheck, which give continuous feedback on the tyre’s condition and advance notification if corrective actions related to the tyres are needed. These intelligent solutions are displayed on a web portal or app, which can deliver reports and analytics in addition to the constant monitoring.
Each tyre measures 1,070 millimetres in diameter, and weighs in at 71.2 kilogrammes – huge in comparison to the 635-millimetre diameter and average eight-to-10-kilogramme weight of a typical 195/65/R15 sedan road tyre.
With its 11,200 tonnes of steel, 2,400 kilometres of cable, and capacity of up to 1,750 visitors across 48 spacious cabins, Ain Dubai is the world’s largest and tallest observation wheel. Continental’s tyres have also been used in the operation of the London Eye – the UK capital’s own observation wheel, launched in 1999.
