What Makes Soft Wheels Different?

In general, objects absorb energy when they deform. This is similar to how a helmet protects your head by deforming during a hard fall. Following this logic, you might expect soft wheels to absorb the kinetic energy that keeps your body moving forward. However, on rough surfaces, soft wheels actually provide a smoother ride. Hard wheels cannot absorb vibrations from the ground very well, so they transfer those impacts to the rider. Lifting a heavy object like the human body and then absorbing that movement requires a significant amount of energy. Soft wheels, on the other hand, can absorb much of the impact from the ground within the wheels themselves, reducing the effect on the rider. In other words, soft wheels do absorb energy, but they make riding smoother by reducing the much greater energy loss caused by moving the rider's body up and down.