They do work, but are basically worse in every way.

Bearings are really impressive pieces of engineering that require really tight tolerances to reduce wear and friction. On a traditional bike you have a small bearing at the center that is a standard mass manufactured commodity part.

On these they’re turning the whole wheel in to a giant speciality bearing. It has to spin faster, has to deal with force being applied to a small section rather than the whole bearing, and has way more surface area where dirt could get in and grind against the surfaces.

So these are more expensive, way heavier, higher friction, less reliable, harder to repair, and faster to wear out.

But they look futuristic don’t they?