Hubless bikes have been around for years. I think that design may actually be the first one ... from 2004 (
link). I suspect that the brakes are some sort of variation on drum brakes, front suspension looks somewhat conventional and I bet the forks flex a fair bit. Rear, well its probably a rigid.
I just found an even older bike:
http://www.choppersinc.com/html/bike...ikeID=3&Page=2