By Jacquie Foote In the history of the wheel and…
By Jacquie Foote In the history of the wheel and then, the tire we saw that fairly soon after the discovery of vulcanization, tires were…
By Jacquie Foote
In the history of the wheel and then, the tire we saw that fairly soon after the discovery of vulcanization, tires were made out of solid rubber. These tires were strong, absorbed shocks and resisted cuts and abrasions, but also were heavy, hard on roads and did not provide a smooth ride. In fact, eventually, legislation was enacted discouraging their use. Happily pneumatic tires were there to save the day.
John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921), a Scottish veterinarian, is the recognized inventor of the first practical pneumatic (inflatable) tire. His patent, granted in 1888, was for a bicycle tire. He attached rubber hoses to wooden wheels and covered the contact patches with thick canvas. He placed these first tires on a tricycle and took a test run. Finding no problems, Dunlop then attached rubber pieces to the canvas in order to prevent skidding and tested these tires on a bicycle. The result was a success.
Actually another man, Robert William Thomson (1822-1873) invented the first vulcanized rubber pneumatic tire, patenting it in 1845. His invention worked well but was too expensive to catch on. Even Dunlop’s practical tire was slow to gain popular use. Solid rubber tires carried the load well, absorbed shocks and resisted cutting and abrasions. The pneumatic (air-filled) tire, which carried the load and absorbed shocks by the compressed air in the tire casing, was much less durable and actually fell into disuse for a while. It was the popularity of bicycles in the late 1800s that revived the idea of the pneumatic tire and led the Belfast veterinary surgeon John Boyd Dunlop to obtain his patent for a pneumatic bicycle tire.
The first noteworthy use of pne-umatic tires for automobiles was by the Michelin brothers, Andr and douard. They equipped a car with pneumatic tires and drove it in the 1895 Paris-Bordeaux road race. Though Andr and douard didnt win that race, they generated popular interest in pneumatic tires, and Michelin & Cie became a leading producer of tires in Europe.
In 1898, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (named in honor of George Goodyear who, remember, discovered vulcanized rubber), was formed by Frank Seiberling in America. Two years later (in 1900), the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company was started by Harvey Firestone.
For the next 50 years automobile tires were made up of an inner tube that contained compressed air and an outer casing that protected the inner tube and provided traction. The rubber that made up the casing was reinforced by layers or “plys” of rubberized fabric cords embedded in the rubber. The tires made during this period were known as bias-ply tires because the plys ran across the tire in alternating diagonal layers at about a 55-degree angle to the wheel rim.
Bias-ply tires continue to be made and are sold as authentic equipment for antique and collector cars that were made during this period.
For information on the events at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Burton Century Village Museum, call 440-834-1492 or visit www.geaugahistorical.org.
