Here's something to blog about: History of a bicycle tire...
1846: The pneumatic (air filled) tire is invented, but creator Robert William Thomson uses thick tubes of latex after failing to find adequately thin rubber.
1888: John Boyd Dunlop begins selling the first pneumatic tire, hoping to soften the rough ride that earned early bicycles the nickname "boneshakers."
1891: Inspired by a tire change that involved letting glue dry overnight, Edouard Michelin, of Michelin & Company, dreams up a simpler model that takes just 15 minutes to remove and repair.
1926: Newly invented Mavic aluminum rims are banned from the Tour de France over concerns the metal would heat braking and pop tubes. Some racers sneak them in by using wood colored paint.
1930: Tullio Campagnolo patents the quick-release skewer to make tire- and gear- changing easier. Cyclists previously had change gears by unscrewing their rear wheel's wingnuts. He was driven to create the device after cold-fingered fumbling on a mountain pass.
1937: The German manufacturer StahlGruber begins producing tube patches under the name REMA Tip Top, after Willy Gruber deems them "tip-top" during testing. The technology changes, but the brand name sticks to this day.
1965: Chemical giant DuPont develops Kevlar. The fiber, spun from a crystalline liquid, is five times stronger than steel but lighter and more flexible; its eventual use in tire beads shaves almost a quarter-pound from a set of clinchers.
1989: Slime unveils its tire sealant and prefilled tubes-the polymer provides a nontoxic option for folks looking to prevent auto and bike flats.
1990: CO2 bike tube-inflation devices are intoduced. The Instaflate uses 12-gram unthreaded cartridges and deploys with a trigger.
1999: The first tubeless mountain bike systems are introduced by Mavic and Michelin. Basic tubeless systems appeared as early as the late 1800s, but generally bombed in terms of performance.
2000: Stans Tire Sealant enters the bike market to provide flat protection for tubeless and tubular tires-a godsend for riders in thorn-ridden areas.
2003: Michelin, Shimano, Hutchinson and Mavic collaborate to develop the first modern tubeless road tire and rim system.
5 comments:
Interesting, a lot of familiar names early on..dunlop, mavic etc. I like your first pic, YOU FAIL! Haha! Poor kid with a square tire ain't goin' nowhere! I wonder what the next step will be in tire technology...? I sure wish someone could invent a fluid that weighed less. Oil and gas make up like 30 to 40 pounds on my dirt bike!
common names, like neanderthaughal, caveman, clifft, prehistoric,
I don't know dude, it could be anything on the tire technology. But tubeless tires on my bike sure make a difference. I haven't got one flat tire all year this year. Amazing!
dan when are we going home teaching this month.....i have the lesson ready to give.....it is the last of the month you know
We already went on Sunday didn't we? 2 out of three. We'll try to get the Bradleys before Halloween this week, hopefully, if I don't work late one of these days.
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