Tyre

“ Such is all that now remains of the mighty Tyre. It has neither a harbour to the sea, nor a road to the land; the prophecies have long been accomplished in regard to it. [Pg 664]
"We moved on in silence, buried in the contemplation of the dust of an empire which we trod. We followed a path in the middle of the plain of Tyre, between the town and the hills of grey and naked rock which Lebanon has thrown down towards the sea. ”

“ In tyre mending, as in other things, the more haste the less speed. Tim worked with deliberate care, glancing up and down the track from time to time. At last, after about half an hour's work, he straightened himself, satisfied that the tyre was good for a few hundred miles, and much relieved that he had been able to complete the repairs without interruption. ”

“ To give one some idea in an exaggerated form of the power exerted by a deflated tyre we will give a personal experience. When travelling on a big racing carriage over seventy miles per hour, the front tyre was cut by a broken piece of bottle, and in a second the tyre burst. ”

“ Arguing from the analogy of the cycle, in respect of which the use of the pneumatic tyre has been so signal a success, the average reader may find it difficult to understand why the motor-car tyre should not be just as satisfactory, provided that its substance be increased in converse ratio to the weight it has to carry and the work it has to do. ”

“ May I slightly alter the ancient prophet's word, and say, a propos of the pneumatic tyre, that 'man is born to trouble as the ' dust 'flies upwards'? The autocarist who runs on pneumatic tyres has atra cura ever sitting behind him in his chariot. ”

“ A FRENCH CHAISE DE POSTE OF 1760
PLATE 27. LANDAU OF 1790
PLATE 28. A PERCH SOCIABLE BY HATCHETT. between each pair of spokes. The tyre was generally put on in pieces, the end joining in the middle of the felloe. But the better sort of wheels had the tyre put on in one piece, and called, as in the present day, “a hoop-tyre.”
“Many persons,” Mr Felton says, “prefer the common sort of wheel, on account of their being more easily repaired than the hoop-tyre wheel; but though the repairing the latter is more difficult, they are much less subject to need it.” ”

“ You know that metal expands when it is heated. Well, when the tyre which is lying on the floor here, is heated by the squarish gas burners arranged round it, it will expand sufficiently to let the wheel slip inside it. And then, when the tyre cools, it grips the wheel tightly and the whole wheel is ready for the track. The tyre, of course, saves the wheel from getting worn, and can be renewed if necessary like the iron tyre of a farm cart. ”

“ One outer edge of the tyre is prolonged, so to say, and forms the projecting flange which holds the rails and prevents the carriage from running off the road. So important a part requires the best metal and the most careful manufacture, and accordingly no trouble or expense is spared to secure suitable tyres. One of the inner edges of the tyre, on the opposite side to the flange, is grooved, and this groove is intended to receive the edge of the wheel itself ”

“ The Tyrians shall be lost among the nations, so that people will look in vain for Tyre in Tyre: Thou shalt be sought for, and never found again. New persons may build a new city upon a new spot of ground hard by, which they may call Tyre, but Tyre, as it is, shall never be any more. Note, The strongest cities in this world, the best-fortified and best-furnished, are subject to decay, and may in a little time be brought to nothing. ”

“ The tyre is now made hot, and the result of that heating is an expansion of the metal, so that the circle of the tyre becomes larger. The wheel is then driven into the tyre, which fits round it like a band. As it grows cool the steel tyre clasps the iron wheel with enormous force, and the softer [Pg 117] metal is driven into the groove of the steel. ”

“ The secret of the extra speed lies in the fact that a thin walled tyre is more resilient than a thick one, and when suitably inflated the rapid expansion of the tread, previously compressed by the rider's weight, does not retard the propulsion of the machine so much as a thicker one. A technical explanation of the why and wherefore of this must be sought in theoretical treatises on pneumatic tyres. ”

“ Given a combination of a heavy touring car with moderate speed, the use of solid tyres is practicable; and with a very heavy car, but of low speed, they may also be reasonably employed. But when the speed exceeds twenty miles an hour the solid tyre is inadvisable for more reasons than one, whatever the weight of the vehicle itself. ”

“ In the case of solid tyres the chief essential is that a gap of a quarter of an inch should be left between the ends, to allow of expansion under heat or pressure. If this gap becomes closed in time one end of the tyre should be cut away. If the tyre be a close fit at the outset it will creep on the rim, crack at the sides, and be liable to fly off at any but slow speeds. ”

“ Somebody's shoved a knife into the tyre. Here's a hole—clean cut."
The other two made a rapid examination of the tyre and came to the same conclusion.
"But who the blazes could have done it?" queried the reciter. "Not those two sots behind us. I doped them too well; they're snoring still."
"The repair outfit, quick," the driver commanded. "Willy nilly, we've got to mend this tyre or foot it, and on Shanks' pony we may not be so lucky this time. Somebody—goodness knows who—is aware we are here, and has slashed us up. It's the car or nothing for us, now." ”

“ Many of the places mentioned in ancient history have, like Tyre, long ago lost their political consequence; the geographical situation of others cannot be traced; they have sunk in the deep waters of oblivion; the east wind hath carried them away.
Verse 2
Take up a lamentation for Tyrus - This is a singular and curious chapter. It gives a very circumstantial account of the trade of Tyre with different parts of the world, and the different sorts of merchandise in which she trafficked. The places and the imports are as regularly entered here as they could have been in a European custom-house. ”

“ There is only one trouble regarding which you are really justified in feeling angry—that is a punctured or burst tyre. It is possible for a woman to repair a tyre, but I am sure I am correct in saying that not one woman in a thousand would want to ruin her hands in this way. Nowadays there is a repairer in nearly every village, and the best plan is to drive very slowly on the rim to this nearest repair-shop. With a small, light, single-cylinder car it will do no harm, but if you drive too fast, or far, the inner tube may be damaged. ”

“ Garrett was busy every moment with the lubrication, and at the same time both feared tyre-troubles, the bugbear of the racing motorist. Such speed sets up tremendous friction and consequent heat, therefore tyre-bursts are likely, and if a tyre does “go off” while a car is travelling at that pace, the consequences may be very serious. ”

“ My twenty minutes' limit had almost expired and, as it is a matter of pride with me to be punctual, I let the car out a little. That, I suppose, was my undoing, for just as I crossed over the busiest street a motor-lorry swerved out and nearly collided with me. I did some very neat wheel-work, but my new course took me right across to the gutter, and before I had quite realised what had happened I had speared my tyre with a jagged piece of glass. The tyre popped off with a report like that of a small revolver, and the next second I was bumping on the frame. ”

“ The heat due to road friction, the pressure arising from the weight of the car, and the combination of centrifugal force with the weight of the tyre itself—much greater than that of a pneumatic—all create expansion and make the tyre rise from its bed and at times fly off bodily. A tendency to creep in the rim is also caused by the non-absorbent qualities of the solid as compared with the pneumatic tyre. ”

“ The wheel is turned over, and the iron wheel is seen to be some little distance sunk, as it were, beneath the surface of the tyre. Immediately on a level with the iron wheel there runs round the steel tyre another deeper groove. The wheel is again heated—not to redness, for the steel will not bear blows if too hot—and when the tyre is sufficiently warm, a long, thin strip of iron is driven into this groove, and so shuts the iron wheel into the tyre as with a continuous wedge. ”

“ A tyre that has also been tried by a few British automobilists is the Falconnet (fig. 20) , which is provided with a core of spongy rubber, and is thus somewhat less harsh than the entirely solid patterns. Experience has shown, however, that the security of this tyre at speeds in excess of sixteen miles an hour is a doubtful quantity. The tyre shows a tendency to become detached from its bolts, and as it is very heavy it is likely to be lifted off by centrifugal force. ”

“ Tyre was at that time seated on an island of the sea, about a quarter of a league from the continent. It was surrounded by a strong wall, a hundred and fifty feet high, which the waves of the sea washed; and the Carthaginians, a colony from Tyre, a mighty people, and sovereigns of the ocean, promised to come to the assistance of their parent State. Encouraged, therefore, by these favorable circumstances, the Tyrians determined not to surrender, but to hold out the place to the last extremity. ”

“ A pair of shears will not cut metal unless the axis be perfectly firm. The ordinary wheel has the tyre firm, and it is shorn. The horse-foot wheel having an elastic tyre, it yields, and slips aside and will not shear.
An opportunity occurred on a distant line, also of sharp curves and steep gradients, where the tyres were rapidly worn out. Horse-foot tyres were applied to an engine with six wheels by an engineer who believed in the theory. In due time a report came to the following effect to the inventor:—
“Your tyres are going on quite satisfactorily. ”

“ Its tyre is fixed to the wheel by rivets or bolts placed at regular intervals. Now, the holes made for these bolts to some extent weaken both tyre and wheel. The bolt is liable, with constant shaking, to wear loose. The bolt only holds a very limited area of tyre to the wheel. If the tyre breaks in two places between the bolts, it comes off. If a bolt breaks, or the tyre breaks at the bolt, it flies. ”

“ Among the defeated riders were the sons of William Harvey Du Cros, who, being impressed with the possibilities of the new tyre, made the acquaintance of the inventor and eventually, late in 1889, refloated with him the business of Booth Brothers, cycle and agricultural implement agents, of Dublin, as the Pneumatic Tyre and Booth’s Cycle Agency. ”

“ When the tyre encounters an obstacle, such as a large stone, it laps over it (Fig. 166) , and while supporting the weight on the wheel, reduces the deflection of the direction of movement. When an iron-tyred wheel meets a similar obstacle it has to rise right over it, often jumping a considerable distance into the air. The resultant motions of the wheel are indicated in each case by an arrow. Every change of direction [Pg 342] means a loss of forward velocity, the loss increasing with the violence and extent of the change. ”

“ Of the built-up wheels, the strong forged-iron-spoke wheel with steel tyres shows excellent results, and always gives due warning of loosening by indications at the tyre rivets. The suddenness with which the solid wooden centre wheels sometimes break up and fall to pieces does not commend them for a service where there must be a long-sustained application of the brakes. ”

“ No one is exempt from this apparently chronic obstacle to pleasurable driving; the novice with his first car experiences sundry mechanical difficulties which the experienced hand may avoid, or quickly conquer if they occur, but every automobilist alike is a prey to the inconvenience of punctures, and the expense of upkeep of a costly and too easily perishable tyre equipment. ”

“ Should the tyre become punctured, the brake be broken, the bell cracked, the lamp missing, and the gear out of gear, you will return it as soon as possible, advising your friend to provide himself with a stronger one next time. ”

“ The pneumatic tyres are undoubtedly the most comfortable of all, they are beyond question more speedy, but they are very costly—my own tyre bill last year was over 500l. They are also very liable to puncture in hot weather, more prone to cause side-slip, and in other ways a luxury that has to be paid for. I advance these points to prevent the purchaser from definitely committing himself to pneumatic tyres because other people use them. ”

“ Tyres of this description are only favoured by racing cyclists on account of the expert knowledge required to make a proper repair. It is, however, of interest to note that a "speedman" finds it an advantage to carry a spare tyre of this description in preference to using a thicker and heavier type, which requires longer to repair, than to change one of the lighter, thinner kind. ”

“ The only apparent risk is that there may be some slight undiscovered flaw in the solid steel which, under the pressure of unforeseen circumstances, may give way. But the whole design of the wheel is to guard against the ill-effects that would follow the snapping of a tyre. ”

“ HELCANUS. We'll mingle our bloods together in the earth, From whence we had our being and our birth.
PERICLES. Tyre, I now look from thee then, and to Tarsus Intend my travel, where I'll hear from thee; And by whose letters I'll dispose myself. The care I had and have of subjects' good On thee I lay, whose wisdom's strength can bear it. I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath: Who shuns not to break one will sure crack both: But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe, That time of both this truth shall ne'er convince, Thou show'dst a subject's shine, I a true prince. ”