Pneumatic tire

“ Pneumatic tires are formed of alternate layers of heavy canvaslike fabric and soft rubber, and the processes through which they are put in manufacture are supposed to effect their perfect combination; but as it is not the nature of rubber to be absorbed by the fabric, the layers are only bound together by its tenacity. The bending of the sides of the tire under the weight of the car tends to separate these layers, and water or dirt entering between them through cuts quickly brings ruin ”

“ The rolling resistance of the steel tire will therefore be least; next in order come the pneumatic tire inflated hard, and the pneumatic tire inflated soft, while the solid rubber tire has the greatest resistance. ”

“ One manufacturer of fabric tires recommends 56 pounds pressure for a 4-inch tire and guarantees 5000 miles, and makes the claim that this pressure makes riding much more comfortable. Another well-known manufacturer advises inflating the tire only to the point where there is no bulge or flattening, and another type of pneumatic tire has become very popular because it requires still less pressure and makes riding that much more pleasurable. ”

“ While there is little friction between a wheel and the roadway upon which it travels, the roughness of the road is a very important factor. Every time a wheel goes over a stone the entire vehicle must be lifted; this represents so much wasted energy. The advantage of the pneumatic tire lies in the fact that it absorbs small inequalities without making it necessary for the entire vehicle to rise over them. This means less load lifted and hence less work done. ”

“ Pneumatic tires, whether on a bicycle or an automobile, always become more or less deflated in the course of time, even when there is no puncture and the valves are perfectly tight. All cyclists and chauffeurs know that a tire needs pumping up, from time to time, to keep it hard and rigid. This is because the enclosed air constantly tends to escape through the envelop; the phenomenon, which is due to what chemists call osmose, is quite complex and is worth attention. ”

“ In this event, with the same air pressures, the 24′′×6′′ tire could carry a load twice that of the 36′′×4′′ tire. Or, if both tires carried the same load, the air pressure in the former might be half that in the latter, and, its vertical flattening under normal load being twice as great, its value as a spring in absorbing vertical unevenness of the road would be double. Since the first use of pneumatic tires for motor cars, they have been steadily reduced in diameter, and probably they_ can be made still smaller with advantage, if the transverse section be proportionately increased. ”

“ In bicycles, motor-cars, and other road vehicles in which freedom from vibration and shock from uneven road surface is desired, rubber or pneumatic tires are employed. These elastic tires are capable of absorbing small irregularities in the road surface without transmitting much vibration to the frame of the vehicle. ”

“ All motor vehicle wheels are provided with steel rims designed to take the pneumatic or solid rubber tires. The original type of motor vehicle rim for the double-tube pneumatic tire was the clincher rim, the edges of which are formed into clinchers to hold the beaded edges of the tire cover. This type of rim remained the standard in Europe, but American manufacturers early adopted the detachable rim, which permits of the use of a steel cable core in the edges of the tire cover to make it inextensible. ”

“ The advantages which the pneumatic tire possesses are so many and so well known that it is not here necessary, however, to enumerate them. Comfort to the rider is, of course, its greatest point. Vibration is intercepted at the best possible point, namely at the point of contact between the tire and the ground, and thus the vibration is not distributed through the entire structure of the bicycle, the air cushion of the tire being really a spring which is always ready for use, and which works without rubbing surfaces. ”

“ TIRE VALVE.
In all experiences with pneumatic tires you will find water the greatest enemy of leaks, and in all cases where one is of sufficient size to be an annoyance, water will surely locate it. The weak point in most valves seems to lie in the plunger that closes the opening through which the air is admitted. Most valves work on the principle explained in the sketch. When the air is forced in, the plunger A is pushed down, admitting the air into D, and so into the tire ”

“ The bevel-wheels, differential gear and live axles are enclosed and run in a lubricant.
Wire suspension wheels are growing considerably in favour, a saving in weight being thus effected. The liability of the pneumatic tire to deflation, through a puncture or burst, has led to the introduction of detachable rims and detachable wheels. ”

“ At very high speeds this heating becomes so great as to have 'an injurious action on the rubber and fabric. Unfortunately, the solid rubber tire is worse off in this respect, its elastic hysteresis, and therefore the heating effect, being greater than that of a pneumatic tire. It is evident that increase of the diameter of the tire-section lessens the heating action, while reduction of diameter of the wheel has no effect, so long as the range of longitudinal flexure is less than the transverse. Nearly all tire fabrics are equally stiff longitudinally and transversely ”

“ At higher speeds over uneven roads it is less satisfactory; the wheel, forming with the tire one rigid body, receives violent accelerations vertically, due to the uneven road, and is being continually shot upwards into the air out of contact with the ground. Thus excessive noise and vibration are caused at all but very moderate speeds, and for passenger cars an elastic tire is a necessity. _ The solid rubber tire, not being liable to puncture, is trustworthy if made of sufficient sectional area, but it is expensive and lacks the comfort and easy running of the pneumatic. ”

“ A novelty in treads is a tire called the “Won’t Slip,” which was invented by C. J. Bailey, the inventor and patentee of Bailey’s rubber brushes. The entire tread of the tire is covered with round teeth closely set together. The makers say it will not slip under any [Pg 77] conditions of surface, such as wet car rails, asphalt or macadam, and that it is 90 per cent. puncture proof when under pressure.
The B. F. Goodrich Company of Akron, O., make a corrugated rubber tread band which is endless and which can be applied with rubber cement to the worn treads of all kinds of pneumatic tires. ”

“ It is stated that each of the over three million cars in use in the United States consumes an average of eight tires a year, so that automobile buyers are purchasers of probably 20,000,000 tires a year.
The pneumatic tire was one of the greatest factors in giving the automobile business its impetus. Charles Goodyear, in a broad sense, laid the foundation for popularizing the automobile, when, by accidentally dropping rubber on a stove, he discovered the principle of vulcanization. ”

“ The ideas of William Thomson as to pneumatic and cushioned tires are now, after a lapse of fifty years, generally adopted. Even sportsmen were glad to seize upon them, and wheels of sulkies, provided with the pneumatic tires, have enabled them to lower the record of trotting horses. ”

“ In speed, in comfort, in saving the mechanism from pronounced concussion, and in facility of steering, there is no question as to the superiority of the air chamber as compared with solid rubber. The curious fact, moreover, remains that in the very circumstances which emphasise the weak points of the pneumatic tyre the solid would be even worse. High speed and a heavy car form a combination which tests the pneumatic tyre severely, but the solid tyre in like circumstances can with difficulty be kept on the wheel at all. At high speed, again, the pneumatic tyre is particularly liable to puncture ”

“ Sometimes a difficult part of a puncture on the road is its location. After examining the tire and noting the likely places, apply saliva at these spots, and when the right one is found, bubbles will be noticed.
The permanent repair of a double-tube tire is to patch the inner one. Let the air out, and if the tire is "cemented" pull it off, and, if the "clincher," spring off, being careful in pushing the valve through the hole in the rim. If it is the "clincher" pattern the inner tube may be readily removed, but if a "cemented" tire, it is a trifle more difficult. ”

“ The chances of getting a puncture will be greatly reduced by keeping your tires properly inflated, as a hard tire exposes much less surface to the road than a soft tire, and also deflects sharp objects that would penetrate a soft tire.
Running a tire flat, even for a short distance, is sure to be costly. Better run on the rim, very slowly and carefully, rather than on a flat tire. ”

“ Less blow-outs, because the “On-Air” cure—used by us alone—removes a major cause.
Loose tread risk reduced by 60 per cent, by a patent method we alone employ.
Less punctures—less wear—because of our double-thick, very tough All-Weather tread.
In those four ways—combating your four greatest tire troubles—No-Rim-Cuts excel every other tire. When you adopt them—and the time will come—you will know tire comfort, tire security which will not be yours until then.
The verdict of users proves that. Goodyear tires—after 15 years of tests and comparisons—outsell any other. ”

“ In case of puncture of a bicycle tire, the inner tube is repaired by cementing a patch of rubber on the outside of the inner tube, a solution of india-rubber in naphtha or bisulphide of carbon being the cementing agent employed. Motor-car tires are best re- paired by vulcanizing, as solution patches usually come loose owing to the heating of the tire. In a single-tube tire, as its name indicates, the outer cover and the air-tight tube are vulcanized together to form a single hollow ring. To repair a simple puncture of a single-tube tire it is not necessary to detach it from the rim. ”

“ For riding over city pavements the softer the tires, without endangering the rims, the less jolting; but on good roads hard tires are best, as there is less friction, due to a smaller surface presented to the ground. From the inflation we will turn to the valve, the most important part of the tire. ”

“ Steel, iron, wood, cork and chemical compounds have all been brought into use, and in such ludicrous shapes as to make the average puncture proof tire an object of deserved ridicule. In common with other interested people, the inventor of the Straus protected tire has for years sought the end in view—a practical puncture proof tire. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In making tires, the strips of fabric are built together about a steel core to form the body or carcass of the tire. The beads are also added. The side strips, the breaker strip and finally the tread are applied. All of these pieces are sticky, and as they are laid together and rolled down by small hand rollers they adhere to each other, and when the tire is completed it looks very much like the tires you see on automobiles, but it is not yet vulcanized. The rubber is much like tough, heavy dough—there is not much stretch to it and in a cold place it would become hard and brittle. ”

“ They claim that even a slight decrease to offset any increase from heating, because of warmer temperature of the air, friction, and the hot pavements, will injure the tires. On the other hand, drivers of long experience insist that the car should be started out with the tires softer than in cold weather. Still others insist that the tire pressure demanded by the manufacturer makes the tire too hard for comfort and that when the pressure is increased by heat it makes the tire as hard as one of solid rubber. ”

“ If steam is discharged from the radiator, examine the fan directly back of it and the water pump, and see that there is no clog in the pipes leading to and from it.
Tires—Keep the tires free from oil and grease as they rot the rubber. Drive very carefully in wet weather because rubber cuts very easily when wet. Drive slowly around corners and start and stop without jerks; also be very careful not to rub the tires against the curb. Have all small cuts vulcanized so that moisture cannot get in and rot the fabric. Do not run on a flat tire unless it has been damaged beyond repair. ”

“ With iron-tyred wheels it is impracticable to drive quickly without destroying, in a very short space of time, first the wheels and then the carriage.
With solid rubber tyres slightly more speed is obtainable, but the pneumatic is the only one with which, at present, it is possible to attain high speeds with a measure of safety, and without causing the wheels to collapse, and damaging the transmission gear of the car, not to mention springs, frames and motor. ”

“ 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. ”

“ And finally tires may get rim-cut, which means that the steel rim which fastens them on wears them through by rubbing. The result of these things is what is known as a flat tire with all the air gone out, and the automobile bumps on the hard rim.
Boys and girls have tire-troubles, too. I have seen boys and girls get so vexed about things that they just exploded in a burst of temper like a blow-out in a tire. I have known them to run up against something sharp and difficult which took all the buoyancy out of them, just like a nail causing a puncture in a tire. ”