Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 298, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1910 — An Automobile Tire Containing No Rubber. [ARTICLE]

An Automobile Tire Containing No Rubber.

Tidings from England herald the invention of an automobile tire with all the good qualities of a pneumatic tire, but containing no rubber. This remarkable step in the progress of auto improvements is concisely described by Consul General John L. Griffiths in a report from London, as follows: “The springs are madfe of slightly tapered strips of speciaj steel, coiled spirally in such a way that the greater part of each turn is within the preceding one, and that under sufficient compression the whole of the inner coils can be forced within the outermost one. To the surfaces of the link.: which roll on the ground are cemented blocks of hard composition of fiber and gutta-peroha compacted under pressure, and these, it is stated, can be renewed when worn away at a cost of 97 cents to $1.22 for each wheel. “The aim of the invention has been to imitate the action of the pneumatic tlije. An obstacle such as a stone does not cause the whole wheel to rise, as in the case with an ordinary irontired wheel, but is, as it were, swallowed up, the link or links immediately affected yielding by virtue of the hinges and bringing into play the resiliency not merely of one or two of the springs, but of the whole of them round the entire circumference. “The wheel is intended for use on heavy commercial vehicles and motor omnibuses, to give them the benefit of the pneumatic tire with the employment of no partfcle of rubber. Another advantage claimed is immunity from side slip, while dust is sucked up to a much smaller extent than with pneumatic tires. jjA short run in London traffic on a pleasure car experimentally fitted with these wheels showed that they afford a remarkable degree, of resiliency, and it is stated that their effectiveness is changed at high speeds.”