Tyres, they keep us moving and get us from A to B. That is pretty much all most of us want or need to know about our tyres, but there is actually quite an interesting tale to tell about how tyres were invented and how they came to be the carefully designed pieces of performance equipment we use to this day.
We are one of the top mobile tyre fitting Glasgow companies, so it is fair to say we have done quite a lot of research into tyres and their background.
Who better then, to take you through the history of these vital pieces of rubber?
To start our journey, we must go back not tens, not hundreds, but thousands of years to the invention of the wheel, not a bad invention as inventions go.
This took place in the Bronze age, over 5000 years ago but it was quite a few years after than when anything close to the tyres that we know today began to take shape.
In fact, it wasn’t until the 19th century, that the foundations were put in place for the rubber tyres of today to be manufactured thanks to the revolutionary work conducted by a Mr Thomas Hancock (yes that Hancock) and My Charles Goodyear (yes that goodyear).
These two individuals either side of the Atlantic conducted revolutionary work on rubber vulcanisation, turning the substance from a relatively useless substance into a compound that was both long-lasting and remarkably elastic.
By the late 19th century, this technology had spread far and wide with inventions as weird and wacky as wrapping rubber in leather to add an extra level of protection against Victorian potholes to the first pneumatic tyre, developed by a certain John Boyd Dunlop in 1888.
It was the combination of the first ever petrol car, introduced by Karl Benz, and Dunlop’s work on tyres, that really kicked the automobile industry into action and 1888 was the year we can truly say instigated the progression of vehicles and tyres towards what we have and use on a daily basis in 2023.
Tyre development proceeded at a rapid rate from this point forward, driven by key players such as the Michelin brothers who developed the detachable pneumatic tyre and the formation of major brands such as Goodyear.
In the early 20th century, the introduction of Radial tyres, offering improved performance and fuel efficiency, created a manufacturing process more closely resembling the modern one, and the vast majority of tyres used to this day are Radial in nature.
Nowadays, tyres are constantly being refined and optimised with efficiency, traction and performance in mind with a different tyre for almost every possible situation.
That said, these pioneers of the industry laid the foundations upon everything since has been built and have deservedly had their names immortalised by some of the leading tyre manufacturers who still continue to dominate the industry to this day including Goodyear, Michelin, Dunlop and many more besides.