Wheels, Rims and Tires.
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A Compendious Illustrated Set of References to the Leading Examples on the Market, and Many of which are Exhibited at the Olympia Show now in Progress.
The primary object of the following matter and illustrations is to inform owners in all parts of the United Kingdom, in the Colonies and abroad, about examples of the most up-to-date wheels, rims and tires. Owners and intending owners of commercial motors will do well to concentrate their attention upon the claims of the many models, devices and fittings which are available, particularly at a time when prices of rubber tires, both solids and pneumatics, are reasonable in an unprecedented degree. Owners of motorcabs, the smaller types of motorvans and tricycle-carriers should pay heed to the merits of Atlas Steel Wheels.
We reproduce on this page a view showing the new form of Atlas steel wheel fitted to a, Foden three-ton rubber-tired steamer. It will be remembered that the L.G.O.C. uses cast-steel wheels on its latest type of motorbus exclusively, and these are of a pattern which has the outer ends of the spokes forked, but differently spaced.
Avon.
Not many weeks ago—in our issue of the 3rd August last, we published an article dealing with the home of the Avon tires, and the equipment of the factory in which these capital English-made tires, both solid and pneumatic, are produced. The corn pany entered the motor industry in its very early days, but for many years its chief energies were directed to the production of proprietary tires. It is now, however, turning out large quantities of both clinched and band-section solid tires for motorvans, buses, fire-engines, etc., and pneumatics of a type which are suitable for light express-delivery vans, motorcabs and auto-carriers. Avon pneumatic tires are made in
three patterns, viz., with steelstudded, square, and round treads. but in all cases the outer covers are built up of the very finest Egyptian fabric and high-grade rubber. As illustrating the strength of the fabric employed, we may mention that a strip 3 in. in width is capable of sustaining not less than 850 lb. pneumatic tires, which tires are virtually essential to the running of these machines under general conditions of use. We particularly draw attention to the fact that, in cases where examples of manufacture are on view at the Olympia Show now in progress, the stand numbers upon which they will be found are added to the text. Although vehicle manufacturers, from their own experiences, customarily fit standard wheels, rims and tires of approved make, without specification from the buyer, they are at all times open to accept such specification at the time orders are placed.
to 900 lb. before the breaking stress' is reached, and., when we add that there are from five to seven plies of this fabric incorporated in an outer cover, some idea of its enormous strength may be obtained. The Avon band-section solid tire is amongst the finest at present on the market, and we have before us records of mileages on bus and van work running as high as 21,000 miles on the same set. The company's factory is at Melksham, in Wiltshire, and its London office is at 35, Long Acre, W.C.
Bauly.
The requirements of steam-wagon owners in London and district are well catered for by Mr. H. C. Bauly, of the Bow Wheel Works, 131i, Bow Road, E. Whether the requirements be for re-tiring of steel-shod wheels, or the provision of entirely new wheels, Mr. Bauly's works are fully equipped to carry out orders with the least possible delay. A specially-trained staff of men is kept for the re-tiring of old wheels, or the pressing up of steel tires which are still capable of being run for many miles before being worn out. The building of heavy motorwagon wheels of the straight-spoke or tangent-spoke pattern is one of Mr. Bauly's biggest departments. The tangent type of wheel is one that has given remarkably good results on both wagons and tractors, and it may be built to suit any make of motor. Winter wheels may often be found of considerable service on paved or asphalt roads whilst the surfaces are in a greasy state or during the prevalence of frost and snow. and many wagon owners keep a special pair of such driving wheels for emergency use. The wheels of this type which are made by Mr. Bauly are built on the tangent principle. ; the tread is composed of rubbei and wooden blocks that are fitted into ;teel channels. During the course of the first day's working, the wood becomes compressed into
the channels, and the whole tread consolidated. After that state is reaelied, the rubber, wood and steel channels all wear down together. Such a wheel is very quiet in running, and its non-slipping properties on greasy and snow-bound roads are most remarkable ; we learn that the life of the tread has in some cases proved to be as much as 24,000 mi]Ps.
Blackwell Rims.
A device which is designed as an ingenious alternative to the use of detachable rims and spare wheels is that known as the Bla.ckwell Auxiliary Rim. The construction is of the simplest character and con. sists solely of the fixing to the inside of the felloe of an ordinary preumatie-tired wheel of a small auxiliary rim holding a solid tire of diininutive proportions. The diane!ter of this tire is of such a size that the auxiliary rubber tread is so located that it can at once take the load when through some accidental cause a pneumatic tire with which it is used in conjunction has become deflated. It will be seen that these Blackwell rims are intended to be fitted to all the wheels of, for instance, a taxicab ; it would, in such a case, be impossible inadvertently to run on a deflated tire and so to do very considerable damage to the tube and cover. It is always possible to run a vehicle which is fitted with Blackwell rims home to the garage or over any other considerable length of road without running the iiSk of any ensuing damage to the oneumatic-tire equipment.
Brown Bros_
Alotorcab owner-drivers and other owners of light commercial vehicles, the wheels of which are shod with pneumatic tires, should make a point of protecting their sparewh..el tires and spare outer covers from the effects of light and air, as their influences have decidedly deleterious effects upon rubber. Brown Bros., Ltd., of Great Eastern Street, markets two or three particularly suitable covers, one of which is the
Diteo," as illustrated herewith. Other outer-cover and spare-wheel covers may also be obtained. Owners of auto-carriers and other three-wheeled delivery machines frequently receive complaints from their drivers RS to difficulty experienced, and time wasted, in the replacement of punctured inner tubes on the single driving wheel. The puncturing of such a tire frequently entails the disconnecting of the driving chain, brake rods and various ether parts, in order to take out the tube and replace it by a new or repaired one. This difficulty may be overcome on such machines if Rich's patent detachable air tubes are employed, as, unlike all other air tubes, they are not endless ; to each end is vulcanized a soft rubber ring, and on one end the ring is fitted inside the tube, whilst at the other end of the tube it is fitted outside. The outer one may be inserted through the inner one, so as to form a spigotted flush joint, which joint is perfectly air-tight, and is as strong as any other part of the tube. We may intuition that Brown Bros. also handle practically every make of proprietary tire. The stand at Olympia is number 217. Connolly.
We suppose that W. and T.
Connolly, Ltd., can fairly claim to have one of the oldest-established wheelwright businesses in London, and it is characteristic of the enterprise of the members of the present executive that the company has in existence a complete organization for the handling of repairs and supplies in the matter of wheels and tires for commercialmotor vehicles of all descriptioni,.. The Connolly band tire calls for no special comment in the matter of its construction, but its makers claim for it special qualifications in the matter of resiliency. Connolly's have had over 00 years of experience as rubber-tire specialists and tiresmiths. The company claims, therefore, that it. has been enabled to embody in its present. form of band tire,. features which provide it. with more than the average resilience, and it is upon this quality that new business has largely accrued : ten thousand miles guarantee is given for the use of this tread on all good fiat roads in the British Isles, provided, of course, the user takes care not to be guilty of the fault of under-tiring the machine. The standard tread is of the round section, bu:: users may be interested to know that Connolly's also make what is called a "fluted" pattern and a " grooved " pattern. The former section is so proportioned that the walls are grooved circumferentially whilst the corresponding weight of rubber which is thus dispensed with is added to the actual tread. The. grooved pattern has deep circumferential slots right round the tread.
Users of solid tires, unless they are solely operating large fleets and are therefore economically able to put down extensive tirepress plant, are always on the lookout for a good method of mounting solid tires, which avoids the use of this special and, to some extent, expensive apparatus. The Connolly detachable band tire, of which we include an illustratian on page 205, well embodies one of those methods which enable wedge-shaped packing rings of metal to be used. The illustration, we think, will suffice to convey to our readers the design which has been adopted. It appears to be simple and to be at least as good as anything of its kind that we have seen.
Realizing that the use of ordinary wooden artillery wheels on commercial vehicles is in many instances fraught with considerable trouble, owing to the unavoidable shrinkage of spokes and felloes, and that many owners are adopting some one or other of the forms of metal wheels which are, at present, on the market, Connolly's are handling a pressed-steel wheel which is known as the Dreadnous-ht." These can be supplied in all sizes from 18 in. to 3 ft. in diameter and in widths varying from 3 in. to 15 in. ; we are assured that the heaviest of these models is sufficient to carry a gross load of 30 tons. As an example of the price of this class of wheel we find that Connolly's list a set of them suitable for a five-ton wagon at £21. Provision exists for single rubber tires on the front pair and twin tires on the hind pair.
Captain Rims.
Quite a number of industrial vehicles on the Continent are being run with twin or triple pneumatic tires on their back wheels, and, undoubtedly, this practice will become more general as the use of detachable rims and wheels becomes more widely appreciated by vehicle owners. We illustrate herewith a. typical example of the use of twin pneumatics in conjunction with the Captain twin-rim detachable de
vice, as made by the Captain Rim Co., Ltd., of Marsh Street, Bristol. The principal feature of the Captain rim is that it has a parallel bearing surface and not a conical one, which latter type, according to the company's experience, tends to slacken, For some months past, the Captain Co. has been experimenting with a rim of the contracting type, as well as a divisable one, but the management has come to the conclusion that the type now marketed is the most practical and enduring of any form that it has tried.
Continental.
The Continental Tyre and Rubber Co. (Great Britain), Ltd., of Thurloe Place, S.W., is making a leading line of the Continental " T " pattern solid band-section tire. The letter " T " is the company's identification letter for the model, and is by no means an indication of the shape of the section. Owing to the peculiar construction of this tire, it has been found to yield enormous mileages, and quite recently the makers had returned from Scotland two complete sets of tires which are stated to have given the following mileages : f our back tires, 35,400 miles each ; two front tires, 37,275 miles each ; two front tires, 41,375 miles each ; and t h e remaining four back tires, 41,375 miles each. These figures. are given in a letter to us from the Continental Co., and such. results can only be obtained by making the tire of very high-grade rubber, and by the provision of an, unusual depth of section to allow for wear. It must be said that, amongst the tires at present on the market, the Continental tire is one of the, deepest in section. This company has also introduced a diagonally-grooved " T " section: tire, which seems to be finding great favour among fire-brigade. officials. The steel rim of the T " section tire, it should be noted, projects from the side for a considerable distance, which projection, or " overlap," as the company calls it, serves to protect the tire from damage by contact with the kerb, etc. No side flanges are fitted on these tires, as they are sofirmly secured by hydraulic pressure as to preclude all possibility of their ever becoming loose. Large stocks of Continental solid tires are kept at the London headquarters, whilst in Manchester, Glasgow, and various other centres, and in all the company's depots, hydraulic presses are installed. Clinched-on solid tires of both grooved and plain section are still marketed, and are extensively used for vans up to 25 cwt. useful load. Continental pneumatics are in big de. mend. The Show Stand is No. 299.
Dock Swain.
A solid rubber tire which has. secured for its makers a considerable reputation for weight carrying is that known as the Dook Swain. Endless band tires of this make are being used by an increasing number of steam-wagon owners. Each tire is guaranteed for 10,000 miles, which total has to be completed within nine months from the date of delivery. The makers stipulate that this mileage shall be compiled on reasonably good highways. The Dook Swain Tyre and Rubber Co., Ltd., also handles a clinch tire, which has given good results, and amongst other specialities we have to include the retreading and repair of all kinds of tires both solid and pneumatic. Dunlop.
The Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Ltd., is, of course, a maker which has a reputation for pneumatic tires that is unsurpassedthroughout the world. Dunlop solid tires have also achieved a satisfactory reputation on commercial-motor vehicles of all kinds. A recent development in this branch of Dunlop business is the production of tires which are specially marked for the actual makers of the machines upon which they are to run. The method of fixing that. is adopted for the Dunlop solid tire is by means of loose flanges held on by suitablyspaced felloe bolts. Those of our readers who are interested in the employment of pneumatic tires for light-delivery vans and taxicabs will do well to consider the claims that are advanced by the Dunlop detachable rim. The rim is locked in position by means of a " patent extensible flange ring joint.' At the Show, Stand 282 holds Dunlop wares.
De Fornier Non-skid Cover.
We hear of remarkable results attained in fire-brigade service with the De Fornier non-skid cover. It is claimed for this non-skid that it does not creep round the tire, and that it is a. protector of the tread in the truest sense of the word. It may be fitted to either pneumatic tires or solid-rubber tires ; needless to say, in fire-brigade practice, solid tires are invariably employed.
"Facility" Rim.
The " Facility" rim, manufactured by the Facility Motor Rim Co., of 211, Shaftesbury Avenue, consists of two essential parts, as may be seen in the accompanying illustration. There is a fixed part of the rim, which is forced or pressed on to the wooden felloe, and a removable flange, that is provided with a lip, on the angle of which a packing strip may be located. This packing entirely prevents the ingress to the tire beads and inner tube of mud or water. The removable portion of the rim is on the outer side of the wheel, and may readily be removed without the aid of special levers. The average time for putting on a tire with this type of rim is from two to
three minutes, and the operation does not entail great manual labour or the aid of any tool other than the box spanner which is supplied with the rim for the purpose of nutting up the flange bolts. Given reasonable handling, there is nothing to get out of order with the rim of this tire. It is, strictiy, a rim with a detachable flange.
"Faransure."
Messrs. S. Stevenson and Co., of Logan Street, Glasgow, were One of the first makers in this country to appreciate the necessity for making the rims of clinch-section rubber tires so that one clinch could be removed in order to admit a. new tire.
tween the two clinches, and is thoroughly secured, so that even at the highest speed at which a vehicle is capable of being driven there is not the slightest tendency for the tire to fly off.
Gaulois.
The Etablissement Bergougnan, at Clermont-Ferrand, France, was founded by Mr. Raymond Bergougnan, in 1889, and since then it has been continuously engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of rubber tires, both pneumatic and solid. Among the pneumatics, the Gaulois covers, which are made in two kinds—with square grey thread and square white thread, are fairly well known in this country, as also are the same makers steel-studded non-skid covers. This maker's solid tires have been very largely used by the Paris General Omnibus Co., with which company they haye given remarkable mileages, and have proved to have extraordinary resilient and wearing qualities. Quite 75 per cent. of the buses now running in Paris are fitted with Bergougnan tires. A detachable rim for pneumatic tires is also made by the Bergougnan Co., and demonstrations are daily being given at the Gaulois stand (No. 284) at, Olympia. The Gaulois detachable pneumatic tire and rim consists of the usual outer cover and air tube, but is fitted on standard rims which are stiffened by an inside ring that is machined and slightly conical. The wheels, if desired, may be fitted with a flat rim, which is provided with a key to prevent creeping, and it is still further secured in place by a number of circular wedges. The same