1906: Louis Henry Perlman applies for the "demountable tire-carrying wheel rim." Sure, a flat tire is still a hassle, but thanks to Perlman, you can deal with it.
Back in the earliest days of the automobile, radiators were brass, headlamps had wicks, cars were made as much of wood as metal, and wheels and tires were a single unit. The tires were solid rubber, and the wheels were wooden hub-and-spoke setups not unlike what you'd find on a horse-drawn wagon. Each one was affixed to the car by a single nut, and they were, for all engineering purposes, treated as a single unit.
The tires were about the width of a business card and provided roughly the same level of grip. On the upside, they were pretty darn tough. But, like everything else on a car, they would eventually wear out. At that point, you had to replace the tire and the wheel, even if the wheel was just fine.
Perlman knew there had to be a better way, and he found it.
His demountable tires (patent No. 1,052,270) worked pretty much like the ones on your car right now. A bead — that's the inner rim of the tire — held the tire against a groove machined into the wheel. The friction of shallow notches kept the tire from rotating on the wheel, though some early applications used a cumbersome screw-clamp system.
The only downside was the tire-and-wheel assembly had to be balanced to prevent vibrations and ensure a smooth ride, but that wasn't a big problem. Today no one thinks twice about it (except when they forget to get it done).
Perlman's invention led to the adoption of pneumatic (inflated) tires, which provide much better performance. It also allowed automobile owners to choose their own wheels, which is one of the most common ways of customizing one's ride.
That, of course, has led to things like absurdly oversized wheels and silly accessories like wheel spinners.
But we can't blame Perlman for that. He made cars much more practical.
Source: Various
Photo: matneym/Flickr
See Also:
April 18, 1906: Mother Nature 1, San Francisco 0
May 21, 1927: Lucky Lindy Flies His Way Into the Celebrity Ranks
May 21, 1901: Connecticut Sets First Speed Limit at 12 MPH
Dec. 10, 1845: The Pneumatic Tire, an Idea Ahead of Its Time
Nov. 3, 1900: The Grandmother of All Auto Shows
Nov. 24, 1903: Starting Your Car Gets a Bit Easier
Oct. 1, 1908: A Basic Car for the Great Unwashed
**
**
