February i, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



179 



Tires at the Last French Salon. 



THE eleventh annual Salun ile rAiUuniubilc, dii Cjcle, ct 

 des Sports — the great French automobile show — was 

 held this season in two departments, the first for a 

 fortnight, closing December 13, having the usual characteris- 

 tics of the yearly show, and the second, during the week 

 which ended December 30, being devoted more particularly 

 to commercial vehicles. The regular automobile show was 

 the largest yet held in Paris, and perhaps more thoroughly 

 representative of progress in Europe in automobile construc- 

 tion. The prominence of the bicycle attested the continued 

 popularity of this vehicle in France, and an increased num- 

 ber of motor cycles was shown. The most distinct novelty 

 perhaps was in the line of aerostation, but to note Hying 

 machines would carry this report too far from its subject — 

 rubber tires. 



When mentioned without (lualitication, a rubber tire in 

 France is simply a "pneumatic," or a pneu — the same tire 

 that has become standard for automobile use everywhere. 

 This type of tire never having been patented in France, the 

 whole rubber industry has been free to work at its improve- 

 ment, so that a high degree of excellence has been attained. 

 The bicycle tire having been developed into a motor car 

 tire, and up to a stage where further improvement seemed 

 impossible, the inventors turned their attention in two new 

 directions: (i) Special treads for special uses, and especially 

 for non-skidding or puncture prevention, and (2) easily re- 

 movable rims, which it is now the fasliion to replace, in an 

 emergency, with spare rims carrying inflated tires. Under 

 these two heads were very many exhibits at the Salon, 

 though really little new in principle, in view of the develop- 

 ment made along these lines during two years past. 



Michelin & Cie., of Clermont-Ferraud, in addition to 

 "Michelin" pneumatics for apparently every imaginable re- 

 quirement, had in their exhibition space many specialties 

 which they control — removable rims, valves, compressed air 

 bottles, pressure indicators, repair sleeves, tire applying tools 

 and the like. It is stated that 1,126 cars on exhibition were 

 equipped with Michelin tires, while the nearest competitor 

 had but 656 wheels to his credit, and a second competitor 274 

 wheels. 



Michelin showed wheels on which were mounted two and 

 three -pneumatic tires — "twin" and "triple" tires — intended 

 particularly for commercial vehicles. The idea is to lessen 

 the injury to inechanism from excessive vibration set up with 

 steel or solid rubber tires, where fast running is necessary. 



Societe Industrielle des Telephones, Societe anonyme, of 

 Paris, with 18.000.000 francs capital, have a wide range of 

 manufactures in rubber, includine: an extensive pneumatic 



tire department. Their exhibit included "L'EIectric" tires 

 of various types and of many sizes, including special treads, 

 repair accessories, valves, lugs, etc.; also rubber mats for 

 automobiles, waterproof covers, and insulated wires. 



Etablissements Hutchinson, Compagnie Nationale du 

 Caoutchouc Souple, of Paris, now capitalized at 6,000,000 

 francs, exhibited "Hutchinson" pneumatics, standard and 

 special, with many accessories. 



Societe Lyonnaise dc Caoutchouc, of Paris, witli works at 

 l.yon-Villeurbanne, exhibited pneumatics for automobiles, 

 motor cycles, and cycles, with round and flat treads, smooth 

 or corrugated; detachable treads, repair accessories, and so 

 on. The company are capitalized at 1,000,000 francs, and 

 manufacture hard and soft rubber goods generally. 



Other French exhibitors of tires were Falconnet-Pero- 

 deaud, of Choisy-le-Roi ; Bergounan & Cie., of Clermont- 

 Ferrand, with "If (laulois" tire ; the newer Societe Parisienne 

 du Caoutchouc Industriel, the "Lutetic" tire, and Societe 

 Generale de Pneumatiques, of Paris, the "Mercure," with 

 special wire protected tread. L. Francois, A. Grellou & Cie., 

 of Paris, exhibited "Sideral" pneumatics. L. Edeline, of Pu- 

 teaux, exhibited "Callus" pneumatics and automobile acces- 

 sories. The Manufacture de Caoutchouc .A. Soly, of Lyon, 

 exhibited the "Soly" pneumatic. 



.•\. VVolber, of Vailly-sur-Aisne, exhibited a novelty de- 

 scribed as a "double tube demontable." a pneumatic for bicy- 

 cles, which is held on a simple wooden rim simply by the 

 inflation. Wolber mentions the growth of his bicycle tire 

 production from 48,850 tires ten years ago to 351.903 for the 

 year just closed. 



The India Rubber. Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works 

 Co.. Limited, who maintain works in France at Persan 

 (Seine-et-Oise), exhibited their "Persan" tires for motor cars 

 and bicycles. The affiliated company, The Palmer Tire Co., 

 Limited, of London, were represented by the "Palmer Cord" 

 tire. 



The "Dunlop" and "Continental" tires, of course, were 

 shown also, though of foreign manufacture. The latter com- 

 pany, with one of the largest displays at the show, empha- 

 sized the victory of their tires at the Grand Prix of 1908. 



A novelty in the Paris show — though its basic principle was 

 employed years ago in tire making in the United States — was 

 exhibited by a new French company, "La Sans Valve." It is 

 a "hose pipe" cycle tire, tlic inner part of which is a layer of 

 unvulcafiized rubber. .Xir is admitted by puncturing the tire, 

 with the idea that when the inflatcr is witlidrawn the pinicture 

 will heal at once, thus retaining the air. 



.\merica was represented particularly by "le pneu Good- 

 rich." made, of course, by The B. F. Goodrich Co., of Akron, 



fiSv^MSlTr^ 



Wi)].iii.R UoUbLE TiiM-; Cvei.t 



Section of "S.^ns \'.\i-Ve" Tike. 



