January 



[904] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



129 



THE RUBBER TIRE OUTLOOK FOR 1904. 



WHILE automobile manufacturers have been puzzling 

 their brains to perfect some parts of their machines 

 for the season of 1904, in order to have something 

 that will be just a little better than anything the 

 " other fellow " may have, the makers of automobile tires have 

 also been busy, studying to bring out the best methods of tire 

 construction, with the result that several new things will be 

 seen the coming season, which will not only add to the dura- 

 bility and stability of the tire, but will add to the safety of the 

 users of the new tires. For one thing, as a result of recent ac- 

 cidents on account of tires pulling off or slipping during bursts 

 of speed, the majority of the 1904 tires will probably be equipped 

 with better facilities for attaching them to the rims than the 

 tires of last year. In addition to distinct improvements in tire 

 construction, the rubber trade seems in a way to benefit largely 

 from the recent agreement entered into with regard to the 

 proper requirements of tires for automobiles of different types 

 and weights, in order that the best possib[e results may be at- 

 tained. Some of the tire makers, however, are waiting for the 

 national automobile shows this month before announcing fully 

 their new features for the 1904 trade. 



While the question of new tires is being discussed, the com- 

 parative merits of the single tube and the clincher or detach- 

 able tire come in for no small amount of attention. From all 

 appearances the latter type of tire is going to be the most pop- 

 ular, though it will probably never entirely supersede the sin- 

 gle tube. 



" The clincher tire is THE tire," said one manufacturer to an 

 India Rubber World representative. " We find that the de- 

 mand for the clincher or detachable tire is greatly in excess of 

 the demand for the single tube. The former has everything in 

 its favor. So simple in construction and so easy to repair, the 

 man who owns an automobile feels safer when he uses it than 

 when using the single tube. He laughs at punctures. With a 

 comparatively inexpensive outfit he is his own repairer, and 

 soon mends a puncture which would be a puzzler to the man 

 who uses a single tube. Should the inner tube wear out, re- 

 placing it with a new one is an easy thing, while the single tube, 

 except in the case of a simple puncture, must go back to the 

 factory. The outer casing may be punched full of holes, and yet 

 give good service as long as the inner tube is in good shape, 

 while with the single tube, one little hole may cause hours of 

 trouble, and spoil many a pleasure trip. 



" Many who remember how unpopular the clincher bicycle 

 tire proved to be may wonder at this, but the automobile and 

 the bicycle tire are two entirely different propositions. Cy- 

 clists soon found that with a little cement and a handy little 

 rubber plug they did not need to fear punctures, and that they 

 could repairany ordinary puncture by this method more quick- 

 ly than they could take the detachable tire from the rim and 

 remove the inner tube. Then, as a last resort, the single tube 

 could be 'juiced,' prolonging its life several weeks and even 

 months. With an automabile tire it is different. It is much 

 more unwieldly, and the methods pursued by the cyclist to re- 

 pair his tire would not avail the chaffeur stalled in a country 

 road perhaps 50 miles from a town where he can secure the 

 necessary materials to make permanent repairs. A bicycle 

 weighing perhaps 26 pounds, and carrying from 150 to 185 

 pounds, is a very different thing from a heavy touring car. So 

 it will be readily seen that the argument used in favor of the 



single tube for bicycles does not apply to automobiles. Imag- 

 ine ' juicing ' an automobile tire and expecting it to perform its 

 functions ! " 



The tendency is illustrated by the fact that tires of the 

 clincher type are now to be offered for the first time from sev- 

 eral important factories. Morgan & Wright will make a motor 

 tire on the clincher principle, which is to involve specially 

 treated fabric, designed to lessen any liability of separation of 

 the plies of fabric. The tire is recommended as fitting the rim 

 snugly, to prevent its becoming loose under severe strain. Be- 

 sides, it has an especially tough casing and an extra heavy 

 tread. A sectional cut of the Morgan & Wright tire is given 

 herewith. 



The Hartford Rubber Works Co. also will market this year, 

 for the first time, a clincher automobile tire. This will be pro- 

 duced under license from The G & J Tire Co., as is the case 

 with the new tire of Morgan & Wright. 



Some new features are promised in the G & J tire itself, and 

 new tires will be exhibited at the Automobile shows by the 

 India Rubber Co. and the Indianapolis Rubber Co. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co.'s " leader " for 1904 will be, as last 

 year, of the clincher type. The tire, while apparently not 

 changed, still is believed to work a distinct improvement, in 

 respect to strength and durability, through the choice of mate- 

 trial and details of workmanship, while it will be every bit as 

 fast as their former products — a feature which is not entirely 

 overlooked by automobilists when they purchase new tires. 



An important feature of the new tire to be placed on the 

 market by the Diamond Rubber Co. relates to the lug. The 

 new tire, instead of having a leather covered lug, will have one 

 made entirely of rubber, designed to permit a more perfect ad- 

 justment of the tire; and to prevent, in large measure, the pos- 

 sibility of a tire slipping or pulling off the rim. The rubber 

 lug takes the place of 16 different styles of leather covered lugs 

 which were used last season by this company in their different 

 styles of tires. The new tire is also equipped with a bevel 

 screw which will permit of a more secure tightening of the tire 

 than was possible in the 1903 tire. Tires will also be fastened 

 with a wrench instead of a thumbscrew, showing that every 

 possible precaution will be taken to prevent accidents through 

 tires pulling off or slipping when sharp turns are made. More- 

 over, the new tire is reinforced at every point where it is liable 

 to be subjected to wear, and is calculated to stand the greatest 

 possible strain on track or road without giving way. 



The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., in addition to their 

 regular clincher and single tube tires, which will be offered this 

 season with practically no changes, are putting out a new tire, 

 to be called the " flat tread " clincher, aimed to correct the 

 tendency to slip on wet pavements or in making sharp turns. 

 The company are also experimenting with a new tire, now be- 

 ing tested on a big touring car at Akron, by the use of which, 

 the inventor claims, less power will be required for operating 

 an automobile. The novel feature of the tire relates to the 

 weaving of the fabric used. 



The Dunlop motor tire for 1904 presents a decided new feat- 

 ure in construction. Its object is to facilitate the attachment 

 and detachment of the outer cover, practice having shown this 

 manipulation to be more difficult than in the case of the detach- 

 able cycle tire, on account of the greater size, weight, and 

 thickness of the parts. The rim to which the new tire is adapt- 



