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To compare the relative speeds of these two tires, the air disc one and the old solid tire, Dunlop rolled them across his yard. The new air tire went the whole length of the yard and bounced off the wall at the end. The solid tire did not go nearly as far. And so from that time on, his son Johnny would have nothing but the new air tires on his tricycle "because he could beat the bigger boys." But Dunlop then did not have the slightest conception of the automobile. He didn't rate the pneumatic tire as a scientific invention, but only as something to please a small boy. In England at that time, bicycle racing had become one of the most popular sports. Everyone was interested in anything that would increase the rider's speed. As an experiment, Dunlop equipped one of the new "Safety" bicycles with his pneumatic tires, and William Hume, who was not one of the best riders, defeated all the solid-tired competitors in his first race. Among the defeated riders was Harvey DuCros. Arthur DuCros, learning of his brother's defeat, investigated the new tires and had them put on their new "Safety" bicycles. The following year, he and Harvey won all of the English and French races on their Dunlop tires. But people were not exactly convinced, so when news about these revolutionary tires began to travel, the "Irish Cyclist," a trade journal, made these sarcastic comments: "Pneumatic? Something to do with air, isn't it? Quite right, too, we like to see new ideas well ventilated." But Dunlop did not let such criticism or the more practical difficulties discourage him. In 1890, through the help of the DuCros, the Pneumatic Tyre Company was formed and the new tires soon became standard on nearly all English and American bicycles. |
