We’d like to announce a “New Model Name For Sports Tyre” project on BootB with this quick historical review.

The earliest tires were bands of iron (later steel) placed on wooden wheels of carts and wagons. Forge fires were used to make the red-hot band which was placed over the wheel and fitted the wheel tightly when quenched. The outer ring served to “attire” the wheel, ensuring a wear-resistant surface.

Thus, the word “tire” emerged as a name of the metal bands that were put on wheels. Both spelling variants, tire and tyre, were used since the 15th century, though tire is considered an older one.

The first practical pneumatic tire was made in 1887 by John Boyd Dunlop for his son’s bicycle in order to prevent the headaches his son had while riding along rough roads.

First tire companies appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and developed hand in hand with the growing auto industry. Today over 1 billion of tires are produced annually in over than 400 tire factories.

Pneumatic tires are made of a flexible elastomer material such as rubber with reinforcing materials such as fabric and wire.

Check this cool video featuring the rubber production turn-round: