2 voor 12: Uitvinder van de fietsband

An animation explaining a question about who invented the pneumatic tyres for a dutch national televisionshow called ’2 voor  12′. (Two for twelve)

Translation of the spoken text:

00.00.00-00.00.04

Bicycle tyres were either made of wood or metal during the first half of the 19th century.

00.00.04-00.00.14

On top of that, most roads in those times were far from level, which gave the bicycles the nickname ‘bottenschokkers’ or boneshakers.

00.00.14-00.00.17

This all changed for the better in 1887.

00.00.17-00.00.24

Tradition has it that a Scottish vet had a flash of inspiration after seeing the deep trails caused by the tricycle tyres of his young son.

00.00.24-00.00.31

He went on to take a couple of garden hose ends, filled them with water and wrapped them around the back tires of the bicycle.

00.00.31-00.00.44

The family doctor, who was as it happened visiting, suggested filling the hoses with air as this would absorb the shocks much better than the water. The reason for this is that, contrary to air, water can’t be compressed.

00.00.44-00.00.47

And this is how the pneumatic tyre came to be.

00.00.47-00.00.58

Sales of the first generation pneumatic tyres were initially slow, despite the slogan ‘Look at the new pneumatic safety, vibrations impossible’.

00.00.58-00.01.05

The name of the Scottish vet is to this very date connected to one of the largest manufacturers of pneumatic tyres.