Coventry's Cycle Industry

Kaga, the solid tyre was the bain of every cyclist before Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in 1888. In open handicap races the solid tyre used to slide too easily on the damp / wet grass track, much to the annoyance of the cyclists but to the enthusiastic amusement of the punters. Because most of the sports tracks were temporary for a particular sports, the track would be marked out at about 360 yards which afforded too tight a bend for safety. On a standard banked grit or tarmac track (440 yards) there was no real problem. The introduction of the new tyre caused some unrest amongst competitors which was not resolved until races were separated into 'solid' or 'air', except around Dublin where both were allowed in the same race for a little while. By the mid / late 1890s solids had almost disappeared - there was a slight problem in tricycle racing. In 1845 Robert Thompson had patented the idea of the pneumatic tyre in England - Dunlop came from Ireland. I well remember the bike spills when I started running in local handicap races (North of England); for the entertainment value for the crowd, only the steeplechase water jump in athletics rivelled a good cycle pile up!

Thank you, Harrier. If the photo had shown the valve, then I would have known. Was the valve bigger in those days?