Thanks Jay,
Wow look at those front tires!
Happy motoring, Warren
What is it with these delivery trucks having these solid rubber tires?
Did they hold up better?
Herb,
Back then the tires were not as durable as they are today (no steel belts and softer rubber). They had more flats and the solid tires eliminated the need to stop and patch the tube and/or install the spare (if they had one). The solid rubber tire rides harder than the clincher that rides harder than the balloon tires. But at slow speeds such as in town it would not be that bad. And at slow speeds on dirt roads it would be less of a hard ride than on a brick road etc.
Back in the day when both automobiles and horses shared the roads there were a lot of horse shoe nails on the roads. So much so that at least one town in the mid to late 1920s had a truck with an electromagnet near the road surface to help pick up the nails and other metal objects off the road to help reduce the number of flats. There was an article in one of the Mode A Ford national magazines in the last 30 or so years about one of those trucks. From memory (not as good as it once was) they did not use those electromagnet trucks very long -- as more of the roads were paved and fewer horses were used and the problem went away.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
Hap, Excellent explanation! I always learn a bunch when your fingers dance on the keyboard! Thanks!