Michelin had a very convincing early demonstration of why people should buy a pneumatic tire... they could take a ride on the solid rim, and feel every tiny pebble and stone, or have an enjoyable ride in the chair with the air filled tire instead

The installation of Michelin in the Salon du Cycle of 1895 attracted the attention of the public and the magazines of the time:

The Michelin wheel-go-round, which delights both young and old.
Climb quickly onto the movable chairs and try to choose well.

One of the chairs is equipped with an iron wheel and the other driven with a wheel covered by a pneumatic tire.
Pity the unhappy man who chooses the iron wheel because, at the littlest obstacle of those found on the carousel track, he shakes and rocks as a peasant does in his cart. And what a noisy racket!

On the contrary, the chair with the pneumatic wheel circulates around the track quietly, without jostling and in silence.

A lesson that clearly shows how tires have made bicycle transport progress and how they will be useful to automobiles.

 “Revue des Sciences: Salon du Cycle,” Journal des Débats Politiques et Littéraires, December 25, 1895.


the link to the thesis: http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/126382

Vol 1, chap 2, page 215

Dr Medrano - Bigas, Professor of Graphic Design, at the University of Barcelona.