"Horse Drawn/motorized wheels" Topic

One of these small mysteries that I never found an answer for :

Why does horse drawn equipment use metal rimmed wheels, while the same equipment meant to be drawn by a motorized vehicle is equipped with tyres ?

Well we don't have horse drawn vehicles round here very often, but the ones that do turn up have rubber rimmed wheels/tyres.

Perhaps if you want your carriage/trap to be historically accurate you have metal rims, and if you want a smidgen more comfort you have rubber?

Wooden wheels have a metal band to reduce wear and tear. The spoke wheel design enabled the wheels to be much larger, but lighter, and the band also held the spoked assembly together. The original autos also had wooden spoked, metal-banded wheels. Metal bands are damaging to "black top" or macadamized roads. The metal also has a low friction coefficient on paved roads, making braking and acceleration real problems, so rubber tires were developed. Originally, a band of rubber just covered the metal like you see on modern horse-drawn vehicles. (Governments dictate this now to protect the roads) Over time, that design evolved into metal rims, the tire diameter was reduced, and the pneumatic tire were developed, all to improve performance, longevity and payload.

@ Cold Steel – BZ! Do you know of an archive of pictures for the interim designs you list? Either that, or a few manufacturers and dates for independent research?

Most of that post came from my own experience growing up around the Amish and working with 18 and 19th century equipment we found in old barns. Here is a good start to a 4,000 year process:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel

Punch "history of the wheel images" into Bing.

As Cold Steel says, it is all about the road surface rather than the method of propulsion!

it depends,

thinner steel or rubber wheels allow better turning circle on a two wheeled horse drawn carts, horses tend to step sideways when turning, so the wheel needs to turn on the spot without grabbing.

The horse drawn four wheeled wagon with tyres need a turntable because of the tyre width, as the thin wheeled wagon wheels were cambered with a inward faced toe and do not require a turntable.

cheers
Matt

The width of the wheel depends on the surface it runs on. Thin wheels, whether metal or rubber, require a hard surface of cobblestone or some other kind of pavement. They are almost useless on a dirt or grass surface. Try riding a bicycle with narrow tires on a muddy trail and you will see what I mean.

Thinner wheels also have a very low payload capacity. 2 wheel carts usually only carried 1-3 people. Compare that to a Conestoga wagon with wheel 3 1/2 to 4 inches wide, that can carry up to 6 tons in places where there are no roads.

All 4 wheeled vehicles require a turntable of some type or they wouldn't turn at all. The width of the wheel plays a minor roll, but the diameter of the front tire is more important. Wagons have smaller front wheels to compensate for the height of the turntable and to reduce turn radius. Modern trucks and autos no longer require a turntable due to the invention of the ball joint and drag link.

The means of propulsion also played a role in metal vs rubber tires. The propulsion for a wagon comes from the horse; the wheels just carry the weight of the cargo and have a limited braking capacity down hill. A motorized vehicle provides power through the torque of the wheels. Too much power to weight ratio and a metal wheel will lose traction and spin on a smooth surface. Braking is also limited due to the same low friction. That is why the earliest farm tractors had cleats on the metal tires. Rubber provided far better friction with the road surface.