1870 Fouenard Velocipede (with Clement Ader patent rubber tyres)

This rare velocipede is believed to have been supplied by Cie Parisienne (who carried on the Michaux business).

The wooden wheels supplied by Cie Parisienne are numbered, and have steel rims into which hard rubber was inserted, as per the Clement Ader patent.

It’s an older restoration in excellent all round condition and ready to ride.

CLEMENT ADER PATENT No 83112 for RUBBER TYRES

Clément Ader (4 February 1841 – 5 March, 1926) was a French engineer and aviation pioneer. He was granted the first patent for rubber wheels (French patent no. 83112) on 24 November, 1868. This innovation was designed to improve the comfort of velocipedes by replacing the traditional iron bands on wooden wheels with a more elastic material.

It created a compressible, shock-absorbing layer between the ground and the wheel, mitigating the harsh ride of velocipedes on uneven terrain.

The patent covered bands made of rubber, gutta-percha, or similar elastic substances attached around the wheels.

This was a critical predecessor to the modern tyre, establishing that rubber could withstand the wear and tear of road use while providing cushioning.

Ader is also noted for filing a patent for a detachable tyre and tube system in 1890.

After his pioneering work with velocipede tyres, Clement Ader turned his attention to flight, first with a balloon which he constructed at his own expense in 1870, and after that with a ‘winged bird’ on which he is said to have made tethered flights. On 11 August, 1890, he was granted a patent covering the essentials of the steam-propelled, tailless monoplane that he named Eole in honour of the Greek god of the winds Aeolus. Six weeks later, on 9 October, 1890, he achieved a powered hop of about 165 feet through the air. Though the machine was not capable of sustained or controlled flight this was the first take-off from level ground in a powered aircraft carrying a human being.

FRAME NUMBER 437

(Exposed during its restoration)