Studded tires. Who was first?

Who was the first? Many believe that the famous French company Michelin is the originator of the winter studded segment when they see this advertisement.

It dates back to 1907 and features an advertisement for a new tread with metal studs. But this is significantly earlier than the first winter tires for snowy surfaces, which we wrote about earlier.

The thing is, these studs were not intended for ice, but for off-road use, so they cannot be considered studs in the way we imagine them today. They provided additional traction on dirt roads.

Interestingly, the posters of that time were very ironic and always carried some hidden meaning. Specifically, on this poster, the artist depicted the victory of French cars equipped with new Michelin tires in an off-road race in 1905.

But the kick depicted on this poster is also not accidental. This is a representation of the historical rivalry between two national sports - French foot fighting savate and English boxing. It is known that the English brand Dunlop at that time was the main competitor of the company Michelin.

The first winter studded tires for ice were invented by the company Nokian.