What is a Stepney Tyre?

The story of “Stepney” tyres is an interesting one, dating back to the early 20^th century in the great country known as Wales.

A Stepney tyre is another term for a spare tyre, which was invented by brothers Thomas and Walter Davies in 1904. Stepney tyres have evolved over decades, becoming one of the most important assets for motorists to have on hand for their vehicles.

As said, the story of the word Stepney is interesting, especially the outcome of the Davies brothers discovering the spare tyre.

History of the Stepney Tyre

Before the year of 1904, the concept of a spare wheel/tyre did not exist – that was until Thomas and Walter Davies invented the Stepney tyre.

Before Thomas and Walter came up with the invention, vehicles were not made without spare wheels. This made any possibilities of having tyre problem concerning, as populations would only be relying on local garages to fix any problems they had.

In their early years, the Davies brothers were dealers in iron and hardware in their hometown in Llanelli, Wales. Their ironmongery shop opened in 1895 on Stepney Street in Llanelli, which birthed the name and creation of Stepney tyres.

Then 1904 arrived, where both Thomas and Walter Davies launched the Stepney tyre, giving motorists all around the south of Wales a backup wheel/tyre for any cases of emergency regarding their tyres. The invention of the Stepney wheel/tyre involved the Davies brothers crafting a circular metal rim that could be fitted onto an inflated spare tyre.

As business was booming, they finally registered the ‘Stepney Spare Motor Wheel Ltd’ company in 1906. Using the Stepney tyre system to start an official business catapulted the brothers’ success, so much so that by 1909, the Davis brothers claimed that Stepney spare wheels were fitted to all London taxis.

After more years of success, a catalogue from the company stated that they had claimed to have sold over 400,000 Stepney tyres by 1913. Not a bad return for two local Welsh ironmongers, isn’t it?

From that point on, the company moved their operations from Llanelli to London, making the jump to being a global business.

Even a century later, the history of the term ‘Stepney tyre’ is still steeped deep within the automotive industry.

Evolution of Stepney Tyres

Now we have an outlook on the history of Stepney Spare Motor Wheel company, now we can give an overview of how spare tyres have evolved over the years.

Once the spare tyre became a mainstay on roads around the world, they started to be more prominent within car designs.

Car manufacturers started mass producing their vehicles to have room for a spare tyre that would be shipped to their customers. Locations of these tyres would feature in the boot of the car, but sometimes even on the exterior the car, whether it be attached on the rear of side.

Many SUVs and pick-up trucks started making the spare tyre a personality trait of the vehicle. 4x4s such as the Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Defender were sold with a spare tyre on the rear exterior of the car, even years after the spare tyre was slowly removed from car exteriors as a popular feature.

The feature of having a spare tyre on the exterior had been phased out by the late 2000s. This was due to car brands pivoting towards SUVs becoming sleeker in design to keep up with market demands, although it did give these classic cars a niche personality that makes the older 4x4s stand out even today.

The spare tyre on the interior, however, was always a prominent feature in most vehicle distribution, but this has also been phased out in recent years – according to RAC, only 3% of new car models are distributed with a spare tyre.

Reasoning for interior spare tyres not coming with vehicles are decreasing weight for fuel efficiency, saving space, increased reliability in modern car and tyre technologies, and more. This has led to some contention for motorists, believing that a spare tyre should always arrive with their car.

Order Your Spare Tyre Today

So, it might seem like the importance of Stepney/spare tyres is slowly deteriorating in the eyes of car and tyre manufacturers, but that is not entirely the case.

Many car manufacturers still offer interior spare in the car’s boot for a spare tyre. This means that there are still many motorists that have the option to carry a spare wheel/tyre in their vehicle in case of a tyre related emergency.

Having that spare tyre in the boot of your car is recommended, particularly if you are driving long distances – it’s what the Davies brothers would have wanted after all.

If your car has not already got a spare tyre on hand, you can order a spare tyre here at Blackcircles.com today.

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Riley Cars

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