Singletrack’s self-confessed rubber snier takes a tour of the Hutchinson tyre factory in France to see what puts the knobs into our knobblies.

BEHIND THE SCENES

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES VINCENT

I’m oating in the centre of the fuselage of a large passenger jet having the time of my life. Except that I’m not really oating – I’m standing on solid ground about 100km from the nearest airport, on the outskirts of the quiet French town of Montargis. And the aircraft I’m in has no seats, no pilot and no crew, while the only passengers are myself, a fellow journalist, an Australian importer, and a technician from French tyre manufacturer Hutchinson (our guide Alex has chosen to sit this one out). Oh, and the aircraft doesn’t actually exist outside of the three walls I’m standing in, as it’s an incredibly accurate 3D projection, powered by a fridgesized supercomputer tucked away in the corner of the room along with some of the largest video projectors I’ve ever seen.

In spite of this rather confusing set-up we’re all grinning like idiots, waving a fancy joystick around to control the model, taking it in turns to explore the inside of the aforementioned aircraft, while video cameras around the room track nodes on the glasses I’m wearing to position me within this virtual reality and make sure I’m seeing an accurate rendition of the aircraft.

I’m here under the pretence of out how you turn various amounts of natural and rubber, carbon black, Kevlar and nylon mesh into a mountain bike tyre, but I’m getting somewhat distracted by things that on the face of it have absolutely nothing to do with bikes whatsoever. I mean, moments earlier I was in the smaller of the two virtual reality studios, crawling through the manifolds of a small family car and slicing it apart on multiple planes to see what exactly what sized gaskets are needed to eectively deaden road noise.I’m oating in the centre of the fuselage of a large passenger jet having the time of my life. Except that I’m not really oating – I’m standing on solid ground about 100km from the nearest airport, on the outskirts of the quiet French town of Montargis. And the aircraft I’m in has no seats, no pilot and no crew, while the only passengers are myself, a fellow journalist, an Australian importer, and a technician from French tyre manufacturer Hutchinson (our guide Alex has chosen to sit this one out). Oh, and the aircraft doesn’t actually exist outside of the three walls I’m standing in, as it’s an incredibly accurate 3D projection, powered by a fridgesized supercomputer tucked away in the corner of the room along with some of the largest video projectors I’ve ever seen.

In spite of this rather confusing set-up we’re all grinning like idiots, waving a fancy joystick around to control the model, taking it in turns to explore the inside of the aforementioned aircraft, while video cameras around the room track nodes on the glasses I’m wearing to position me within this virtual reality and make sure I’m seeing an accurate rendition of the aircraft.

I’m here under the pretence of out how you turn various amounts of natural and rubber, carbon black, Kevlar and nylon mesh into a mountain bike tyre, but I’m getting somewhat distracted by things that on the face of it have absolutely nothing to do with bikes whatsoever. I mean, moments earlier I was in the smaller of the two virtual reality studios, crawling through the manifolds of a small family car and slicing it apart on multiple planes to see what exactly what sized gaskets are needed to eectively deaden road noise.

But what’s this got to do with tyres?

It’s just before lunchtime in the middle of a day-long fiying visit to Hutchinson (I was in the country for barely 25 hours from landing to take-o), and we’re being shown around the 507 Fab House. An old paper mill that burnt down in 1869, it was rebuilt by none other than Gustave Eiel and today serves as Hutchinson’s innovation centre. After the inescapable grime, noise and heat of the tyre factory proper, it’s a welcome relief – all exposed brick, restored steelwork and polished wood. Full of modern art, VR studios, conference rooms, a lecture theat recum cinema, not to mention a very ne restaurant, at its centrepiece sits Hutchinson’s ‘grand table’. is is where it all falls into place and becomes crystal clear why we’ve been treated to this showcase of technology so far removed from the humble mountain bike tyre.