Dunlop's bicycle. Boy sits on the first bicycle to be fitted with pneumatic tyres. Pneumatic tyres (a rubber tube filled with air) were invented in 1887 by Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921) for use on his son's bicycle. Dunlop received his patent in 1889 and the tyres went into full-scale production in 1890. The extra comfort given by the new invention made cycling a fashionable activity. Photograph of Dunlop's son, also called John.