You’ll no doubt have read the Michelin – history of the tyre feature from last week. The Michelin HQ, of which they gave us a tour, is a fascinating place, as this bunch of photos shows.

Michelin Man welcomes visiters to the Michelin museum
Clermont-Ferrand is a beautiful city
With a staggering cathedral

The first car to run on Michelin tyres

They’ve got a huge greenhouse full of rubber plants

That’s the very first Michelin tyre

The bike Charles Terront rode on

You can see how the tyre is bolted to the rim

Check out the front brake!

We just had to include this photo of some truck tyres

And this collection of car tyres from back in the day

That bike again

The saddle sits atop the seat tube

Some classic tyres

And some that are a little newer