Thread: Wheel,not rim
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Old 07-26-2009, 06:06 PM   #15 (permalink)
Bicycle Bob
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Well, my fellow grammar nazis, those "buggy wheels" are not the proper wooden spoked type, but rather tension spoke wheels. Those are usually called bicycle wheels, but were originally developed for aircraft, about 50 years before the engines got light enough to match. Like the biplane or sailing rig, they do a superb job of using mainly tension members, which don't need extra material to guard against buckling. They also use them to stabilize the one compression member, the rim. Which brings us full circle back to the topic. :-O
Wire wheels went out of fashion on cars when they became small enough, and highly loaded enough, that "mag" types were lighter. They remain a fertile field for the stylist, being far less rationally designed than bridges.

The wheels illustrated derive their antique appearance from the small, presumably solid neoprene tire, and the radial spoking arrangement. For use with driven or braked hubs, tangent spoking is the norm, and is carried over as normal fashion on bicycle front wheels. The wooden wheels carry the weight on one or two slender spokes at a time, while the tension spoked wheels work as a unit.
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