Important Facts About Wire Wheels

By Anna Collins


A wire wheel simply refers to a wheel in which the rims are connected to the hubs by wires. They are known by several other names including tension-spoked, suspension, or wire-spoked wheels. Suspension wheel should not be confused with vehicle suspension because the two are very different. Wire wheels function by maintaining the rim in shape while they support the load applied. They function in a similar manner to tensioned flexible wires.

The invention of these products occurred in 1808 and was done by an aeronautical engineer by the name George Cayley. Even though Cayley proposed the product, its functioning, and its production, he never applied for a patent. A patent was later applied and issued to a Theodore Jones in London in October of the year 1826. The use of the product on bicycles was first patented by a French by the name of Eugene Meyer in the year 1969.

Bicycles were the first items on which these products were first successfully used on commercially. Their use shortly followed the adoption of rubber tires and invention of bicycles. When they were introduced, a lot of improvements that lacked before were introduced. The first improvements were increased comfort and the mount of load that could be supported.

The older wooden wheel was insufficient in a number of ways, especially since it lacked elasticity, something that prevented it from being able to absorb road variations. The early manufacturers of bicycles manufactured millions of tension-spoked wheel every year. They used the common crossed-spoke patterns in which crossings of adjacent spokes were determined by how many spokes were present. However, other patterns were also available including no-cross, one-cross, and two-cross.

The aforementioned patterns produce more stability and strength. Their usage has persisted for more than one century now. On the contrary, irregular patterns consist little structural merit and have mostly been considered to be art forms. Professional racing and Olympic games saw the first cast wheels containing 5-6 rigid spokes get introduced in the 80s. The introduction was for them to be used on specialized applications including time trials. Other applications remain widely performed by wire-spoked products.

Stainless steel is the main material used in production even though several other materials are also in use. Stainless steel is a preferred material because it is much stronger and elastic. Because of the strength of steel, the wheel remains un-deformed under great load. The Chinese have recently started producing products that are made from plastic.

There is a great variance in the number of wires a product may contain. The number is big in some products while in others it is very small. The application of the wheel is what mostly influences the number of wires incorporated. For instance, wires in motorcycles and bicycles will be fewer than in cars. Strength is often increased by increasing number of wires.

These products are known for their beauty. The retro appearance is one of the factors why it is still in wide use on motorcycles. There are many producers worldwide today and they sell products at varied costs.




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