Bicycle wheelA bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels. Bicycle wheels are typically designed to fit into the frame and fork via dropouts, and hold bicycle tires. A typical modern wheel has a metal hub, wire tension spokes and a metal or carbon fiber rim. The hub consists of an axle, bearings and a hub shell.
SpokeA spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the hub where the axle connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface. The term originally referred to portions of a log that had been riven (split lengthwise) into four or six sections. The radial members of a wagon wheel were made by carving a spoke (from a log) into their finished shape. A spokeshave is a tool originally developed for this purpose.
Rim (wheel)The rim is the "outer edge of a wheel, holding the tire". It makes up the outer circular design of the wheel on which the inside edge of the tire is mounted on vehicles such as automobiles. For example, on a bicycle wheel the rim is a large hoop attached to the outer ends of the spokes of the wheel that holds the tire and tube. In cross-section, the rim is deep in the center and shallow at the outer edges, thus forming a "U" shape that supports the bead of the tire casing.
George CayleySir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor and aviator. He was a pioneer of aeronautical engineering and is sometimes referred to as "the father of aviation", designing the first glider reliably reported to carry a human aloft. He is commonly credited as the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of heavier-than-air flight: weight, lift, drag and thrust.
BicyclePedal-driven two-wheel vehicleClassic bell of a bicycleA bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist or bicyclist. The bicycle was invented in Europe in the 19th century. By the early 21st century, there were more than 1 billion bicycles.
Eugène Meyer (inventor)Eugène Meyer was a French mechanic credited with making important contributions to the development of the bicycle. In 1869 he received French patent no. 86705 for wire wheels and is now believed to be the person primarily responsible for making the penny-farthing feasible and widely known. BiographyMeyer was born in Alsace and lived in Paris. He raced his own bicycles in order to promote them and placed 10th in the 1869 Paris-Rouen race.
Rudge-WhitworthRudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pugh and his two sons Charles Vernon and John, and of Coventry (which descended from a bicycle company founded by Daniel Rudge of Wolverhampton). Rudge motorcycles were produced from 1911 to 1946.
WheelA wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) intended to turn on an axlebearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle, which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily, facilitating transportation, supporting loads, and performing work in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel, and flywheel.
Wire ropeWire rope is composed of as few as two solid metal wires twisted into a helix that forms a composite rope, in a pattern known as laid rope. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a pattern known as cable laid. Manufactured using an industrial machine known as a strander, the wires are fed through a series of barrels and spun into their final composite orientation.
Tension (physics)Tension is the pulling or stretching force transmitted axially along an object such as a string, rope, chain, rod, truss member, or other object, so as to stretch or pull apart the object. In terms of force, it is the opposite of compression. Tension might also be described as the action-reaction pair of forces acting at each end of an object.
WireA wire is a flexible, round bar of metal. Wires are commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number or cross-sectional area. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads, often in the form of wire rope.
Car suspensionSuspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.