Wheel rise, eventually, to classical Greece after the breaking of Minoan dominance and consolidations led by pre-classical Sparta and Athens. Celtic chariots introduced an iron rim around the wheel in the 1st millennium BCE. The spoked wheel was in continued use without major modification until the 1870s, when wire-spoked wheels and pneumatic tires were invented. The wire spokes are under tension, not compression, making it possible for the wheel to be both stiff and light. Early radially-spoked wire wheels gave rise to tangentially-spoked wire wheels, which were widely used on cars into the late 20th century. Cast alloy wheels are now
The Bicycle Wheel The Bicycle Wheel The Bicycle Wheel is a treatise on wheelbuilding by Jobst Brandt. "The Bicycle Wheel" is an educational book that explains the structural theory of a wire wheel, and teaches the practical methodology of building bicycle wheels. The book is made up of three parts. Part one, 'Theory of the Spoked Wheel', examines how a wire wheel supports various loads, what causes wheel failure, what aspects of a wheel confer strength and durability, discusses each of the individual components that make up a spoked wheel, and examines wheel design. Part two, 'Building and Repairing Wheels', explains how to