Bicycle wheel to counteract the leading spokes. When forward torque is applied (i.e., during acceleration ), the trailing spokes experience a higher tension, while leading spokes are relieved, thus forcing the rim to rotate. While braking, leading spokes tighten and trailing spokes are relieved. The wheel can thus transfer the hub torque in either direction with the least amount of change in spoke tension, allowing the wheel to stay true while torque is applied. Wheels that are not required to transfer any significant amount of torque from the hub to the rim are often laced radially. Here, the spokes leave the hub
The Bicycle Wheel select components, how to build a wheel, and how to repair various forms of damage. Part three, 'Equations and Tests', provides a mathematical analysis of spoked wheels. "The Bicycle Wheel" is considered by many to be the premier resource on building bicycle wheels. Noted bicycle mechanic and technical expert Sheldon Brown called it "the near-definitive text on the theory and practice of building spoked bicycle wheels." 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