00:00 Intro
00:39 From logs to wheels
05:22 Greeks, Egyptians and Celts
07:14 Dunlop, Michelin and Goodyear
11:22 Wire wheels
14:15 Alloy wheels
16:08 Carbon fiber wheels
18:14 The future of wheels
Today we're exploring the history and the evolution of the wheel. Wheels played a very large role in shaping and building our world and today we will pay tribute to this simple but genius invention.
So when was the wheel invented? Well if you think a rolling log is a wheel then wheels can be traced back to the second half of the neolithic where they played a key role in the in the construction of megalithic buildings. But ancient humans sought way to escape the unpredictability and difficulty of rolling logs and thus moved onto a combination of sledges pulled over logs fixed into the ground. As the sledges rolled across the logs over and over they wore grooves into them creating something similar to a wheel and axle combo.
Interestingly enough the first actual wheels weren't used for transport, instead they were potter's wheels and the oldest ones have been discovered in Mesopotamia in the area roughly corresponding to today's Iraq. These ancient potter's wheels have been dated to 3500 BCE while the first wheels used for transportation appear roughly around 3200 BCE.
Early wheels were solid wooden discs which were cumbersome and inefficient. Ancient Greeks made them lighter by inventing the H-type wheel, but it was the Egyptians who really shaved weight from the wheel by inventing the spoke around 2000 BCE. The Celts attached iron bands (rims) around the outside of the wheel thus dramatically improving their durability around 1000 BCE.
The first major improvement to comfort came in the form of pneumatic (air inflatable) tires with Rober William Thomson's patent for pneumatic tires in 1847. Although he was granted a patent his idea never saw the light of day. Instead the first functional air inflated tire was made in 1888 in Belfast by John Boyd Dunlop. Dunlop's tire quickly spread across the wheels of bicycles but didn't yet hit cars as car's weren't widespread. Credit for being the first to put pneumatic tires on cars goes to brothers André and Edouard Michelin. They further perfected the pneumatic tire by patenting a removable one that could be installed and removed without the usage of glue. Both both Dunlop's and Michelin's invention stands on the shoulders of Charles Goodyear who patented the process for tire vulcanization in 1844.
Another key evolution for the wheel happened with the advent of the wire wheel. Patents for it were granted as early as 1802 but wire wheels became truly widespread on cars following the birth of the tangential wire wheel which was stronger than the radial kind, but only after 1907 when the Rudge Whitworth company patented the detachable wire wheel (Borrani wheels bought their license and thus share the logo).
The next big step for wheels was aluminum/ aluminium casting. The first to successfully cast aluminum wheels was Ettore Bugatti in 1924 after which he used them on the legendary Type 35 racer. Harry A. Miller did patent the concept for casting the wheels even before in 1920 but ever actually made any. Aluminum wheels offered many benefits such as better heat conduction and a more open design, both of which help with brake cooling. On top of this they enabled endless design possibilities which can also help aerodynamics and the aesthetic aspect of vehicles. They are also stiffer and cope better with high speeds. This is also one of the reason why wire wheels are still used on enduro, adventure and trial bikes, as their increased flexibility is better at resisting deformation when ridden over rough terrain.
The final step in the strength and weight equation came in the form of carbon fiber wheels. The first ones come all the way from 1971 when Michelin made them for Citroen's SM rally car and later for road going SMs. America's first CF wheel was on the Dodge-Shelby CSX-VNT and the first single piece carbon fiber wheels came from Koenigsegg in 2013. Porsche offered the first braided carbon fiber wheels in 2017. Other than Porsche and Koenigsegg all other cars with CF wheels had them supplied by a company called Carbon Revolution.
What about the future? Well thanks to the compactness and their nearly endless design posiblites the wheels of the future may become the motors of the future, and already are in many markets in the form hub motors. But if hub motors aren't futuristic enough for you don't worry because hubless motors might become a thing too. Tires may be de-evolving back into their airless selves and increased competition may bring down the price of carbon wheels.
A special thank you to my patrons:
Daniel
Peter Della Flora
Daniel Morgan
William
Richard Caldwell
Pepe
Brian Durning
Brian Alvarez
Dave Westwood
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