Editing Wheel (section)

=== Spokes ===
{{main|spoke}}
[[File:Wheel Iran.jpg|thumb|A spoked wheel on display at The [[National Museum of Iran]], in [[Tehran]]. The wheel is dated to the late 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE and was excavated at [[Choqa Zanbil]].|left]]

A ''spoke'' is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the [[Bicycle hub|hub]] where the [[axle]] connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface. The term originally referred to portions of a log which had been 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. Eventually, the term spoke was more commonly applied to the finished product of the [[wheelwright]]'s work, than to the materials used.

====Wire====
{{main|wire wheel}}
The [[Rim (wheel)|rims]] of ''wire wheels'' (or "wire spoked wheels") are connected to their hubs by wire [[spoke]]s. Although these [[wire]]s are generally stiffer than a typical [[wire rope]], they function mechanically the same as [[tension (physics)|tensioned]] flexible wires, keeping the rim true while supporting applied loads.

Wire wheels are used on most [[bicycle]]s and still used on many [[motorcycles]]. They were invented by aeronautical engineer [[George Cayley]] and first used in bicycles by [[James Starley]]. A process of assembling wire wheels is described as [[wheelbuilding]].