From the very early designs used for pottery purposes to the most advanced contraptions known to mankind, the wheel has been continuously driving our civilization like a catalyst in a chemical reaction. We thought it would be a good idea to take a stroll through the many stages of the wheel evolution and see where it's heading now.

It took another 1,500 years before our ancestors thought of the next step in wheel evolution, the spoke. The need for faster transportation and the idea of using less material stemmed this technological breakthrough. The Egyptiansimplementation of a spoked are credited with the first wheel on their model year 2000 BC chariots. They narrowed it by carving both sides to shape, but it was the Greeks that first introduced the cross-bar, or H-type, wheel.

The first iron rims around the wheel were seen on Celtic chariots in 1000 BC. The spoked wheel remained pretty much the same until 1802, when G.F. Bauer registered a patent for the first wire tension spoke. This wire spoke consisted of a length of wire threaded through the rim of the wheel and secured at both ends to the hub. Over the next few years, this wire spoke evolved into the round tension spoke we see on bicycles today. Another major invention that came about the same with the wire tension spoke was the pneumatic tire, which was first patented in 1845 by R.W. Thompson. His idea was further improved in 1888 by John Dunlop, a Scottish veterinarian, who also patented it. Thanks to the smooth ride, Dunlop's tire replaced the hard rubber used by all bicycles at that time.

It's fair to start talking about automobile wheels starting with Karl Benz's 1885 Benz Patent Motorwagen. The three-wheel vehicle used bicycle-like wire wheels, which were fitted with hard rubber. Speaking of rubber, the first people who thought about using it for automobile purposes were André and Edouard Michelin, who later founded the famous tire company. In 1910, the B.F. Goodrich Company invented longer life tires by adding carbon to the rubber.

Overseas, Ford's Model T used wooden artillery wheels, which were followed in 1926 and 1927 by steel welded-spoke wheels. Unlike Karl Benz's first vehicle, the car that "put America on wheels" had pneumatic tires invented by Mr. Dunlop. There was, however, a big difference between those tires and the ones we used today. Made of white carbonless rubber, the tire had a life expectancy of around 2000 miles. A tire only lasted for around 30 or 40 miles before it needed repairs. Common problems included: the tire coming off the wheel, punctures and the tube being pinched.

Paradoxically, the next step in wheel evolution was the disc one, which bears more resemblance to the initial solid designs. As with many other things in our history, the change was prompted by lower costs as the steel disc wheels were cheaper to make. The rim could be rolled out of a straight strip of metal, and the disc itself could be stamped from sheet metal in one easy motion. The two components were welded or riveted together, and the resulting wheel was one that was relatively light, stiff, resistant to damage, easily produced in mass quantities, and most important, cheaply produced.

Future of the Wheel

As the traditional wheel design is close to exhausting any possible development, companies are looking at more and more exotic prototypes to replace it. Among these, Michelin is probably the most active in the field of research with two recent innovative concepts, the Tweel and the Active Wheel System.

Announced in 2006, the Tweel returns to the first designs by using a non-pneumatic solution instead of the traditional tire and wheel combination. The rolling surface consists of a rubber tread, which is bonded to the hub via flexible spokes. The flexible spokes are fused with a deformable wheel that absorbs shocks and rebounds. Michelin claims that even without the air needed in conventional tires, the Tweel still delivers pneumatic-like load-carrying capacity, ride comfort and resistance to road hazards.
Active Wheel System⌕ Active Wheel SystemThough it offers many advantages, the Tweel is marred by a big problem: vibration at speeds over 50 mph (80 km/h), which only makes suitable for construction and personal mobility vehicles.

The concept is probably the most revolutionary of them all as it incorporates all of the car's key components into the wheel itself. While only suitable for electric cars, the Active Wheel System houses the engine, the suspension, the gearbox and the transmission shaft.

types of wheels:
2 Crave Wheels
2 Crave Off-Road Wheels Akuza Wheels American Racing Wheels
these are some types of wheels but there are a lot more types.