How do spokes work on a bicycle

So the purpose of the spokes is that they allow stiffness in the wheel making the wheel more efficient when spinning. What some cyclists fail to realize is that all the weight of a bicycle with its rider is concentrated on the hub. There is science behind this madness and I encourage you to read on to find out for yourself what purpose wheel spokes serve. My goal is to explain this purpose, with all its complexity, in the simplest form. Remember as a kid, we used wheel decorations like cans and tennis balls in-between our spokes?

Or the time we attached playing cards to the spokes so it would sound like a motorcycle? In fact, if you remove part of the spokes from a bicycle, the downward force on the wheel will cause it to collapse.

The spokes of a wheel under tension brace the rim so when pedaling and breaking, the wheel can withstand the force. For example, in the early days, chariots and wagons were built on wheels with spokes made of wood to be strong enough to support the vehicle.

These wooden wheels and spokes became too heavy and required a lot of force and power to move them efficiently. As spokes evolved over time with different materials, they were formed in such a way that not only weighed much lighter but even performed as strong as one solid wheel.

Excluding brakes and reflectors that are on wheels, there are really only a few basic things that make up a wheel:. The two most common metals used to create spokes on a bicycle wheel are aluminum and steel. Although some higher-end spokes have been made of carbon fiber materials. Most bicycle wheel spokes are made of steel.

The benefits of having a spoke made of steel are due to the strength, lightweight, and ability to withstand the force that it burdens. Steel spokes are easily threaded to fit the nipples that attach to a bicycle rim and can handle a lot of tension without being stripped. The forms that steel spokes can come in are stainless steel and regular steel. They are sometimes bladed, oval, or butted — for example, this is similar to how a flat head screwdriver is round one side and butted or flattened at the tip.

Spokes made of aluminum are one-third less dense than steel spokes and that goes for the stiffness too. They are thicker than steel spokes and require more space in the seating of a rim which makes wheels weaker and less stiff. Also threading an aluminum spoke is not easy as it does not hold up well. One way to tell the difference between a steel and aluminum spoke is to place a refrigerator magnet against them and look at them very closely. Steel spokes will have some surface finish on them, aluminum spokes will have somewhat of a dull gray look to them.

If you are going to decide which spokes you want on your wheel, go with the steel spokes on an aluminum rim as it will be stronger and stiff enough to handle the tension being placed on them over the long run. A radial or 0-cross pattern means the spokes go straight from the hub to the rim, like the radius of a circle.

But enough science, what if you want to get weird? As it turns out, the only real limits to what you can do spoke-wise are your budget, patience, and imagination. After all, the best bike is the one you ride — and the bike you ride is the one you love. Create your Pure Cycles account to receive promotional news and access to a faster checkout process.

If you've already registered with us, sign in here. Radial Racers who are really looking to shave weight and maximize performance, will usually rock a radially laced wheel up front. Wacky But enough science, what if you want to get weird? Go nuts, we'll see you out there! They're quiet and out of the way, and it's pretty much a thankless job. No one ever notices them when everything is working well, but without proper setup and operation, all sorts of trouble will break lose.

The spokes on your bike may look like little more than metal toothpicks that fill space between the axle and wheel but, really, these mighty little dudes have some important jobs:. How do the spokes accomplish these terrific and heroic feats?

First, spokes don't push outward, holding the rim at bay, like it might seem. Rather, the rim is evenly pulled inward by the spokes, which are laced through the hub, the center part of the wheel that rotates around the axle. Tension between the hub and rim is applied evenly in all directions, making the assembly extraordinarily strong and also somewhat flexible and resistant to shock. This uniformly applied tension is what supports your weight on the wheels.

The other key role of the spokes is transferring the power from your legs to the rim to make the bike go. Enormous force gets applied to the hub of a rear wheel by the chain and gearing when you pedal down hard, and together the spokes carry the power that has gone from your legs to the chain then out to the wheel. This force driving the bike forward is distributed among many spokes so that there is not too much stress on any single spoke.

Starting at the hub in the center of the wheel, spokes radiate outward to the rim, where they attach to nipples , which are like little nuts that screw onto the spoke ends. Turning the nipple increases or decreases the tension of the spoke and also pulls the rim slightly to the left or right.

Wheel builders and bike mechanics must balance this tension so that the rim is perfectly flat , or "true.