Can a road wheel be made strong enough to only have 1 spoke

[oobster]

Lying in bed this morning, suffering from the dreaded Man Flu, some pretty far-out thoughts running through my head; One of which was:

Is it possible to manufacture a road wheel (or 'alloy') that is strong enough to only need one spoke, but is made so that it isn't so heavy the engine/transmission will struggle to turn it?

[ludicrous speed]

There will be some balancing issues with that, it's likely to be possible but far from an ideal solution.

[kambites]

Well a solid wheel sort of only has one spoke.

It's a completely different problem to producing a wheel with multiple spokes because if you have multiple spokes, they only have to be very strong in either tension or compression, not both and certainly not under heavy lateral load. Having said that I'm sure it's possible (carbon nanotubes are mind-bendingly strong) but the cost would be ridiculous.

[ewenm]

Been done I think (Google Images is your friend, but not mine here at work).

[anonymous-user]

The wheel doesn't spin on this one, just the hub. Can't see anything for a car though.

[S1_RS]

MSTRBKR said:

The wheel doesn't spin on this one, just the hub. Can't see anything for a car though.

Eh?

[kambites]

You can have no spokes, if you like:

[anonymous-user]

S1_RS said:

Eh?

I'm pretty sure only the tyre and rim spins around inside of the stationary "wheel". Hub wasn't the correct word, it's a hubless wheel

So technically not a one spoke wheel but I can't see it working due to balance and strength, but mostly balance.

[CraigyMc]

MSTRBKR said:

The wheel doesn't spin on this one, just the hub. Can't see anything for a car though.

I call BS.
If that were really true, what is the point of the fork?
Why have a spoke at all?

Aha - video to prove your statement is BS http://vimeo.com/1021081

C

[anonymous-user]

CraigyMc said:

I call BS.
If that were really true, what is the point of the fork?
Why have a spoke at all?

Aha - video to prove your statement is BS http://vimeo.com/1021081

C

Was only a guess, jesus! RELEASE THE HOUNDS

That video is rather cool though.

[JR]

MSTRBKR said:

but I can't see it working due to balance and strength, but mostly balance.

Depends how you look at it: for a similar weight strength would be a problem, for an increased weight then no problem. Balance would not be a significant problem. Given the increasing weight of wheels these days I would have thought that someone has produced one: a 14" or 15" one spoke would probably be no heavier than a 20".

[CraigyMc]

MSTRBKR said:

CraigyMc said:

I call BS.
If that were really true, what is the point of the fork?
Why have a spoke at all?

Aha - video to prove your statement is BS http://vimeo.com/1021081

C

Was only a guess, jesus! RELEASE THE HOUNDS

That video is rather cool though.

Glad you took that the way it was intended