††††By about 2000 BC, wheels with wooden spokes had been developed, either in Mesopotamia or Turkey. By 1500 BC, the Egyptians were building light four-spoked chariot wheels.
It was not until the 16th century that any major change in the design of wheels took place. That was to build dished wheels with the spokes arranged in a flattened cone. This design allowed the top of the wheels to be angled outward, although the hub remained directly above the rim. In this way a cart could be made wider but still fit on a narrow track.
The design remained much as before until the invention of the wire wheel. This was made for the bicycle in the 1870s. The pneumatic tyre was introduced in the late 1880s.
Early cars had wooden spoked wheels, wire wheels or artillery wheels. These latter were one-piece cast-iron copies of wooden wheels. The pressed-steel wheel replaced them in the 1930s. It was lighter, stronger and cheaper to make.
Nowadays, wheels can be made of steel, light aluminium or magnesium alloy, or plastic. It depends on the job which the wheel has to do.
