A front wheel steering mechanism in a center hub steering system. The mechanism comprising an inner wheel hub, an outer wheel hub, paired rolling bearings positioned between these inner and outer wheel hubs, a front shaft, a hub steering bracket attached to outside of the front shaft, and a hub steering shaft. The inner wheel hub is attached to the hub steering bracket so as to freely rotate about the hub steering shaft as an axial center. The outer wheel hub is configured of a left outer wheel hub and a right outer wheel hub. These left and right outer wheel hubs are rigidly coupled or are coupled via a plurality of wire spokes to a rim.

A non-pneumatic tire having a block type reinforcement configuration includes: a tread unit that forms an outer portion of the tire and comes in contact with a road surface; a wheel unit that is connected to an axle; a spoke unit that is formed between the tread unit and the wheel unit; and a block type reinforcement unit that includes a block formed inside the tread unit in the circumferential direction of the tread unit, and a plurality of reinforcing members formed in the block to correspond to the shape of the block.

A hub and a wheel having such a hub are provided. The hub includes a hub shell and an axle to rotatably receive the hub shell. The hub shell is provided with circumferential hub flanges serving for accommodation and defined orientation of a plurality of spokes. Each of the spokes has a spoke body and a spoke head. The hub flanges include a plurality of accommodation sections receiving a spoke head each. Each of the accommodation sections has one spoke feed-through assigned to it through which an accommodated spoke can be guided out of the accommodation section. The hub flange includes two different types of accommodation sections. A first type includes a circumferentially closed spoke feed-through and a second type, a circumferentially opened spoke feed-through.

A tubeless spoked wheel including a rim and a hub connected with wire spokes includes a rim that has no through-hole and is narrow in the vehicle width direction. A plurality of internal threads are aligned circumferentially in an annular raised portion arranged along the centerline of a rim. A connecting member that is hollow and has an external thread on its outer periphery is screwed into each internal thread. Each connecting member is pre-engaged with a distal end of a spoke in a rotatable manner. Each spoke bends at a position outward from the connecting member, tilts toward a hub, and has its basal end connected to a right or left flange of the hub with a nipple. The spokes are connected to the annular raised portion to narrow the rim in the vehicle width direction. The spokes are rotatably supported on the connecting members.

A spoke for an at least partially muscle-powered bicycle and wheel including a spoke where the spoke comprises a spoke body with a hub-side, first end and a rim-side, second end and the first end and the second end are remote from one another. The spoke body is elongated and includes at least one first center region disposed closer to the first end than to the second end, and at least one second center region disposed closer to the second end than to the first end. The first center region and in the second center region of the spoke body each include flattened cross-sections substantially accommodated in a longitudinal plane. In the second center region the spoke body is configured more asymmetric than in the first center region.

A wheel with high strength flexible spokes of the present invention, including a rim and hub, and spokes between the rim and hub made of fibrous material that causes the spokes to be both lighter in weight and stronger than comparable steel spokes. The spokes are also flexible and resilient such that they can bend while retaining their integrity and strength. The wheel includes a nipple within the rim that receives the high strength spoke and allows for flexibility in adapting the spoke to wheels having differing shapes and sizes.

The use of power-efficient transmitters to establish acoustic wave energy having low undesirable harmonics is achieved by adjusting the transmitter output waveform to minimize the undesirable harmonics. In one embodiment, both the timing and slope of the waveform edges are adjusted to produce the desired output waveform having little or no second harmonics. In the embodiment, output waveform timing adjustments on the order of fractions of the system clock interval are provided. This then allows for very fine control of a coarsely produced waveform. In one embodiment, the user can select the fine tuning to match the transmitter output signal to a particular load transducer.

A bicycle spoke has a spoke body having two remote ends, a rim end, and a hub end. The elongated body includes a longitudinally flattened cross-section. The body includes a first end portion thickness at the hub end transverse to a longitudinal plane. The body includes a second end portion thickness at the rim-side end transverse to the longitudinal plane. The body includes in a first center region disposed closer to the first end portion than to the second end portion, a first center region thickness transverse to the longitudinal plane that is less than the first end portion thickness. In a second center region disposed closer to the second end portion than to the first end portion, the body has the flattened cross-section wherein the second center region includes a second center region thickness transverse to the longitudinal plane that is less than the first center region thickness.

A process for manufacturing a spoked bicycle wheel, comprising the steps of providing a rim element having a spoke attachment chamber; providing a spoke attachment assembly for coupling to a respective spoke, inserting the spoke attachment assembly through an opening of the spoke attachment chamber along an insertion direction that is inclined with respect to the rim element and moving the spoke attachment assembly along the insertion direction until a stem of the spoke attachment assembly is at the surface of the spoke attachment chamber; moving the spoke attachment assembly along the surface of the spoke attachment chamber towards a spoke attachment seats; inserting the stem in the spoke attachment seat; and, constraining the spoke attachment assembly in the spoke attachment seat. The steps are repeated to couple a respective spoke attachment assembly to each of the plurality of spoke attachment seats. The invention also relates to a spoked bicycle wheel produced by the above process.

A vehicle wheel including a rim, a hub, and a plurality of spokes extending with a span portion between the rim hub. The rim and/or hub constitutes a bracing element. A connecting element is connected to the bracing element and includes an external surface, an internal cavity. A spoke has a longitudinal axis and an external spoke surface that that overlaps the internal cavity in an overlap region, and a pre-formed lateral spoke surface. The connecting element is crimped to create a crimped joinder with the spoke such that the connector surface is pressed and plastically deformed to displace the internal cavity toward the spoke surface in the overlap region to cause a lateral connector surface to laterally overlap the lateral spoke surface to create an overlie engagement and/or to increase a lateral overlap between a lateral connector surface and the lateral spoke surface in an overlie engagement. The overlie engagement supports spoke tensile load.