​Nitto Ridge Grappler Tires and the Wheel

You just bought a set of Nitto Ridge Grappler tires to install on your Moto Metal wheels. And just in the nick of time as winter is just around the corner. As you stand there, staring at your truck in all of its beauty and awesomeness, you reflect on the wheel and wonder what a rich history it must have. You then seriously consider doing a little research into the history of the wheel to satisfy your curiosity and perhaps even writing up a little paper about the wheel so you can hold an interesting discussion about it with your kids this coming Saturday night.

We are totally kidding, of course. You couldn’t care less about the history of the wheel, you have no desire to read anything but what people post on Instagram and you hope to send the kids off to your parents on Saturday night so you can hang out with your buddies.

Luckily, we know that there are some people out there who are not only fans of really nice truck wheels and truck tires, but are also interested in history. So for you, here is a condensed history of the wheel.

Humble Beginnings

Most researchers agree that around 3500 BC is the time period in which the wheel was invented. This is more or less just a ballpark figure. Mesopotamia is the place where the wheel was invented.

The very first wheels weren’t used for transportation purposes, they were used for pottery purposes as a great way to make that perfect pot for the family. It wasn’t utilized for transportations purposes until around 3200 BC. Again, just a ballpark date.

Spokes

The Egyptians are believed to be the first to use the spoked wheel on their chariots. This would be around the year 2000 BC. The Greeks would expand on this technology and develop the H-type wheel.

The first iron rims were found on Celtic chariots around 1000 BC. These crude, spoked wheels remained relatively the same in this 19th century when the wire tension spoke was introduced. The wire spoke is what you see most commonly on bikes today.

It is about this same time in history when the pneumatic tire was invented. Thanks to its smooth ride, it would soon replace the hard rubber tires used on bicycles at the time.

Automobile Wheels

Early automobiles used wooden wheels, followed by steel welded-spoke wheels. The tires, however, were much different than the ones used today. Back in the day, tires had a life expectancy of around 2000 miles and needed to be repaired every 30 or 40 miles due to problems like the tube being pinched, the tire coming off the wheel and punctures.

The Future of the Wheel

The Tweel is an airless design concept from Michelin with one significant advantage over traditional tires; since it has no air bladder, it cannot go flat, leak or in anyway go flat.

However, the Tweel is still in development and it could be years until you see a set of these on a vehicle.