Patent ID: 6938962

Claim:
A wheel comprising: a central hub; an outer rim including a spoke bed with at least one spoke hole therein; an outer wall connected to the spoke bed and located radially outboard of said spoke bed, and an internal cavity between said spoke bed and said outer wall adjacent said spoke hole; a plurality of spokes extending between the outer rim and central hub, wherein at least one spoke includes an enlarged portion which is one of (1) integral with said spoke, and (2) a separate element connected to said spoke, and a stem portion of reduced cross-section in comparison with the enlarged portion; a ferrule connected to at least one of said spokes and at least one of said outer rim and said central hub, said ferrule including a collar portion with an external surface which extends through the spoke hole, a central opening through the collar portion having an internal surface to accommodate a portion of the spoke; wherein, the stem portion extends through the central opening in the ferrule, the collar portion of the ferrule extends within the spoke hole, the spoke hole extends through the spoke bed and includes a radially inboard first end facing the central hub with an associated first edge and a radially outboard second end opposed to the first end with an associated second edge, the collar portion of the ferrule includes an outwardly extending portion that extends beyond the second end of the spoke hole, the outwardly extending portion of the ferrule includes an overlie engagement with the spoke hole to resist spoke tension forces, the enlarged portion of the spoke includes a transition portion between the enlarged portion and the stem portion, and the spoke hole is at least partially obscured by the outer wall in the radially outboard direction.