Hexagonal Geodesic Domes

Wheel stability

Six spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

At first I thought that this six spoke wheel would be stable - but it turned out to have one degree of freedom.

Ten spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

I encountered the claim that [it takes 12 spokes to stabilise a bicycle wheel hub with respect to the rim - if it was required that the hub remain stable if one of the spokes broke].

I do not think this is accurate - several ten-spoke configurations seem to successfully perform this task - including the one pictured above.

That wheel has symmetrical sides. Each side has three radial spokes

At least it's nice to see someone finally publicly admitting that a wheel with less than twelve spokes (i.e. a twelve spoke configuration with one broken spoke) can still be stable.

Seven spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

A stable seven spoke wheel. This one is nice because it is relatively easy to understand why it is stable.

Seven spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

Another stable seven spoke wheel. This is the first one I came up with which I was at all happy with.

Seven spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

This seven spoke wheel may be stable - but I couldn't find a way to prove it.

It has only one spoke on one side. It was based on a known-stable configuration.

Seven spoke wheel

Close up of where the spokes meet the hub

This design was based on the six spoke wheel at the top. It does not convincingly exhibit stability.