The terms wheel and rim are heard together. The wheel and rim both play essential roles when it comes to a tire and is beneficial for the overall movement of any type of vehicle.
These help to provide movement when combined together. It is important to know that both these play different roles in providing support to a tire or any other object.
Key Takeaways
- A wheel is a circular component that rotates around an axle and is used for transportation, while a rim is the wheel’s outer edge that holds the tire in place.
- Wheels are available in different sizes and are made of various materials, whereas rims are mostly made of aluminum alloy or steel.
- The weight of a wheel is an important factor while designing it, while the thickness of the rim is an important factor while manufacturing it.
Wheel vs Rim
The difference between a wheel and a rim is that a wheel is a circled object helping to shift things and well-living beings from one location to another, whereas a rim becomes an exterior part of a round object. This object is particularly circular in shape or has a curvy shape to it. Taking reference to a tire, the wheel is in charge of keeping the rubber tube in the shape which eventually forms the tire. Whereas the rim is an exterior section of the wheel that keeps the rubber-like tube joined to the metal wheel.
The wheel makes our life on the ground very convenient. Transportation on land has been only possible due to the wheel invention.
Further, the invention of the wheel helped people to think of the tire. These tires are used in vehicles making travel and carrying goods very easier.
Rim refers to the exterior edge of anything circle. It is mostly used in reference to circular objects or spherical surfaces.
A rim hence forms a part of the wheel as well; it helps to join the wheel to the non-shaped tire. A rim in an outer bulged-out area can easily observe when seen carefully on a tire.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Wheel | Rim |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is an object. | It forms part of an object. |
| Use | It helps to move objects around. | It keeps the wheel and the rubber tube of the tire intact. |
| Area Occupied | It occupies a greater area than that of a rim. | It occupies a small area of the abject as it is present on its outer side. |
| Part of | It is a necessary and important part of bicycles, motorbikes, and cars in general. | Almost every circular or curvy object has a rim present to it. |
| Responsibility | It gives the tire tube the shape it needs. | It keeps the tire tube and the wheel intact to each other. |
What is Wheel?
A wheel is a circle-structured body made up of metal or any other material that aids in the movement of another. Anything that is shaped circularly and helps in movement can be referred to as a wheel.
It is considered to be a very thoughtful invention, as the transportation of people or objects would not be possible without wheels.
A wheel has an axel which helps it in the movement. We commonly see wheels in bicycles and motorbikes. Transporting objects has reduced human efforts to a large extent, and this has been possible due to the invention of the wheel.
The history of the invention of the wheel began at the time when early people joined axel in solid wood rolls in order to make their transportation effortless.
Further, the wheels were carved into lighter forms which led to the invention of wheels that we use now.
In earlier times, wheels were used in carts and chariots to transfer things from one place to another. The phase of industrialization changed these wooden wheels to solid metal ones.
A wheel being part of a tire is a necessity when it comes to the strength of the tire. A tire has a non-sturdy rubber tube that gains its shape with the help of a wheel.
A wheel is the one that makes the tire able to balance a large body and support its weight. Overall a wheel is an essential system and part of a tire.
What is Rim?
A rim is an exterior part of any kind of circular object. It is not an entire object in itself but just forms a part of other round bodies.
In a tire, the rim is responsible for keeping the wheel and the rubber tube joined to one another.
It also helps the tire not lose its shape when force is applied to it. This stops the tire from inflating and pushing down. The rim is hence a small part of the tire, but it plays a great role.
A rim is hard metal as it has to play an important role in keeping the parts of a tire intact. The term rim can also be used in reference to other objects such as a cup, a bottle, a hat, a ring, or a bowl.
We hear people referring to the color of the rim or the quality of the rim. The rim of a cup is where we touch our lips in order to drink.
Basically, a rim is part of any spherical object that we see the very first when seen from a top angle.
Main Differences Between Wheel and Rim
- A Wheel is an object in itself, whereas a rim is part of any spherical or circular-shaped object.
- A wheel helps in moving objects from one place to another, whereas a rim keeps two objects intact in one.
- A rim occupies a smaller area in general than compared to the entire wheel.
- A wheel is a part of bicycles, motorbikes, and cars, whereas every circular object, in general, has a rim.
- A wheel gives the tire a shape, whereas the rim keeps the wheel and rubber tube intact.
Last Updated : 15 August, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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