Wheelset Summary
A bike wheel consists of a hub, spokes and a rim. A pair of wheels is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of already built, "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels.

Bicycle wheels fit into the frame and fork via dropouts.

The first bicycle wheels followed the traditions of carriage building by using a wooden hub with a fixed steel axle (for which the plain bearings were located in the fork ends), wooden spokes, and a shrink fitted iron tire. A typical modern wheel has a metal hub, wire tension spokes and a metal rim that locates a pneumatic tire.

Like many other integral computer parts, compatibility issues abound. For MTB bikes, be sure to get wheels that are the right size (26" or 29"), that are compatible with the type of brakes you want (rim brakes or disc brakes), and that use the type of tire you want to run (clincher or tubeless). Road bikes are less complicated with only their main issue being the tire type (tubular or clincher).
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