Low and high spoke-count wheel

http://i10.tinypic.com/4qdcq6x.jpg

Ten main spokes radiate from the hub flanges, five on each side.

Each main spoke then radiates into a roughly 135-degree fan of nine
spokes to reach the gigantic rim, requiring five different lengths for
a full 9-spoke fan (spokecalc would go crazy).

So the wheel has either 10 spokes or 90. Or 100.

You can see two nine-spoke fans above the rider's head.

Here are two more versions of the same picture:

http://users.edpnet.be/drieww/Oude%20Fotos%20New%20Iron%20Horse.htm

http://www.imageenvision.com/photo/0003-0702-1421-0815.html

And here's a lady in the same contraption, with what looks like the
same buildings in the background:

http://www.elektrischkite.com/Bicycle/Womens/Assets/oldreive_trike.gif

She appeared in Eugene Sloan's "Complete Book of Bicycling," which is
to blame for this thread.

Presumably the advantage of this spoke design was that the high-count
nine-spoke fans supported the huge wheel better at the rim, while the
low-count five main spokes on either side left gaps large enough for
the rider to get in and out.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel