Triangular curved spokes!
They're sort of curvy pie-slices, with a curved "spoke" running from
hub to rim, then along the rim, and then a curved "spoke" running back
from the rim to the hub.
Look carefully at the junction of rim and "spoke":
http://i18.tinypic.com/4vmxzwz.jpg
Each curved "spoke" touches the curved "spoke" of another triangular
unit, and every surface is brazed to every other surface. This
wall-to-wall brazing probably leaves no lingering questions about
stress-relief.
According to the inventor, George S. Long, the spokes are "nicely made
and bent pieces of steel, which perform important functions. . . . I
have shown the arms as curved. This may be of advantage in giving
elasticity. . . . Unlike the wheels in common use with wire arms,
every part is capable of serving both to resist a thrusting and a
tensile force."
http://i17.tinypic.com/6f7s9cm.jpg
But, hey, let's not be dogmatic: "I do not consider . . . these
features essential to the success or partial success of the invention.
I can make a good wheel with straight arms extending directly radial."
http://i10.tinypic.com/4q4h2lh.jpg
And by George, he can! The small rear wheel is shown as the same
pie-slice design, but without the curviness.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel