The early Ford Model T’s wheel spokes were made from wood.
Model Ts used wooden artillery wheels, a traditional construction carried over from horse-drawn vehicles and early automobiles. Wooden spokes worked mainly in compression: the hub, spokes, wooden rim sections, and outer metal tire formed a strong wheel without requiring the tensioned wire spokes familiar from bicycles.
This design suited the roads and manufacturing methods of the period. Wooden wheels could absorb shocks from dirt roads and ruts, and they were relatively straightforward to repair or replace. The Model T’s suspension also used transverse semi-elliptical leaf springs, giving the car considerable wheel movement over uneven ground.
The word “early” is important. Ford later offered steel welded-spoke wheels, particularly in 1926 and 1927. Therefore, “wood” is the canonical answer for the early and traditional Model T wheel design, but it does not mean every Model T built during the entire production run had wooden spokes. Tires were separate components, usually pneumatic clincher tires fitted around the wheel’s outer rim.