Axle

Axle

An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside the hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type is referred to as a spindle.

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Famous quotes containing the word axle:

    “The Star that bids the Shepherd fold,
    Now the top of Heav’n doth hold,
    And the gilded Car of Day,
    His glowing Axle doth allay
    In the steep Atlantick stream,”
    —John Milton (1608–1674)