The wheel dates back to around 4000 B.C when artisans used them for spinning pottery. Later, the Mesopotamians took two discs, stuck one on each end of a hunk of wood and made the world's first axle.

Just like camshafts and the super-size-me option at your local burger stand, everybody defaults to "bigger is badder," and nothing abuses that statement more than fat tires and wheels. We'll look at ...