History Main / SpikedWheels

Website/TheOtherWiki's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythed_chariot article on this here.]]

* The earliest Irish legends assert that the great hero [[Characters/CelticMythology CuChullain]] went into battle in a chariot liberally fitted out with hooks, blades and spikes on every applicable surface (including hubcaps) so as to better rend his foes. Romantically-minded Victorian historians read this as recorded fact, and leapt to the conclusion that ''all'' Celtic heroes - and heroines - had scythes on their hubcaps. As Boudicca was a Celt, therefore... Boudicca therefore got her spiked wheels by default from the Irish legend, and all later historians took their cue from this flight of imagination. This really isn't helped by [[http://www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/thornycroftt/boadicea1.jpg the 1850 statue of the great queen]] - in her spiked chariot - which stands prominently on Victoria Embankment in London.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* Creator/LeonardoDaVinci [[http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/doing-davinci-scythe-chariot.html liked to take things to the point where they really weren't the same trope anymore.]]
* Boudicca never actually used these as British charioteers actually played the part of 'battle taxi' for a (noble) warrior, transporting him into the fray and providing a means of escape if it went badly. Eastern forces ''did'' use scythed chariots as a shock weapon but they became rapidly obsolete as the professional armies of Macedon and then Rome produced countermeasures.
** The earliest Irish legends assert that the great hero [[Characters/CelticMythology CuChullain]] went into battle in a chariot liberally fitted out with hooks, blades and spikes on every applicable surface (including hubcaps) so as to better rend his foes. Romantically-minded Victorian historians read this as recorded fact, and leapt to the conclusion that ''all'' Celtic heroes - and heroines - had scythes on their hubcaps. As Boudicca was a Celt, therefore... Boudicca therefore got her spiked wheels by default from the Irish legend, and all later historians took their cue from this flight of imagination. This really isn't helped by [[http://www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/thornycroftt/boadicea1.jpg the 1850 statue of the great queen]] - in her spiked chariot - which stands prominently on Victoria Embankment in London.
** Chariots were arguably on their way out from the moment horses that could carry a rider were available. A charioteer has to control a whole team and killing or wounding even one horse will drag the rest down with it. All chariots need a driver as well as a warrior whereas it is possible for a cavalryman to control a single horse with leg pressure and reins while wielding weapons; thus cavalry effectively doubles the amount of firepower(or bowpower, or swordpower) available. Not to mention it is easier to reach a target without all that complexity of horses, harnesses, and the chariot itself in the way. Chariots could be blocked by terrain much more easily than cavalry- woods, rocky terrain, or slopes could stop chariots cold. Perhaps most importantly chariots need a industrial base whereas horses can depend solely on what a pastoral society can provide. This allowed HordesFromTheEast to get in on the fun of mass homicide in a big way where they were limited in the time of chariots. By the time UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat met the Persians chariots were perhaps among the sentimental anachronisms that appear on battlefields from time to time.
* Knock-off wheels have been illegal as factory equipment on new cars in the US since 1968 because while this isn't their purpose (they're made to be unbolted by unscrewing the central wingnut rather than undoing the usual 4 or 5 lug nuts), they can have that effect.
* The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' forbid disc brakes for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross cyclo-cross racing]] until 2010 for the fear of this trope in case of a crash.
[[/folder]]

Wiki/TheOtherWiki's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythed_chariot article on this here.]]

* One of the best examples would be the ChariotRace in 1959's ''Literature/BenHur''. This is also the TropeCodifier; the original novel doesn't mention any spikes, [[MoralDissonance and it's Ben-Hur who cheats to get Messala to crash]].

* Bommer (Greiger in the dub) of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' has the trap card [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chariot_Pile Chariot Pile]] with art work featuring a bike with SpikedWheels. When activated during a Riding Duel, actual spiked wheels appeared on his own D-Wheel. [[spoiler:As it turned out, his D-Wheel had this accessory for real, and in his attempt to assassinate Rex Godwin, Rex was forced to ''catch'' the spiked blade to save himself, revealing his metal prosthetic arm, providing the first clue to his past.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird 3]]'' you can buy them for your cars. The spikes pop out when you pick up a bit of speed. Unfortunately, they don't collide with pedestrians, only vehicles.
** Though in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow4'', they do work on pedestrians. Very effectively. They're even called Kneecappers.

* One of the best examples would be the ChariotRace in ''Film/BenHur1959''. This is also the Trope Codifier; the [[Literature/BenHur original novel]] doesn't mention any spikes, [[MoralDissonance and it's Ben-Hur who cheats to get Messala to crash]].

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' ran into such a car (using FrickinLaserBeams to evade the police), and Film/JamesBond is explicitly referenced.

* ''Series/((CSINY}}'' ran into such a car (using FrickinLaserBeams to evade the police), and Film/JamesBond is explicitly referenced.

** In ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'', [[BarbarianHero Mad Hamish]] (of the [[OldSoldier Silver]] [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Horde]]) has blades mounted on his [[SuperWheelChair wheelchair]].
** In ''Discworld/LordsAndLadies'', the chariot that supposedly belonged to Queen Ynci the Short-Tempered of Lancre has spikes and knives all over it, including "wheels you could shave with", since she's the Discworld's counterpart to Boudicca. [[spoiler: Of course, Queen Ynci never existed and the chariot was made out of a tin bath by Nanny Ogg's grandad, but still.]]

* Some enemies, called Switchblades, in ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' can use these to help force your car off the road. The best way to deal with these nuisances is to use oil slicks.

* ''Series/CSINewYork'' ran into such a car (using FrickinLaserBeams to evade the police), and Film/JamesBond is explicitly referenced.

** In ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', 007's Aston Martin DB5 has retractable barbed spikes from the center of its wheels that can destroy the tires of nearby cars. He uses it to immobilize Tilly Masterson's car.

** 007 had a car that popped retractable barbed spikes from the center of his wheels that destroyed enemy tires, originally mounted on the Aston Martin in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}''.

** In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', Bond uses a laser in the same spot.

** Bond had a car that popped retractable barbed spikes from the center of his wheels that destroyed enemy tires, ''originally'' used on the Aston Martin in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}''.
** In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMqP7v0uSFU Bond used]] FrickinLaserBeams instead.

** In ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'', [[BarbarianHero Mad Hamish]] (of the [[BadassGrandpa Silver]] [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Horde]]) has blades mounted on his [[SuperWheelChair wheelchair]].

* Some enemies in ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' can use these to help force your car off the road.

You're catching up the other guy's vehicle with your CoolCar, but he won't let that happen since he's a {{Mook}} or doesn't want to lose the [[WackyRacing Wacky Race]]. So, he's going to smash his car against yours. Not content with simply trying to run you off the road or [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope shove you off the cliff face]], he's going for maximum damage. He's placed [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]] on his wheels that now act as a cross between a [[ThisIsADrill drill]] and a {{chainsaw|Good}}, and will [[PopTheTires tear your unprotected tires]] to shreds on contact. A must have for [[ChariotRace Roman chariots]].

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* In ''Comicbook/{{Asterix}} and the Black Gold'', Roman secret agent Dubbleosix's tricked out chariot has retractable scythe blades, in a direct parody of ''Goldfinger''.

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

* Hero example: This is one of Arcee's gadgets in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie''. She uses it on the Junkion carrying (in motorcycle mode) another Junkion who is trying to hit her with an axe.

* A particularly evil-looking device with many flanges and spikes figured into the climactic drag race in ''Film/{{Grease}}''. "The rules are: There are no rules!" The heroes' car had a major chunk taken out of the chassis, but their tires survived and the bad guy spun out and lost anyway.

* The Invisible Car from ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' has these.

* Taken to an extreme in the ''Film/SpeedRacer'' movie, where, well [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifF3VGOuVjg 1:57]].