CarsThey hang from the rim and stay upright as it turns.
RimThe outer ring of the wheel, which carries the cars.
SpokesThey run from the hubs out to the rim.
TowersTwo supports, one each side, that hold up the axle.
PlatformThe deck at the bottom where riders board the lowest car.
Drive rimDrive wheels press on this ring to turn the whole wheel.
The middle, edge on 2
AxleThe shaft between the two towers' tops.
HubThe center of the wheel; the spokes are fixed to it.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Ferris wheel (passenger cars attached to the rim and kept upright by gravity; hub; the axle of the 1893 wheel), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel. (2) How Products Are Made, Ferris Wheel (outer rim, spokes, center axle, hubs at the tops of the two support towers, seats and cars, drive rims and the rubber drive wheels that press on them, the operator's platform), http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Ferris-Wheel.html. (3) Books read as full-text search passages on the Internet Archive: Norman Anderson, Ferris Wheels (1983) (towers, axle, cars), https://archive.org/details/ferriswheels00ande; Steve Rose, Eye: the story behind the London Eye (2007) (spokes, hub, rim), https://archive.org/details/eyestorybehindlo0000rose; The Essential Eye (2002) (hub, rim, boarding platform), https://archive.org/details/essentialeyelond0000unse; and a trade magazine for the drive rim, https://archive.org/details/inter-park-january-february-2024_20250522. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A Ferris wheel is an upright wheel that turns with passenger cars hanging from its rim. This drawing names six parts from the front and two more at the middle, seen edge on.
Read the full guide
From the front, then edge on
The wheel is built like a bicycle wheel: spokes run from the hub out to the rim. The cars hang from the rim, so their weight keeps them upright as the wheel turns. A smaller ring, the drive rim, is fixed to the spokes; rubber drive wheels press on it to turn the wheel. Edge on, the axle runs between the tops of the two towers, with a hub at each end.
Rim or drive rim? The rim is the outer ring with the cars; the drive rim is the smaller one inside.
Car, cabin, gondola, capsule and pod all name the same part.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a Ferris wheel called?
The rim, the spokes and the hub make the wheel, which turns on an axle held up by two towers. Cars hang from the rim. A drive rim turns the wheel, and riders board from a platform at the bottom.
What are the seats on a Ferris wheel called?
Cars, or passenger cars. They are also called cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules or pods, depending on the wheel.
What makes a Ferris wheel turn?
On a fairground wheel, electric motors turn rubber drive wheels that press against the drive rims, one on each side of the wheel. The drive rims are fixed to the spokes, so the whole wheel turns.
Why do Ferris wheel cars stay upright?
Each car hangs from the rim and is free to swing, so gravity keeps it upright as the wheel turns. Some of the largest wheels use electric motors to keep each car level.