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The presently claimed invention relates to a road wheel comprising a mounting disc, a dish-shaped transitional wall having an outer edge, a rim with an annular cylindrical wall attached along a first rim edge to the outer edge of the transitional wall, and a stiffening flange attached to the rim alo

The presently claimed invention relates to a road wheel comprising a mounting disc, a dish-shaped transitional wall having an outer edge, a rim with an annular cylindrical wall attached along a first rim edge to the outer edge of the transitional wall, and a stiffening flange attached to the rim along a second rim edge opposite the first rim edge wherein the flange provides radial support to the second rim edge of the cylindrical wall to resist deflection.

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1. A road wheel comprising: a mounting disc;a dish-shaped transitional wall;a rim with an annular cylindrical wall attached along a first rim edge to an edge of the transitional wall; anda stiffening flange extending from the annular cylindrical wall of the rim along a second rim edge opposite the f

1. A road wheel comprising: a mounting disc;a dish-shaped transitional wall;a rim with an annular cylindrical wall attached along a first rim edge to an edge of the transitional wall; anda stiffening flange extending from the annular cylindrical wall of the rim along a second rim edge opposite the first rim edge wherein the flange has a wall thickness that is thinner at an end and increased at a widest point and provides radial support to the second rim edge of the cylindrical wall to resist deflection. 2. The road wheel of claim 1, further comprising an elastomeric pad adjoining and adhering to an outer cylindrical surface of the annular cylinder wall. 3. The road wheel of claim 1, which further comprises a protruding lip extending from an inner face of the stiffening flange, an outer face of the stiffening flange, or both, the lip at the widest point of the flange. 4. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the stiffening flange is tapered to be thicker at an end attached to the rim and thinner at an unattached end. 5. The road wheel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of openings through the stiffening flange to allow passage of debris. 6. The road wheel of claim 1, further comprising a wear ring removably attached to the transitional wall by one or more fastening devices. 7. The road wheel of claim 6, wherein a stud is press-fit into the wear ring, a female threaded insert is press-fit into the wear ring, or a blind fastener is threaded into the rim or into a threaded insert affixed to the rim. 8. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the road wheel is forged or cast. 9. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the road wheel is fabricated with a mold, a tool, machined, joined together from multiple pieces or a combination thereof. 10. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the road wheel is fabricated by assembling two or more preformed components. 11. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the wheel is made from one or more materials selected from a group consisting of a ferrous alloy, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, magnesium alloy, plastic, fiber reinforced composite, aluminum metal matrix composite, and mixtures thereof. 12. A road wheel assembly for a tracked vehicle, the road wheel assembly comprising: a pair of road wheels of claim 1, wherein a first road wheel is an inner road wheel and a second road wheel is an outer road wheel; andwherein an outer face of the mounting disc of the outer road wheel is connected to an outer face of the mounting disc of the inner road wheel to form a recessed region between the inner and outer road wheels, wherein the recessed region is created by the configuration and dimensions of the inner and outer dish-shaped transitional walls, and configured and dimensioned to accommodate a guide on a track. 13. The road wheel assembly of claim 12, wherein a first wear ring attached to the inner road wheel and a second wear ring attached to the outer road wheel are made of a material that has greater wear resistance than the material used for the inner and outer road wheels. 14. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the stiffening flange tapers outwardly from the second rim edge of the cylindrical wall to form an outwardly sloped second edge face opposite the first edge face. 15. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the transitional wall meets and is connected to the annular cylindrical wall along a filleted corner. 16. The road wheel of claim 1, wherein the transitional wall meets and is connected to the annular cylindrical wall along a chamfered corner. 17. A road wheel comprising: an annular cylindrical wall having an outer cylindrical surface with a diameter D1, and an inner surface, a wall thickness T1, a first edge with a first edge face, a second edge with a second edge face opposite the first edge face, and a width W1 between the first and second edge faces;a mounting disc having outer face, wherein the outer face is flat and the outer face has an outer diameter D2, and a second face opposite the outer face, and a wall thickness T2 between the outer face and the second face;a transitional wall having a thickness T4, wherein the transitional wall joins an outer edge of the mounting disc and the cylindrical wall, and functionally connects the mounting disc to the annular cylindrical wall, wherein the transitional wall provides radial support to the first edge of the cylindrical wall; anda stiffening flange joined to the second edge of the cylindrical wall, and opposite the transitional wall, having an inner diameter D3, and a wall thickness T3 extending from the cylindrical wall and a wall thickness TL at a widest point, wherein the wall thickness increases at the widest point, the stiffening flange providing radial support to the second edge of the cylindrical wall to resist deflection. 18. The road wheel of claim 17, further comprising: a hole in the center of the mounting disc having a diameter D4; anda plurality of holes forming a bolt pattern in the mounting disc. 19. The road wheel of claim 17, which further comprises at least one protruding lip at the widest point. 20. The road wheel of claim 17, wherein the stiffening flange is offset from the second edge of the cylindrical wall by a distance df.