Sure, I’d be happy to share what I have, or make up something new, similar to the other, that works for your exact purpose. Stuff like this is fun!
Thanks, Lance! The first step will be to figure out if the technology is worth pursuing. I’ve seen various posts about your adapter rings in the past and did a search recently but didn’t see details on the whole process. How did you make the part and what hardware did you use?
The rings were pretty simple. I just duplicated the hole pattern for the hub (which was 36 holes), and put in another 48-hole pattern outside it. I had a laser cutting company I found on the internet cut them out of stainless steel. I used small (#2-56) screws and nuts to attach the rings to the hub through the hub’s spoke holes. Not much to it.
LoopWheels peg unicycle
I got my LoopWheel and put the saddle on. I need to get some peg adapters before I can fit my pegs on, however. Instructions say, “Don’t attempt to disassemble the wheels for servicing as there is no requirement to service, other than light cleaning as detailed above. (Resist the bike enthusiast’s natural inclination to tinker and adjust!! Again - if you feel a need, speak to us first!)”
I finally got my peg adapters and had a couple of short practice sessions on my suspension peg unicycle. My main observation is that even though I got the highest spring force available it’s still too bouncy. It’s not user adjustable, either. I think for a regular unicycle a higher force is necessary and with this technology that means a stronger spring. It may be possible to commission this but it’s not readily available from the maker (let alone the issues with getting a pedal hub). I would say that the technology does do what it’s supposed to and smooths out cobblestone style road bumps but I can’t say if it’s much different than a bigger, lower pressure tire. It’s usable as a peg unicycle and for me the drum brake is a huge feature over the disc brake on my regular peg unicycle (which gets out of alignment on particularly violent UPDs). The bounciness takes a little getting used to and I’m planning on testing out how well it absorbs the type of larger bumps on trails that would knock me off my regular peg unicycle at higher speeds. It’s fun and works for me but is probably still a novelty at this stage.
That works by changing the effective radius of the wheel when it hits a bump. Just when you need most control, your steering geometry changes. On the back wheel, it’s going to affect your effective gearing too. And all those pivots are wear points. Horrible.
Years ago they made motorcycles with sprung hubs. You don’t see many around now, because telescopic forks work far better.
I don’t think suspension forks would work in a traditional unicycle design. I’m going to look for a Cruzbike conversion kit to see if I can make a sort of unibike without handlebars. That would allow for a more traditional suspension fork but may be challenging to ride and turn out to be another novelty.