Freeride hub (infinitely variable gearing)

I agree it would be near impossible to modify but I hope a manufacturer takes up the challenge.I hope it happens because even allowing for some frictional losses in the gears it would balance out by its ability to be in the right gear for any given terrain or energy output and most importantly the ability to go very fast.

I haven’t tried a Guni, but I think the shifting would be hard to get used to and very difficult, or impossible, in technical terrain. Anything to smooth this out would be good.

Joe - I think a weight attatched to the uni would only cause big problems if it were loose (as in lugage). If it was a rigid part of the uni I think it would only affect climbing and hoping, but if it were where WB put it in his drawing stearing response would be very slow or more stable, depending on how you see it, but would likely get destroyed from UPD’s.:o

4 kg. is a lot of weight I’d hesitate a lot before getting a uni that was just that much heavier.

right: that’s why in a more precise sketch it is protected by bars (they are shown in the picture).
My idea for experiment is to build a very heavy stupid thing where paramaters such as the angle and the position of the secondary axle could be changed. I suspect that there are many balance parameters that change due to “parasitic” forces.
I think that CVT is the way to go : now there should be competing designs and experiments between co-axial or secondary axle.

Found a post that describes that the NuVinic is optimized for forward and would tend to slip in reverse, so not as simple as removing the freewheel.

link to explanation

I decided to post the contents of your link for those to lazy to click on it (like I am sometimes)

Looks like the basic design would still work but a unicycle version with a static clamping force would have more resistance and a shorter life. Still I think it is most definitely doable.

CVT still undercover?

no way to understand how this should work : http://www.iodupont.com/infinitydrive.php
but I’ll be interested

i want to try a unicyle with a free wheel. who cares about going backwards, i want to coast. it would be best on touring unis

The guy talks about it being like an “extremely gummed up freewheel”

  • that would probably be all you’d need to balance a unicycle. All you need is enough slowing force when freewheeling to stop you falling off the back. Combine that with a brake and this could probably be made to work.

Good spotting Wobbling bear,the details are a little vague but they appear to be promising gear utopia,time will tell.

john

So, couldn’t one take a system like this and add some drag to the freewheeling action?
Wouldn’t the relative offset to the forward momentum be enough to maintain balance?