Impossible wheel suggestion

Unicycles and Equipment
#1

Just reading the motorised impossible wheel thread reminded me of an old idea I had:

Imagine an impossible wheel but instead of pedals/foot rests at the end of the axles, a frame connected to the ends of the axles and extending forwards and backwards far enough to support two foot rests - one in front of the wheel, and one behind.

So, you stand sideways onto the wheel, in the same orientation as on a skateboard.

Now the clever bit… the front of the frame projects furhter forward than the foot board, and has a skateboard truck under it. So, you stand on the front foot plate, with the big wheel and the skateboard wheels all touching the floor. You scoot it up to speed, then ‘do a wheelie’ on the main wheel, with the skateboard truck up in the air a few inches.

This gives you an impossible wheel (in the sense of a single wheel with no pedals, handlebars etc.) but with the advantage that it is easier to get up to speed, easier to mount and, possibly, easier to steer.

Just an idea.

#2

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

And a damn good one too! It might be a bit difficult balancing the wheel side to side as by the sounds of it your feet will be in the same plane as the wheel, but maybe ankle supports of some kind may help this (ski boots again!).

Harper, when you’ve got a couple of hours spare, knock one up for the group to try out will you:D

Have fun!

Graeme

#3

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

Mikefule <Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in article
<Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com>…
>
> Imagine an impossible wheel but instead of pedals/foot rests at the end
> of the axles, a frame connected to the ends of the axles and extending
> forwards and backwards far enough to support two foot rests - one in
> front of the wheel, and one behind.
>
> So, you stand sideways onto the wheel, in the same orientation as on a
> skateboard.
>
> Now the clever bit… the front of the frame projects furhter forward
> than the foot board, and has a skateboard truck under it. So, you stand
> on the front foot plate, with the big wheel and the skateboard wheels
> all touching the floor. You scoot it up to speed, then ‘do a wheelie’
> on the main wheel, with the skateboard truck up in the air a few
> inches.

That is a very cool idea!!!

If you’ve ever seen a Rola-Bola, it’s kind of the same concept only this
one travels down the street :).
For those who don’t know what a Rola-Bola is, it’s that thing in the circus
where the guy places a board on top of a cylinder and rides it like a
see-saw (teeter-totter), usually doing other skills like juggling
or balancing various objects/people.

As for your suggestion, I think I would instead mount the skateboard truck
on the back so you could put your back foot on top of the truck with your
toes pointed in the same direction as the tire. Then propel the thing like
you would a skateboard with your other foot to get enough speed. Then
raise the pushing foot and place it in front of the tire onto the frame.
You could then turn your body sideways and ride the traditional skaters
way, or keep your body in the straight ahead position like a slalom water
skier. Then press down in front to lift the rear truck off the ground.
Actually, balancing would be weird with a platform weighing more on one end
due to the skateboard truck. I think you might want to mount something on
both ends actually.

Now that I think about it, a nice design just popped into my head. I think
I would cut a piece of plywood into a “spaceship” shape (looks like a
circle centered on top of an ellipse. Route out a rectangular slot in the
direction of the ellipse, just big enough to accomodate a BC wheel (16" -
20" maximum). Route 2 recessed channels on either side of the slot to
allow the axle ends to set in. Screw some flat metal over the channels to
keep the axle ends from popping out but still allowing the board to pivot
freely.

Next cut notches into the very front and back ends of the board, inline
with the BC wheel. Into each notch, install a Razor scooter wheel (lighter
than a truck and 2 wheels). Cover the entire plywood surface with
skateboard deck tape. You now have a well-balanced toy that can be
propelled easily by standing on either end just above the Razor wheel and
pushing with the opposite foot. If you felt creative you could even mount
a Razor brake over the wheel to allow quick stops or long downhill
descents. Due to the spaceship shape it could then be ridden in at least 3
positions:

  1. Traditional IW/BC straddle with feet on either side of axle
  2. Skateboard straddle facing sideways with feet in front/back of tire
  3. Slalom skier facing forward with feet in front/back of tire

If that’s not enough fun, then mount a Reeder handle with a long extension
to the plywood and you could go off-road and over obstacles with the thing
:slight_smile:

I think I shall attempt to build such a beast - this sounds like a lot of
fun. Even if you couldn’t ride it you could humor people explaining what
it was (“it’s a Uni.F.O.”, or “it’s a BCMuni”)

Thanks,

David Winston

#4

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

Mikefule <Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:<Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com>…
> Just reading the motorised impossible wheel thread reminded me of an old
> idea I had:
>
> Imagine an impossible wheel but instead of pedals/foot rests at the end
> of the axles, a frame connected to the ends of the axles and extending
> forwards and backwards far enough to support two foot rests - one in
> front of the wheel, and one behind.

This sounds very similar to the Suncycle, which can be found at these URL’s :-

http://www.suncycle.kh.ua/
http://start.at/suncycle/

#5

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

> This sounds very similar to the Suncycle, which can be found at these
URL’s :-
>
> http://www.suncycle.kh.ua/
> http://start.at/suncycle/

Ooh…

#6

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

Greetings

In message “Re: Impossible wheel suggestion”,
David Winston wrote…
>Mikefule <Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in article
><Mikefule.8q0vb@timelimit.unicyclist.com>…
>>
>> Imagine an impossible wheel but instead of pedals/foot rests at the end
>> of the axles, a frame connected to the ends of the axles and extending
>> forwards and backwards far enough to support two foot rests - one in
>> front of the wheel, and one behind.
>>
>> So, you stand sideways onto the wheel, in the same orientation as on a
>> skateboard.

I am very interested in novely unicycles – I just rode the Walking Thing last night
in Unicon. I wonder if someone can drw a rough picture of this. Thanks.

>> Now the clever bit… the front of the frame projects furhter forward
>> than the foot board, and has a skateboard truck under it. So, you stand
>> on the front foot plate, with the big wheel and the skateboard wheels
>> all touching the floor. You scoot it up to speed, then ‘do a wheelie’
>> on the main wheel, with the skateboard truck up in the air a few
>> inches.
>
>That is a very cool idea!!!
>
>If you’ve ever seen a Rola-Bola, it’s kind of the same concept only this
>one travels down the street :).
>For those who don’t know what a Rola-Bola is, it’s that thing in the circus
>where the guy places a board on top of a cylinder and rides it like a
>see-saw (teeter-totter), usually doing other skills like juggling
>or balancing various objects/people.
>
>As for your suggestion, I think I would instead mount the skateboard truck
>on the back so you could put your back foot on top of the truck with your
>toes pointed in the same direction as the tire. Then propel the thing like
>you would a skateboard with your other foot to get enough speed. Then
>raise the pushing foot and place it in front of the tire onto the frame.
>You could then turn your body sideways and ride the traditional skaters
>way, or keep your body in the straight ahead position like a slalom water
>skier. Then press down in front to lift the rear truck off the ground.
>Actually, balancing would be weird with a platform weighing more on one end
>due to the skateboard truck. I think you might want to mount something on
>both ends actually.
>
>Now that I think about it, a nice design just popped into my head. I think
>I would cut a piece of plywood into a “spaceship” shape (looks like a
>circle centered on top of an ellipse. Route out a rectangular slot in the
>direction of the ellipse, just big enough to accomodate a BC wheel (16" -
>20" maximum). Route 2 recessed channels on either side of the slot to
>allow the axle ends to set in. Screw some flat metal over the channels to
>keep the axle ends from popping out but still allowing the board to pivot
>freely.
>
>Next cut notches into the very front and back ends of the board, inline
>with the BC wheel. Into each notch, install a Razor scooter wheel (lighter
>than a truck and 2 wheels). Cover the entire plywood surface with
>skateboard deck tape. You now have a well-balanced toy that can be
>propelled easily by standing on either end just above the Razor wheel and
>pushing with the opposite foot. If you felt creative you could even mount
>a Razor brake over the wheel to allow quick stops or long downhill
>descents. Due to the spaceship shape it could then be ridden in at least 3
>positions:
>
>1. Traditional IW/BC straddle with feet on either side of axle
>2. Skateboard straddle facing sideways with feet in front/back of tire
>3. Slalom skier facing forward with feet in front/back of tire
>
>If that’s not enough fun, then mount a Reeder handle with a long extension
>to the plywood and you could go off-road and over obstacles with the thing
>:)
>
>I think I shall attempt to build such a beast - this sounds like a lot of
>fun. Even if you couldn’t ride it you could humor people explaining what
>it was (“it’s a Uni.F.O.”, or “it’s a BCMuni”)
>
>Thanks,
>
>David Winston
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
>rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>

Stay on top, Jack Halpern
Executive Director for International Development
International Unicycling Federation, Inc.
Website: http://www.kanji.org

#7

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

martin <martin.woolley@misys.com> wrote in article
> This sounds very similar to the Suncycle, which can be found at these
URL’s :-
>
> http://www.suncycle.kh.ua/
> http://start.at/suncycle/

Actually that is totally different…

Maybe somebody could post an IW/BC wheel picture or link so people could
better imagine what Mikefule has dreamed up and what I ranted about
afterward.

Thanks

David Winston

#8

Re: Impossible wheel suggestion

>> Just reading the motorised impossible wheel thread reminded me of an old
>> idea I had:
>>
>> Imagine an impossible wheel but instead of pedals/foot rests at the end
>> of the axles, a frame connected to the ends of the axles and extending
>> forwards and backwards far enough to support two foot rests - one in
>> front of the wheel, and one behind.
>
>This sounds very similar to the Suncycle, which can be found at these URL’s
>:-
>
>http://www.suncycle.kh.ua/
>http://start.at/suncycle/
>

Well THAT’s an interesting funky cycle there. Sort of a BC monocycle. Anyone
seen one of these things close up? And where do we send money so that poor girl
can get herself something to eat??

I don’t think that it’s what Mikefule is inventing here though. David Winston
posted a pretty good description of what the prototype uniskatecycleboard might
look like. I agree that the stabilizing wheel would be better placed at the
rear or at both ends than just at the front, though I think that the double
skateboard wheels would make it easier to get the thing up and moving than the
single Razor wheels. I would look for a 14" or 16" Miyata wheel, the small size
to make straddling it as easy as possible, and the Miyata because its bearings
have flat stems which would be easy to bolt onto small blocks built onto either
side of the slot. I can’t speculate on whether the thing would actually work or
not (I think that it would), but building a test prototype would be a piece of
cake if you had the wheels and a piece of plywood. And some screws. And a saw.
I say go for it.

  • Joe

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