Making a Penguin 2:1 Unicycle

General
1

After seeing video of Abram Clark’s 2:1 Penguin, I’m really interested in making one at some point in the future.

My question is this:

What’s the best giraffe to start with and modify for this project, price being an issue?

Would a Torker TX be an acceptable starting platform? Cut the arms off the bottom of the crank housing and re-weld as low as you can above the tire, then swap out the gears and re-chain?

Is there something I’m missing for how to go about it?

Thanks,
Chris

2

You could start off a BMX or an old b*ke. Then you just have to weld a seattube and make the wheel fixed (you can weld the freewheel and it’ll be fixed).

I’ve never built a Penguin unicycle though, but I’d like too:)

3

No input? Really?

4

I’ve heard a few mentions of penguins around here just lately… How does a penguin differ from a giraffe, just out of interest?

5

It’s not as high, and it goes really fast! The penguins unis are made to go fast, they have a bigger chain ring than the Cog at the wheel so it makes it much faster than any normal giraffe.

6

here is a video that shows the penguin’s performance:

1 Like
7

Is it still considered a penguin when the axis (or should it be “axi”) of the pedals is below that of the wheel?

There was one at BUC this year, on a 26" wheel, each crank on its own axis, pedals at the normal height of a 20" wheel, with a gear ratio of about 2:3. It did have a couple of small problems: at such a short distance between the crank axi, and the wheel axis, the slight slip in the chain was noticeable; and when cornering tightly at speed, the pedals clipped the floor.