Not the one described in the book I read…but I hear some idiot re-wrote it and didn’t take any credit so I’ll let you off.
I like the motorized monowheels…they’re faster.
lol.
That’s funny. He says it’s the exact same monocycle. I don’t know what they were using in the actual Closing Ceremony, but the practice ones they used in May were the same as the ones we rode in Beijing at Unicon X. They were made in China and much cheaper than $2000. I remember that Sem bought one of them and I think it was the Puerto Rican team that bought two or three more. The price was under $500 each for sure. We’ll have to check his site next month to see - maybe it’s an upgraded type.
—Nathan
Yes, probably the same for many other languages. Jack Wiley made this distinction in one of his books, either The Unicycle Book (1973) or The Complete Book Of Unicycling (1984). The English-speaking unicycling community generally agrees with that breakdown, though it may not have made its way to any of the major dictionaries yet. Meanwhile many other countries still don’t have an official word for “unicycle” let alone specific variations. This may even include Denmark. Is it “uni cykel” or “ed hjulet cykel” or something else? And who determines what’s the official one?
As for the “future” monovelo.com, if he says it’s the same type of monocycles, that just means he’s charging a big fat markup! The ones bought in Beijing in 2000 were probably sold much nearer to cost.
In Danish I think “unicykel” and “ethjulet cykel” are used randomly (hjul = wheel, ethjulet = one-wheeled). You can also use “cykel”, which normally means bicycle/bike, but if there is no doubt it is of course easier just to say “cykel” (“Læg cyklen ind i bilen” = Put the unicycle into the car).
“Monocykel” is rarely heard - and not from unicyclists.
About official use - I really don’t know - maybe the language just need some more years, before an official name has crystallised out.
Best regards
Sanne
wow. This thread definitely took a left turn.
As I was watching the closing ceremonies and the monocycles came onto the screen, before I could say a word my wife turned to me and said, “NO. You CAN’T have one.”
How did she know what I was gonna say? 