im currently doing a big project for my engineering course
in this project i have to design and build a project.
and thats where i need your help. i am thinking of making a unicycle…
but not just any unicycle. it needs to be unique (as much as possible)
and maybe add more thrill and excitment to unicycling.
first i was thinking of making a unicycle that coasts (with out your feet leaving the pedals) but then thought it just ruins the challenge…
i was the thinking making an electric unicycle
or maybe a unicycle with shock absorbers
have to tell the college my idea on the 5th of october (2007)
can you guys give me some ideas (non too dramatic)
Unicylce that coasts is a BC uni - been done. Not sure what you mean about ruining the challenge, I expect it’s quite a bugger to ride. But probably pretty easy to make.
An electric unicycle’s been made - very cool, but noisy.
Unicycle with shock absorbers - been discussed. People will probably update you on the main points. It’d be cool to see one made, though.
Make a unicycle that can be used in water… not sure how… maybe with pontoons or something and a paddle tread on the tire… /shrug… Might be near impossible to ride tho…
Here’s a project that involves mechanical engineering and electrical, and sounds to me as though it might be doable within a semester’s final project scope. In addition, a successful demonstration could be claimed as a potentially marketable product with serious unicycle application.
Build a set of unicycle crank arms that will change length by remote control, then install them and demonstrate that they work under heavy load (i.e., climbing a hill).Even 20-30 mm of adjustability would be plenty, and there would be no need in a prototype to worry much about weight or bulk.
If you do use this idea, the only thing I ask in exchange for the idea is that you report your progress and results here at unicyclist.com.
Forget electric. You want an engineering chalenge make a uni thats gasoline engine powered. Maybe use a small weed eater enigne. The challenge would be getting it to obey the peddles or pegs. For instance a slight tilt forward and it goes forward, a slight tilt back and it goes back. The clutching and gearing would be interesting…and challenging.
It has been done, a french stunt man has one that runs off a strimmer engine. He does suggest that learning to ride it was extremley difficult, i think he just had a hand throttle rather than any kind of feedback system. Somehthing easier to ride would be interesting.
Knowing something about student projects that bite off more than they can chew I suggest trying to make a balanced unicycle. What I have in mind is balance weights that compensate for the out-of-balance forces created by the pedals and cranks. Thus when the uni is wheeled along the ground riderless, it wouldn’t wobble.
The next question is to consider whether you would need more balance weights to compensate for the typical forces of pedaling. Maybe balance weights as described in para 1 would not make the uni any less wobbly to ride.
It seems that there is both design and experiment involved in such a project. A literature search would round it all out.
