We’ve had our team working on this for a while but have kept it pretty tightly under wraps, for obvious security reasons. Here’s a model of the latest prototype.
Specs:
Miyata seat
24" United frame
Mark IV anti-grav plasma booster
Profile cranks
Snafu pedals
Here’s me taking it for a test run last summer in California. It was quite an experience.
Impressive computer modeling. That’s the best computer generated unicycle seat I’ve seen. The curves and shape of a unicycle seat make it difficult to model.
That Blender 3D program also looks good. I didn’t even know about Blender until I followed the link through WeidrdHad.com. Amazing. Back when I was young I only had POV-Ray to play with and I had to do all my models with a text editor. You young kids have it too easy now. Making a proper unicycle seat using only a text editor to create the model is impossible.
I’m concerned about the environmental impact. How many forests have you set on fire already? What are the harmful emissions? And how many marshmallows can you roast at one time?
@john_childs:
Hey, I’m a fellow POV-Rayer… that was the first 3D modelling program I used. Back about 8 years ago I actually managed to make a animation of one of those kinetic sculpture things that swings on a CEO’s desk. Looks kinda like an atom with electrons and such. I still have it I think, but it’s in .flc format (wonder how many people have heard of that?) Anyway, it’s funny how it comes back to haunt you… I hadn’t touched POVRay for a good 7 years, then a few months ago at work we were trying to think of a way to model a number of polyhedrons and molecules for chemistry with animations to show their 3D structure. I tried blender, and the tetrahedron looked like a pyramid in the 8th dimension or something… real hard to follow. After a few tries and frustrations at the difficult-to-learn blender interface, I remembered POV-ray. Wow that was cool… I was actually able to use all the math I had learned in high school to make accurate models of many things, and animations were a snap. Lots of fun, and they turned out looking tons better than the blender version.
Err. Is it a joke? What’s the difference between dead expensive bent cranks and normal cranks? The hole for the pedal is still in the same place if you just rotate them a bit…
Totally. I used Bryce for the computer animated bits in Blood, Sweat and Wheels - my first venture into 3D modeling. I was surprised at how easy it was to get a good unicycle model, but I think that’s just because the shapes of the unicycle parts are naturally easier than many other things. The saddle was the one thing that gave me trouble and its one of two things that look like crap in the 3D model. The other thing is the spokes - they came out good, but they attach to the outer edge of the rim on each side, rather than attaching in the middle of the rim.
So…why profile cranks on a rocket uni? Wouldn’t the anti-grav booster eliminate all downward shock impact that would damage cranks?
I thought you were an expert John. The pedals are there for standing on and resting your feet. Profiles would suck to stand on if you lack pedals. Initially I thought that footpegs would do the job but perhaps you need the extra stability of having something front and back to help you keep the thing tilted in the right direction. Maybe you crank it over to fire it up?
Watch the video. The booster rotates to give you forward or backward directional thrust, like those VTOL planes with the propellors that rotate. The cranks and pedals allow you to rotate the rocket booster.
Of course, as you rotate the booster to point backwards, you get forward motion, but lose your vertical thrust, so there’s probably a difficult middle ground to master.
