Hi,
I just built this silly wheel.
Have a look in my video album for:
2 min vid of uni with non-perpendicular hub. 500k very low quality preview.
http://gallery.unicyclist.com/MikeHinson
I can upload a better quality one if anyone is intrested. (but how big a download is it worth for 2 minutes?)
Thanks,
//\
Awesome! I like the music. But was it hard to ride, it looks like it would be sipmle since the play doesnt move under you. Please post some pics of how you did it…
Interesting. The wheel on my Torker is shaped something like that at the moment, except it rubs against the frame. 
It is disappointingly easy to ride, but it looks cool.
With still pics it looks pretty much like an ordinary wheel, but the spokes are all made different lengths to get the effect. It is about 30mm out of true from side to side but the wheel is completely flat so it should be quite strong.
It was quite hard to get the frame wide enough so the wheel didn’t rub on the sides.
Thanks for your interest,
//\
In the present configuration it looks like it exaggerates the natural wheel wobble. I wonder how different it would feel if you took the cranks off and re-attached them in the opposite position (180 degrees).
Seeing this video makes me think that a slightly non-perpendicular hub might actually be a good thing if it exactly compensated for the natural wheel wobble. I guess it would have to be customized, since different riders have different amounts of wobble. Probably would depend on how heavy your legs are, and how bow-legged or knock-kneed you are.
Very nifty effect (if it’s on purpose, as in your case!!! :D) Thanks for sharing your creation with us. BTW, I’m sure it draws alot of attention from spectators; as if a unicycle isn’t enough… 
That gives me the idea of taking Sean’s old, tacoed, torker rim(See 2004 CMW pics) and making a frame for it. The wheel is actually made into an “S” shape, so I think it would have the same effect. But definetly looks cool, and fun to ride(even if it isn’t that challenging) Something we should all try.
Re: Non-perpendicular hub. Testing video
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 19:55:02 -0500, “dogfeathersvt” wrote:
>In the present configuration it looks like it exaggerates the natural
>wheel wobble. I wonder how different it would feel if you took the
>cranks off and re-attached them in the opposite position (180
>degrees).
>
>Seeing this video makes me think that a slightly non-perpendicular hub
>might actually be a good thing if it exactly compensated for the natural
>wheel wobble. I guess it would have to be customized, since different
>riders have different amounts of wobble. Probably would depend on how
>heavy your legs are, and how bow-legged or knock-kneed you are.
I was thinking along the same lines when I saw the movie. However, I
hadn’t figured out yet that the present configuration would ADD to
wobble. So I was going to ask the question that your video asks as
well “Why would you want to do that? Reduce wobble?” Because indeed it
might be a good thing.
You say that the wheel is flat and hence should be quite strong. That
may be but if you hop on it, you still put sideways force on it even
if you’re hopping straight. So the net effect is that you can more
easily damage the wheel from hopping/dropping.
The video was very good BTW at demonstrating the effects that you
built into that wheel. And a nice small download too.
I figure it’s pretty clear that offroad unicycling is a stupid thing to do - joemarshall
I was wondering about building a Taco’d wheel but I see you were already involved in Wheel Builder Gets Drunk (direct link to image).
In watching the vid it too make me wonder whether a wheel could be built to compensate for the wobble so the contact patch remains in a straight line. This may be the design to do it.
The taco’d wheel you mention was the inspiration for this one. Trouble with the taco’d wheel is that all the strength is in the rigidity of the rim, tightening the spokes just collapses the wheel.
I have just uploaded a better quality version of the video & added the music credits to Chris Eaton (contactable through me for gigs etc in Europe).
Have a look in my video album for:
2 min vid of uni with non-perpendicular hub.
http://gallery.unicyclist.com/MikeHinson
Thanks,
//\
Is it possible to create the wheel so the spokes could compensate for the weakness of the rim, so it wouldnt collapse??? It is probably doable but not worth the money or effort…
EDIT: now that I see the high quality video, I notice a rubberband in the middle of the hub, What for? Decoration? Fun? who knows?
I believe it is physicaly impossiable because the rim is like the arch of a bridge, it has to be very strong in compression and the spokes can only compress it in one plane.
I was asked to make another taco’d wheel for a fun unicycle but I have declined because of this belief.
//\
PS the yellow band is my “signature” and carries a serial number.
I will try and make one out of an old tacoed rim, and see how long it lasts. As long as the hub is still straight it’ll be able to fit on the brearing housings. One question. How did you bend the frame so thatthe bearing housings were straight, IE what tools did you use???
Thanks,
Eric
Roger started off the bending of the frame by squashing it in the vice, but it wasn’t enough & I beat it about with blocks of wood in a haphazard sort of way. I thought after I had done it that I might have got on better if I had wired the bearing holders the right distance apart and then put a car jack between the forks. The bearing holders have ended up at a slight angle but because they are a fairly loose fit any way this doesn’t seem to be a problem.
//\
Thanks much. Here is how I plan on doing it. Secure the bearing holders, and put the part I want to bend on a block so the other side is hanging off. Then beat the crap out of the frame to bend it until it seems good, repeat on the other side, until they both are somewhat symmetrical, and then check to make sure the wheel can fit, and still have bearings in the right place, I hope the frame is large enough though to hold the wheel without rubbing onto the under side of the crown. What size frame was it for what size wheel and movement diameter?
18
Re: Non-perpendicular hub. Testing video
klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) writes:
> You say that the wheel is flat and hence should be quite strong. That
> may be but if you hop on it, you still put sideways force on it even
> if you’re hopping straight. So the net effect is that you can more
> easily damage the wheel from hopping/dropping.
Not so much. In order to hop, you’d have to lean the unicycle to the
side far enough to get the tire under the center of mass. Hopping
from that position wouldn’t add a sideways load. Of course, the spoke
angles vary in a wheel built this way, so the wheel will be weaker
where spokes are closer to vertical.
Ken
Re: Re: Non-perpendicular hub. Testing video
The picture may make my point more clear (sorry for posting a forum picture for a fellow newsgroup user). The centre of mass (M) is vertically above the tyre contact point, but there is still a lateral load on the wheel.
Klaas Bil
