Has this ever been discussed here? Or is it old news…I just saw it this morning
Old news…
But… discuss away!
that was messed up kristine. you owe him an apology
Yeah, that concept has been around for a while; still interesting though. A number of real motorized unicycles have actually been built and ridden, but nothing highway-speed-capable like that thing is apparently meant to be, at least not that I’ve heard of. I’m not convinced that such a thing could ever really be workable. A motoruni could be built to attain high speeds, but the issues involved in braking and accelerating, and control at high speeds, would be pretty difficult to deal with, I would think.
Didn’t stop me from fantasizing way back in the late 70’s though. I posted my old drawing last year on this page, post #22…
It seems that more attempts at serious motorization have been directed at the unicycle’s even weirder cousin, the monocycle. Upon digging up the link to this page, I see that a good amount of new stuff has been added to it since the last time I looked at it, so it’s worth posting again…
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/motorwhl/motorwhl.htm
ive seen the prototype for that years ago, and ive aslo seen some other motorized unis, theres even a video of one in someones gallery =p but im not sure if it will catch on if it ever goes hugely public, i would buy one though =p
I found the website of some stuntrider a while ago who built and learnt to ride some crazy machines and one of them was actually very similar to the Bombardier although more of a dirt bike style. I think the guy was French or maybe German but I can’t find the site anymore. The unicycle thing was basically an upside-down A frame with a motor, seat and a hand controller. He also did stunts on a regular motorbike, quad bike, one of those monowheel things and maybe a few other home made things I can’t remember. I seem to remember it said it took him a few months of trying before he could actually go any sort of distance without falling off. Can’t remember much else. Has anyone else seen the site i’m thinking of?
Siege
thats probably the topic there are more threads about on unicyclist.com than anything else…still cool though (:
what about helmets?
Ah well, I had never seen one…I think it’d be pretty cool to have one, but it’s probably still cost an arm, a leg, and the soul of your firstborn son
yup that one was my avatar for a while
Spudman found a pic of a motorized uni once that had a briggs&stratton motor mounted inside a motorcycle wheel (minus hub and spokes). It would actually have been rather easy to build if you could find the picture.
Apology for what? He asked if it was old news, and she answered honestly and politely, while inviting him to discuss anyway.
It would be tough to find something that is “older news” than the Bombardier prototype uni. It’s been beaten around plenty, but still offers irresistable thread-starting temptation for newer members.
I think Kristine is the one owed the apology.
That’s Jackie Chabanais
The link is in the Unicyclists - Performers section of the Unicyclist.com links page.
that’s COOL!