Early stages but aiming for something like this on my left wrist just past a watch strap line, outwards facing. To represent down shifting. The reverse design arrow wise on my right wrist to represent up shifting.
Whatdaayallfink?
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- You’re nuts.
- You’d give a drill sergeant conniptions
- Your car is RH drive, right???
- If not, you’re from Iowa.
- How often do you hear “NO!, Your other right!”
Neat. What about having it on your ankles?
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Thanks!
For some reason I never felt like that was the right location.
More logical, for sure - but I kind of want these to be more visible and part of my expressive identity - which wrists seem to be more attuned to.
Also I’ve liked the idea of a “unicycle” tattoo for a while now, but never actually wanted the obvious unicycle design. This feels more cryptic and being on my wrists I think will help me connect more with the intention to shift up and down.
Yep a mind game really but they’ll be like my remote buttons - that help defocus me from my heels when shifting and get me more fully involved with my whole body.
(When I focus too much on my heels I tend to mess up a shift - but if I focus on all my motion / whole body, it works better)
And yes: to anyone wondering - I’m cog-nisant this can appear a bit nuts 
- but I like nuts and bolts and clearly cogs. So, you do you, I do me etc etc 
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I’m surprised by how much I’ve been thinking about this since you posted it @mindbalance!
The old-and-boring bit of me is wondering whether your passion for your Schlumpfs will last as long as your wrists will.
The nit-picky bit of me wants to point out that there are no cogs of that shape in a Schlumpf hub or other planetary gears (at least I don’t think so!).
The creative bit of me has been trying to come up with some alterations or alternatives as a fun project, however I don’t have the skills to capture the.
However… I have a suggestion for a really simple alternative design that is more subtle, definitely Schlumpfy, and would probably stand the test of time or could be more easily modified in the future. Just a simple circular view of the outside of a gear change button with the it hole in the middle and indents on two edges, with some colour variation to give it a 3D look, with one wrist having a gold one and the other a silver one.
Just some thoughts from an un-tattooed, risk-averse older person! 
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MB captures the cogs quite well.
The design is still cryptic enough to break the ice for a conversation. Nuts? Yes! Not regimented for Drill, nor dangerous. But still not my cup of tea. In 40 years MB may still be one-wheeling it - there’s enough participation on this board from obvious senior citizens to make that likely.
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I stand corrected! Clearly not aware enough of the inside of the hubs. I suppose I was thinking on the bigger scale, as if it was representing a cog/sprocket of the size of the whole hub.
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I get it. I really do - and it is probably a deliberate “lock in” shall we say. Once I get this I am branded a geared unicyclist forever and I can’t back out or quit.
So it is a risk, but also it could be a turning point in my life - at least from a decision making perspective.
When I was in my early twenties I decided to learn Czech and found a route to go and live in Prague. I got hooked and determined to learn the language and once noted down in a notebook that what I was doing would be something I’d look back on with realisation.
Fast forward: my wife Terez is Czech and my two kids are growing up bilingual.
And in 40 years time the cogs will have a different OD but so will my experiences’ breadth and direction.
I’m all for verisimilitude here so I traced over a real cog from a photo I found on Facebook. It is a real cog and happily positioned at this angle. Can’t credit as I don’t recall the link - sorry if this is your snap.
When it comes to any tattoo going into the arm I’ll be sure to have it designed in such a way that it doesn’t look too dominant - so probably more line drawing that the concept drawing I’ve done but it serves as a guideline.
It’s probably hard to see what I see in my head (!). This will be small on my wrist max the size of a penny - so more a token of this passion. It has to be big enough to be of note but not too big I look like I belong in a tractor engine 
Really appreciate the thoughts John! Can see there being so many ways of doing this - and I’m not going to rush into it as I want to feel totally happy with it - so that even when I’m in my dotage I can shake hands with anyone with a proud smile 
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I plan to get a unicycle tattoo on my ankle to signify where I fractured my foot from a uni fall. (like you said, more visible location) And I plan to have someone do my specific mountain uni from a pic, not just a generic one. I did the same thing when I was hit by a car years ago while road cycling and broke my collarbone.
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And they’re done and I couldn’t be happier!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvNEmKLsUbF/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
You can see more shots if you’re so inclined on my IG - but I really enjoyed the experience and designing process as it was exactly how I pictured it. If not better.
Even if I were to have to stop riding geared wheels tomorrow these still speak to me and fit with my sense of self. And the lock-in and motivation to train and develop skill is already pushed up a bar, shifting my focus each time I glance at them 
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