ultimate wheel, anyone?

system · December 5, 1995, 7:35pm

Do any of you ride the ultimate wheel? 2 ??'s: Where can I get one? Is it
possible to make one? I like riding without my seat (tuck it out in front). Is
it the same? oops, that was 3 ??'s. <Squid

system · December 7, 1995, 2:37am

Re: Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Ken Fuchs wrote:
|>
|> The Unicycle Factory 2711 N. Apperson Kokomo, IN 46901
|> (317) 452-2692

Don’t forget that Jack Wiley wrote a book on utimate wheels. It’s called The
Ultimate Wheel Book and is available form

           o From Solipaz Publishing and the Unicycling Society of America,
           all by Jack Wiley

Regards, Jack Halpern

system · December 7, 1995, 2:57am

Re: Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Ken Fuchs wrote:
|>
|> The Unicycle Factory 2711 N. Apperson Kokomo, IN 46901
|> (317) 452-2692

Don’t forget that Jack Wiley wrote a book on utimate wheels. It’s called The
Ultimate Wheel Book and is available form

           o From Solipaz Publishing and the Unicycling Society of America,
           all by Jack Wiley

Regards, Jack Halpern

system · December 7, 1995, 3:07am

Re: Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

SORRY if anything is reaches you twice. Setting up a new connection…

Ken Fuchs wrote:
|>
|> The Unicycle Factory 2711 N. Apperson Kokomo, IN 46901
|> (317) 452-2692

Don’t forget that Jack Wiley wrote a book on utimate wheels. It’s called The
Ultimate Wheel Book and is available form

           o From Solipaz Publishing and the Unicycling Society of America,
           all by Jack Wiley

Regards, Jack Halpern

system · December 6, 1995, 7:37pm

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Gwynneth VanLaven (vanraden@erols.com) wrote:
: Do any of you ride the ultimate wheel? 2 ??'s: Where can I get one? Is it
: possible to make one? I like riding without my seat (tuck it out in front). Is
: it the same? oops, that was 3 ??'s. <Squid>

Tom Miller of the Unicycle Factory sells them. You can also make one, but
probably want to see one first or get plans. The general idea is to get a rim
and tire. Remove the spokes and hub from the rim. Cut a disk of plywood and
screw it inside the rim. Attach pedals to the plywood. The pedal part is hard to
explain via email. You will need some special hardware to do this.

You can get a book on the Ultimate Wheel from the USA, written by Jack Wiley
called “The Ultimate Wheel Book”.

I can ride with the seat out front and back, but could not ride an ultimate
wheel when I tried it.

Beirne

Beirne “Bern” Konarski | Unicycling Web Page: bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu |
http://www.unicycling.org Kent State University | “Untouched by Scandal” |

system · December 6, 1995, 8:30pm

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Gwynneth VanLaven <vanraden@erols.com> wrote:

>Do any of you ride the ultimate wheel?

Actually, a fair number of us do.

>Where can I get one?

A difficult to ride ultimate wheel can be made by removing the frame of a
standard unicycle. Simply ride the wheel shifting one’s weight slightly from one
pedal to the other during each stroke.

>Is it possible to make one?

Sure. Get an ultimate wheel insert kit from Tom Miller at

                  The Unicycle Factory 2711 N. Apperson Kokomo, IN 46901
                  (317) 452-2692

You will also need a rim, tire, and tube of the desired wheel size. And a
circle of 3/4" plywood to fit inside the rim will also be needed. A slot must
be cut in the center to mount the insert. The insert has holes with precut
threads for the pedals.

The insert kit includes the insert, mounting bolts and flat head nails to attach
the rim to the plywood circle.

Request the desired pedal thread size, either 1/2" or 9/16". Some inserts even
have two additional pedal holes so the “crankarm” length can be adjusted between
two lengths.

This ultimate wheel will be much easier to ride than the one made by simply
removing the frame from a standard unicycle.

>I like riding without my seat (tuck it out in front). Is it the same?

No, but it is a definite prerequisite for riding an ultimate wheel. When riding
a normal unicycle with the seat in front, just imagine how it would feel without
the frame entirely.

On On Wheel,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com

system · December 13, 1995, 4:08am

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

In article <30C50F77.2DF8@erols.com>, Gwynneth VanLaven
<vanraden@erols.com> wrote:
>
> Do any of you ride the ultimate wheel? 2 ??'s: Where can I get one? Is it
> possible to make one? I like riding without my seat (tuck it out in front). Is
> it the same? oops, that was 3 ??'s. <Squid>

I made an ultimate wheel last year and I can ride it ok. It’s not the same as
riding without a seat but each is good practice for the other. Making an
ultimate wheel is easy if you happen to have access to a machine shop. You might
be able to improvise with hand held power tools, although i wouldn’t recommend
it. (Good luck drilling a straight hole for the pedals w/out a drill press.) The
hardest (and most expensive) part for me was finding someone with a set of taps
to thread the holes for the pedals (i’ve since bought my own). If people are
interested i’ll write up some detailed instructions. I am pretty proud of my
design: no welding required and mostly recycled parts. I’ve been thinking of
making some for sale if i ever find the time. Of course, you could always buy
one from The Unicycle Factory.

-paul bunson

“the word for word is word” - W.S.Burroughs

system · December 7, 1995, 2:45am

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Ken Fuchs wrote:
> Sure. Get an ultimate wheel insert kit from Tom Miller at
>
> The Unicycle Factory 2711 N. Apperson Kokomo, IN 46901
> (317) 452-2692
>
> You will also need a rim, tire, and tube of the desired wheel size. And a
> circle of 3/4" plywood to fit inside the rim will also be needed. A slot must
> be cut in the center to mount the insert. The insert has holes with precut
> threads for the pedals.
>
> The insert kit includes the insert, mounting bolts and flat head nails to
> attach the rim to the plywood circle.

I’m getting kinda interested in the idea of getting an ultimate wheel. I know DM
make them but they cost about UKP80 which is a bit expensive. So:

Does anyone (in the UK) have one that they want to sell? Someone who sells
the DM wheel says they usually sell each wheel more than once 'cuz people
bring them back in frustration.
Does anyone in the UK sell kits like the Tom Miller version? I suspect it’s
the pedal inserts that are the important bit.
Any idea how much it’d cost me to order one from Tom Miller? If nobody knows
off-hand, I guess I’ll have to give him a call…

Any help, suggestions, cries of “give up now, you’ll never do it” appreciated.

Regards, Mark.

system · December 8, 1995, 8:16pm

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

Mark Wiggins <M.Wiggins@ftel.co.uk> wrote:

>3. Any idea how much it’d cost me to order one from Tom Miller? If nobody knows
> off-hand, I guess I’ll have to give him a call…

The kit itself is about US $10-12. I’d guess it weighs about a kilogram (or
about two pounds); don’t know what that would translate to in shipping charges.

On One Wheel,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com

system · December 13, 1995, 11:20am

Re: ultimate wheel, anyone?

I previously wrote:
> I’m getting kinda interested in the idea of getting an ultimate wheel. I know
> DM make them but they cost about UKP80 which is a bit expensive.

OK, I wimped out. Thinking about the hassles (and delays) of ordering a 1kg
package from Mr Miller, buying wood, a rim, tyre, tube, pedals etc. not to
mention trying to put them together, I figured UKP80 wasn’t so bad after all.
Besides, I rang DM and they’d got one in stock. I figured it’s nearly christmas
what better excuse to treat myself?

Mark.