Let’s imagine that there’s some eccentric billionaire whose life was saved by a unicyclist as a child and now wants to repay the unicycling community. He commissions you (whoever you are) to design the ultimate unicycle (MUni, Coker, or any other type). He is giving you an entire factory, the top wheel builders, and a billion dollar budget, so you can start from scratch. Redesign the tire, the wheel, the crank arms, etc. No remanufactured bicycle parts; this is all custom-designed unicycle components.
Now, what would this unicycle be like? Forget economical; this is the very top-end stuff! What kind of components would you give this uni? What materials would you use, (e.g. titanium crank arms, etc).
There are some nice unicycles out there; unfortunately, we are still limited by the law of supply and demand. I want to see what people would come up with when not limited by cost-effectiveness.
me
i would buy a kh 24 with brakes ect say i designed it and it costed me 1million and have some spare change.and i would sand paper off the logo’s
Hmm… A tough one. It would be a MUni. I don’t know much about weights and strengths between materials but I’d guess my uni would mostly be Titanium and maybe some carbon fibre too. It would be 24" in size and of course I would design a whole new tire for it. Something pretty much like a Gazza 3" but lighter. With a budget like that I probably could hire some top researchers to design it. It would definitely be indestructible (sort of) and the lightest uni ever made.
Re: Unicycle Unlimited
paco <paco@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:
>Let’s imagine that there’s some eccentric billionaire whose life was
>saved by a unicyclist as a child and now wants to repay the unicycling
>community. He commissions you (whoever you are) to design the ultimate
>unicycle (MUni, Coker, or any other type). He is giving you an entire
>factory, the top wheel builders, and a billion dollar budget, so you can
>start from scratch. Redesign the tire, the wheel, the crank arms, etc.
>No remanufactured bicycle parts; this is all custom-designed unicycle
>components.
>Now, what would this unicycle be like? Forget economical; this is the
>very top-end stuff! What kind of components would you give this uni?
>What materials would you use, (e.g. titanium crank arms, etc).
>There are some nice unicycles out there; unfortunately, we are still
>limited by the law of supply and demand. I want to see what people
>would come up with when not limited by cost-effectiveness.
It would definitely have an ultra light variable speed transmission.
A light, very bouncy 4 inch wide tire.
Air seat with on the fly adjustment of all angles and directions plus
digital pressure selection and an air bladder that doesn’t leak.
There are many others, but I don’t have the time now to detail them.
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>
Wow Ken, I had completely forgot those. It would definitely have transmission.
With that budget, you’d definitely have to do lots of specialized unicycles.
I think I’d start with a motorized one. The Bombardier design looks nice, but there is no science yet to “support” it. Maybe I’d work on updating and improving the old Frank Malick design from the 60s. I want highway speeds.
Next I’d take all the unnecessary wheel-like devices off a sailplane, except the one main landing wheel. Flying unicycle!
For human-powered riding, I think the bike industry has found out the optimum designs for many (but not all) of the parts we use. Tires would probably stay the same. Rims might get an upgrade, though you still have to strike a balance between weight and strength.
Pedals would be make to fit into special shoes. Good grip but nothing locking you down so you can instantly release. Pedals could be made lighter, with the foot support built into the shoe.
The whole crankset would be redesigned from the ground up. I think I’d start with a beefed-up version of the DM-style axle and tubular cranks, built for unicycling.
Frame, seat post and seat base: Titanium and carbon fiber.
Air/foam seat. Handle system built in but removeable.
Thanks for the responses I got. I was hoping for a few others, so I’d have something to dream about at night, but that’s okay.
(Maybe by bumping this back to the top, I’ll get a few more 
)
Suspenison would have to be a part of it too. I would have an analysis done of the forces involved for various types of riding in order to find out what it would take to make the smoothest and most controlled ride.
Safety would be an issue too. Some sort of airbag system would have to be invented.
Yeah! A 10x10 metres air cushion spreading all around the uni when you fall.
A 24" Muni like this that doubles for trials:
Goal would be lightest possible with strength.
Seat -
Air seat that isn’t lumpy with feather light bumper.
aluminum or titanium brake lever mount under the seat
lightweight with adjustable angle seat post that mounts directly to a carbon fibre based air seat (wilder bracket is eliminated)
Handle -
Miyata like style (non Reeder) handle that weighs less than a miyata handle, but much much stronger and very ergonomically designed with enough room for fingers and good grip for fingers.
titanium or aluminum seat post
Frame -
frame would be carbon fibre or alluminum, titanium, and less than a pound. Also attractive to the eye.
Wheel-
Wheel would be a carbon fibre wheel and with only three aerodynamic spokes- finished wheel would be much less than lightest available currently with steel spokes.
Rim as wide as possible - wider than the inside width of the Sun double wide but much lighter
Some sort of lighter tire with the volume of a 3.0 Gazz, but made out of lighter, but just as sturdy material. Tread pattern might be less knobby
Cranks and hub
- strength stronger than a PRofile hub, but with less weight. 170mm cranks
Pedals -
again lightweight, made of some “space age” compound that is strong with a spindle made from the same material as the hub. Also pedals with no maintenance needed. But still has replacable pins.
Brake lines hidden in the frame somehow and brake bosses recessed - sturdy.
Disc brake?
Goal - Entire MUni with brakes under 11 lbs.
Hows that?
Spokes… get rid of 'em!
The hub would be suspended in the centre of the frame by magnetic levitation, with lightweight superconductors around the inside of the rim.
This would make wheelbuilding a thing of the past; you’d just place the hub in the centre, turn it on and zzap! wheel done.
It would also allow for a degree of suspension, as the maglev field strength could be changed so the hub is either held rock-solid in the centre of the wheel or is allowed to bob up and down slightly, so when you land the hub is allowed to move downwards to absorb some of the force.
Broken hubs and cranks would be a thing of the past (unless you start making use of the suspension and attempt 30 foot drops or something); you could have several interchangeable crank- and wheelsets so you swap between a slick and knobbly tyre in seconds, and you’d never have to change a spoke again.
Hell yeah.
Phil
How about cycle computers? Which components would it have? Right now we use bicycle computers, which are made for a different type of riding. It would definitely have to be something you could hold in your hand. A built-in GPS system would be a must. There should be some system to measure short distances, like how far you coast/glide/wheel walk, etc.
And I think that something that allows easier intechange of parts would be nice. Swap wheel sets, swap crank arms, remove pedals and/or wheels for easier transportation. Your muni doubles as your trials uni, and maybe even switch components to create a freestyle.
The Uni.5 design would be perfected (with appropriate royalies going to the right sources 
) to allow for shifting on the fly.
These are my ideas for now.
that is indeed a beautiful uni but whats this – SUZUE HUB? WHAT!? 
thats the most important part and they biffed!
As for my ideal uni… Im still thinking. All i came up with so far is and air conditioned air seat so i never suffer from sweaty crack syndrome (scs as some may know it) on hot days.
everyones ideas are great so far!
Re: Unicycle Unlimited
On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 04:30:34 -0600, phil
<phil@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:
>The hub would be suspended in the centre of the frame by magnetic
>levitation
Wow Phil that’s brilliant! I see possible applications elsewhere, like
in automobiles, and maybe in two-wheeled unicycles (aka bikes). The
suspension and dampening could all be regulated electronically,
probably bottom clearance could as well. Think of the possibilities
for 4WD’s. Maybe you should patent this idea if it’s yours!
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“My butt has a crack in it , but I can still ride. - spyder”
I may not be up on the science here, but wouldn’t that only work for a coasting or BC wheel?
For those complaining about the Roger Davies carbon “Dream MUni,” please note that it’s a few years old. At the time, the Suzue was the top of the line. Tires weren’t that wide either. If Roger were to build one today, I’m sure he could make it to fit whatever bearing size, and tire width the customer ordered. Mine has a Suzue hub, and predates our awareness of Gazzalodi tires, so it doesn’t even fit the 2.6". 
For a computer, I think we’re at a point where we can use some form of wireless technology that’s strong enough to reach up to a wristwatch. Then your data could be displayed along with the time, and whatever else your watch has on it. All of this could be downloaded to a more versatile computer to log your training or miles ridden.
How about a kickstand?
Yes John has it right. The funny thing is that if you have a look at My CF Uni… it fits the 3" tyre in it, but after going to the Californian Muni Weekend (no. 1) the complaint from everyone was that it was too wide. So… we have a narrower version which as John said fitted in the widest tyres available at the time in.
Roger