This thread is to stretch you imagination. Try to describe or photoshop a image of what you think would be a cool unicycle.
use your imagination
A uni with a clutch to change from fixed hub to freewheeler. Or does that already exist? It would be cool:D
A full suspention Muni w/ ability to take a beating. Here is a thread discusing it. Few have built prototypes. Of the ones that seem to have potential I don’t think have been ridden by really good riders (Like the SB guys)
crank below centre of wheel
so i can have a 36 inch coker with the pedals same height of my 20 inch uni , prob already been done, do also like idea of freewheel clutch
basetball uniycle
Two principals are needed in basketball.
- little unicycle for maneuverability
- large wheel for speed
how can it be little with a big wheel?
Read it again ^^^
OK, so we want to improve the unicycle. Let our imaginations run free. This is the unicycle of tomorrow…
The standard unicycle is slow, wobbly, and hard work. It has no gears, can’t coast, and can only go up and down steps by hopping. Often it would be quicker to jog.
So, let’s deal with the wobbly thing first. It’s primarily the result of one design aspect (I won’t call it a flaw): the unicycle has only one wheel.
Mr. Honda and Mr. Ford did not make their fortunes from selling one wheeled vehicles. Long experience and testing has shown that for power to weight ratio and speed, two wheels is best; for stability and cornering, four wheels is best. Three wheels is a poor combination of the worst aspects of each.
I’d say let’s be conservative and go for just the one extra wheel, making two in all.
That of course will necessitate a more complex frame. It also brings in the need for some direct form of steering. On the plus side, there is now no need for direct drive, because there is plenty of room for a chain final drive, or even a shaft. That introduces the possibility of more gears. That gives a greater range of speeds, too, so brakes would be handy. Fortunately, we now have two wheels for them to operate on, steering bars to mount them on, and a platform that is stable fore and aft, unlike a one wheeled vehicle.
With the position of the pedals now being independent of the position of hte wheel, we can introduce independent suspension front and rear.
Of course, all this is quite heavy, but then again, we have room to add an engine. Wow! We now have a unicycle capable of very high speed, controlled turning, and rapid braking. With the right tyres and long travel suspension, we could ride it up and down steps, on mud, or on the road. It would be possible to get “big air” on it and do stunts.
But the more I think about it, the more I realise that “big air” and “stunts” are what drives the younger generation. Why not optimise the new unicycle for that.
I did some Googling and came up with this:
This unicycle of tomorrow of which you speak… sounds oddly familiar. I must get one of these!
So… what pedals should I use? How high should the seat be? …and most importantly, what color should I have it powdercoated?
the unis of tomorrow will be stronger lighter, cheaper, some will be geared, and more comfortable. all of which has been happening over the years
@Mikefule
Where the hell is your mother? Because I want to thank her for raising you with such a damn fine imagination and sense of humor.
…Probably not the best idea. If I were gonna’ make something of that caliber, I’d be sure the idea works before trying to make it.
For that model to work, their would have to be hinges on the hub, as well as the rim, or the rim would have to be able to flex. That would be pretty SWEET to ride though.
No, it would be way too spongy.
Sorry, I got my two links backwards.
If you read even a few of the first posts in that thread you would have seen that that particular design would not work. However there were at least 5 designs that I thought had potential.
But it’s a good picture and got the ideas flowing for 182 posts over 2 1/2 years. And to really know if it is going to work a prototype would have to be built. And agressively tested, which I don’t think this one has.
Like this one.
One of my favorites is this one from post 104
Yes, there would need to be hinges at all 3 mounts to the rim and 2 of the 3 mounts to the hub (all three would cause too much wind-up). Also the spokes would help keep the rim tensioned and true.
it wouldnt. the rim would get messed up sooo fast, because their is very little support on it, you would ridea couple inches below the center of the wheel due to sag, it wouldnt be that much softer if any, your hopping hight would SUCK (for anyone)
probably more reasons
skilewis, the second one could work, and that is actually a neat looking thing, but it would still have all the problems i just listed but it probably wouldnt be so severe
i here by make it my winter duty and metal shop experience to make an all aluminum (except for seat and tire and tube) unicycle, with the hydrolic thingys (brain blank) for the rim, spokes ehhh… but im going to use an old rim, old hub or one off ebay, and then use a rubber bladder filled with air for compression, a pipe for the hydrolic, another pipe inside that to press against the bladder, in the end about as easy as building a guitar. You can buy or find all the parts, but you need to find time to build it. And mabye i’ll show it off at mondo
my ideal super unicycle would be a solid rubber tire… so i wouldnt have to pump it up. And a seat with feathers in it. and a fan. And also it would shoot water. and the cranks would be super reinforced steel, also that with the hub and splined, and the splines would be about 1cm deep. and the pedal would have a catch on the top, and the unicycle would have a massively powerful gyroscope to support it when i do S.I.F. stuff. and a wheelie bar (ha…)