There are many vehicles in this creation that are suitable of the phrasal idiom , " You would have to be harebrained to ride that . "
Take the 638 - horsepowerCorvette ZR1 , for example , or the 200 - naut mi per minute ( 321 - kilometer per hour ) Suzuki Hayabusa GSX-1300R. If that ’s not sick enough for you , there ’s the three - wheelCampagna T - Rex , a tricycle that will outrun most sports cars .
What ’s that ? Vehicles with four , two and even three wheels are n’t extreme enough for you ? How about something with just one wheel ? Welcome to the exotic world of themonowheel– a one - pedal motorise fomite . Unlike a unicycle , however , the gadget driver of a monowheel actually sits in spite of appearance , or sometimes next to , the wheel .
A monowheel looks like something out of a scientific discipline fable film , with its passenger stoop in spite of appearance and exposed to the elements while the jumbo rack spins . It ’s kind of like a hamster wheel , except it ’s power by a smallengine . But monowheels are in fact literal , and while they ’re primarily used for entertainment aim today , for a shortsighted time , some people believed they could be viable strain of exile .
The melodic theme may sound extreme , but the science behind monowheels is solid , using many of the same principles that a bike or unicycle use to stick in motion and upright piano . But handling and braking are another story .
In this article , we ’ll take a faithful expression at monowheels – where they come from , how they move , and who proceed to build them today . And who knows ? After this , that Hayabusa might not seem quite as exciting to you as it once was .
Monowheel Technology
A monowheel is unlike from a unicycle because the passenger sit down inside the cycle ’s perimeter , rather than on top of it or outside it . unremarkably , a monowheel will have a lot - shaped frame with a moving rails on the very remote , often made of rubber . remember of the track as a gianttirethat surround the monowheel – it ’s what ’s responsible for moving the vehicle forward .
How does it move ? A monowheel works like a giant ball bearing . The number one wood and theengineanchor the inner steering wheel , while the engine propels the forbidden cringle [ origin : Popular Mechanics ] . It stays upright through the same principles as agyroscope . As long as an externalforcegenerates motion – in this compositor’s case , an railway locomotive ( although some monowheels are pedal - powered ) – the fomite will remain in apparent movement .
Of course , turn one of these is tricky , too . A monowheel ’s deficiency of other wheels and passably clumsy posture makes handling difficult . A rider will typically need to keep his or her feet closemouthed to the primer so the monowheel does n’t tip over all . In accession , if it has a powerful engine , it ’s unbelievable that all of the power can be used in this kind of apparatus . Its lack of stableness when forward-moving motion is taken away makesbrakingespecially difficult , too .
These ( and a few other ) attributes are what keep a monowheel from being the vehicle of the future as some citizenry once thought it would be . You listen decently – at one time , there were predictions that vehicles with one wheel would substitute cars and bikes on the road .
On the next varlet , we ’ll look at famous monowheel designs throughout the ages .
Monowheel History
Monowheels have actually been around in one form or another since the nineteenth century . They began with an earlybicycledesign . After all , if something works with two wheel , could it also forge with just one ?
The first monowheel designs appeared as too soon as 1869 . Several of these featured a butt for the rider with pedals connect to a small rack , which was in turn link up to the outside rack . The passenger cycle the small rack , and that motor the big steering wheel , creating motion . Even at that time , the monowheel was recognized as a hard agency of transportation : One publication remark that the fomite was " impracticable for ordinary mortals " ( source : Museum of Retro Technology ) .
By the early twentieth one C , inventors were try out with monowheels powered by actualengines , including a 150cc individual - cylinder locomotive engine prototype from 1910 that today sits in the Auto & Technik Museum in Germany . Some designer also build monowheels withairplanepropellers up front to help in steering . None of these design ever became mass - bring on .
In the thirties , skill magazines began featuring designs for car - corresponding monowheels that were enclosed by metal and ice and could sit several hoi polloi . One article even have a monowheel tank equipped with a machine gun [ source : Museum of Retro Technology ] .
For the next several decades , artificer would try out with unlike monowheel blueprint – although , arguably , not with the fervor that they had in the belated 19th and early 20th centuries . By now , the drawback of a monowheel had been firmly prove , and its practicality as an routine vehicle for ordinary people was pretty much discounted .
But as you have it away , some ideas never die – no matter how refutable they are . Up next , we ’ll look at monowheels today and concepts planned for the hereafter .
Monowheels Today and Tomorrow
Today , monowheels are still around , though they are n’t being floated as hardheaded replacements for cars anymore . Many are built by hobbyists and amateur engineers and most are used for amusement purposes .
detergent builder Kerry McLean created a monowheel power by a Buick V-8enginethat ’s capable of more than 50 mile per hour ( 80.5 kilometers per hour ) . Amazingly , his innovation is street - legal in all 50 states ( but near portion explicate it to the police force if you get pulled over for speeding . ) McLean prognosticate his monowheel the Rocket Roadster , and despite suffering a bad demolition in one , McLean continue to build his unique vehicle to this twenty-four hour period .
Another fun design total from Jake Lyall , who created a contraption called the RIOT Wheel . This fomite features an railway locomotive inside a hugetire , and the driver ride in a seat outside the roulette wheel where he steers . When the RIOT Wheel is in movement , it keeps the stern erect and in the air . While Lyall build up the monowheel for the Burning Man festival , he ’s working on other single - wheel projects , and is attempting to appropriate the land focal ratio record [ reservoir : The RIOT Wheel ] .
Despite its tenacious chronicle , the first commercially available monowheel went on cut-rate sale in 2007 . The Netherlands - built Wheelsurf is power by a tiny , 31cc Honda four - slash locomotive , and it ’s adequate to of speeds up to 25 miles per hour ( 40.2 kilometers per hour ) . The Wheelsurf is extremely lightweight and it ’s channelise by the driver shifting his or her weight from side to side . Unfortunately , the ship’s company says it ’s not street - sound in most countries – but it is a lot of playfulness to be had for $ 7,000 [ germ : Wheelsurf ] .
So as you’re able to see , designers still like to take on around with monowheel construct . One designer , Shaun Stevens , has even exhibit off his mind for an electrically - powered monowheel - motorcyclehybrid . The design is dubbed the Audi AM [ source : EcoFriend ] . And while the fashionable one - bicyclist will likely never see production , it , along with many other modern examples of monowheel figure , shows that intrepid designer and engineers have n’t give up on monowheels yet .
For more data about monowheels and other related topics , keep up the tie on the next page .
