come on, how cool would it be?!Just saw a unicyclist this morning. It's freshers' week (=frat week for US?) and I guess he was from the Circus skills club or something. But seriously, once you've learned, and are confident of your balance, when carrying your back-pack-style briefcase or whatever, think of the advantages - you can see over the cars, your upright stance is probably very good for the tummy muscles, and you aren't in the firing line of the traffic fumes. Only problem - no gears on ordinary unicycles. We may need to modify that, but then it's yet one more thing that could go wrong.. might be over-engineering.[original idea ended here]Modifications to make this less m-f-d-able...:So, having asserted that I think it would be cool to unicycle to work (not that I can unicycle at all... yet), it seems I actually have to invent something to be worth keeping. Ok. How about this:Unicycle lanes - special cycle lanes with infrastructure specially for unicyclists. •Can't freewheel on unicycles? Well then, at the top of hills, latch yourself and your cycle onto the handy zip wire, and whizz down to the next part of the road that you'd have to pedal on. The efficient gravity-based motion will give you a bit of a headstart too, although you'll have to be ready to pedal like billy-o at the moment of touchdown!•Nasty pedestrians shoving broom handles at your spokes? the unicyle lane has a perspex wall at the sides, to protect you from such nasty irrational phobics.•Road layouts are often less than helpful to non-combustion-engined wheeled traffic - if bicycles have problems, unicyclists sure will. So, as this becomes more and more popular, the zip wires and ratcheted narrow-gauge rail lift systems emplaced for unicyclists will spawn themselves into a whole network of overhead routes! It might just be the 21st century equivalent of monorail. That'd be good, eh.-- lewisgirl, Sep 27 2002 Geared Unicycles http://staff.washin...r//EpicyclicHub.htmFor jutta (should even up the equation with bicycling), and lewisgirl (freewheeling, though I am not sure from the descriptions if this is actually possible). [DrCurry, Sep 30 2002] Another problem is that you can't freewheel on unicycles, and the best thing about bikes if you ask me is going downhill. In fact, I believe it's really difficult to unicycle downhill.
// come on, how cool would it be? //
Not very.-- sild, Sep 27 2002 Now tandem unicycles, that would be cool.-- calum, Sep 27 2002 // that would be cool //
As in your body ends up on a mortuary slab, temperature slowly decreasing to ambient ?
No, thanks. Conventional bicycles are bad enough. But considering the potential amusement to be had with a simple broom handle through the spokes, this has some merit .....-- 8th of 7, Sep 27 2002 Put an engine in it!!!-- Mayfly, Sep 27 2002 It's a lot more tiring for me to ride my unicycle than my bicycle. I can barely make it around the block. However, since I work from home, I guess I could bake this.
[Mayfly]: when I first started unicycling, I read a book that did in fact have pictures and descriptions of a motorized unicycle.-- half, Sep 27 2002 Mayfly: Sounds like a Segway on a spherical wheel.-- FarmerJohn, Sep 27 2002 Its either this or Scoot Boots.-- kaz, Sep 27 2002 And the invention is?
I mean -- yes, once you're comfortable riding around on a unicycle (personally, I never got very far beyond letting go of the wall; it really is far more strenuous than bicycling), you can ride your unicycle to work, to the store, to all kinds of places; and people do.-- jutta, Sep 27 2002 jutta, I have made modifications to my idea. Is it still m-f-d? Have I gone too far? <grin>-- lewisgirl, Sep 30 2002 Yes, I was wondering the same thing my elf-- thumbwax, Oct 04 2002 random, halfbakery