Home made unicycle for long distance: Making a uni from a bicycle.

[Mike McDermott]

I would like to be able to keep up w/ bicycles on my uni.
I figure I have some options.
1. Buy a coker. Cost: over $300
2. Buy or make a geared hub: Not available as far as I can tell
3. Modify a bicycle into a uni: I started on this option. I found a 16"
childrens bike in the trash. I plan to cut the frame and re-weld to make a
uni. The pedals will be 40" off the ground, and with the current gears,
should be equivalent to a 32" wheel. I'll have to cut the downtube off and
re-weld to the bottom bracket. I'll also have to weld the rear sproket to
the rear wheel. The wheels only have 20 spokes, so I plan to drill holes in
the rear hub and rear rim, and use the spokes from the front wheel to make a
40 spoke wheel.

This seems too easy. I'll have about nothing invested in this. Has anyone
else done this?

Thanks!

kokomojuggler

[GILD]

Mike McDermott wrote:
> *Has anyone else done this?*


hey! if everybody was concerned about that, we wouldn't be here!
;)

it sounds simmilar to (i keep forgetting the guys name, he's going to
smack me) the guy who cut the front wheel off a racing bike and rides a
uni with 32 gears

someone will remember his name
and link to his pics


--
GILD - Waffle-tosser

When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more
hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have
ever been committed in the name of rebellion.
-- C. P. Snow
'this will only take a minute...(fixed)'
(http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/actions/un.htm)
'and while u're in a good-deed-doing-mood...'
(http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com.)

JUST SAY 'KNOW'!

Namaste!
Dave
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[Richard Loxley]

Mike McDermott wrote:
>
> The pedals will be 40" off the ground, and with the current gears,
> should be equivalent to a 32" wheel.

40" off the ground! So kind of like a 6' giraffe? With an effective
gearing almost as high as a coker!

Just make sure you video your first ride!


- Richard

[grey]

Mike McDermott wrote:
> *This seems too easy. I'll have about nothing invested in this. Has
> anyone
> else done this?
> *

In the mid eighties, I built a giraffe out of bike parts. Using a 20"
wheel, I geared it 1:1, but that could be easily changed. I even
cobbled together an ugly seat out of wood! Talk about cheap!
This summer when I pulled it out of a long retirement in the garage, my
poor welding on the hub sproket broke free. You might want to weld
yours better than I did mine. BTW, the way mine is, once you weld the
sprocket to the hub, you won't be changing any spokes without cutting
the sprocket free again. Surely there are better ways.


--
grey - George Kleinert

"The feeling is weird - sort of like learning to use a single-wheel
prosthetic device to keep the earth away." - cyberbellum
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[harper]

Mike-

You sent me an e-mail a couple of days ago to which I was unable to
respond due to mailer errors.

First, the guy Gild is referring to is Jeff Baker and he goes by
unibiker on these fora. Jeff has an incredible machine and quite a
history getting there.

Second, skip the 16" wheel for speed. The larger the wheel diameter the
smoother your ride will be. Road irregularities love to sneak up through
gear trains and bite you and small diameter wheels invite that kind of
response.

Third, Cokers are fast and smooth but they can't compete with bikes. I
have passed many a bicyclist on Blue Shift but it's hard work all the
way and it has to be on a smooth, level bike path. To maintain a high
enough speed I am in full protective gear because when I go down at that
speed I go down hard. I have passed few bicyclists on a Coker and those
are almost exclusively during a climb.

Please try to send an e-mail to me again. It may be a problem related to
sending an e-mail on the first day you registered on RSU.


--
harper - Old dog, no tricks

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"I managed to get my missus riding a couple of yards before she got
pregnant with Jenny, but she hasn't tried riding since. " - Danny
Colyer

"Sa da tay! Sepotown!" - Pootie Tang

"Know thyself. Of course, try to know Claudia Schiffer and Salma Hayak
but, failing that, at least know thyself." - Greg Harper


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[ubersquish]

instead of welding it you can buy a fixed gear hub. or if you don't want
to rebuild your wheel, surly makes the fixxer, which replaces the
cassette on your hub and makes it act fixed. personally, i'd go with
getting a new hub, especially since you you're using trash


--
ubersquish
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[johnfoss]

In my earliest days of riding I experimented with larger top chainrings
on my Schwinn Giraffe. You can get more speed this way, but it is
unlikely you will reach the equivalent of bike speeds.

Same on a Coker. I was hoping to do rides with my wife on her new
recumbent, and we will. But it will be up to me to keep up, and up to
her to wait for me every once in a while... :)


--
johnfoss - IUF Director

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"My sister wanted to buy the new Eminem CD. I had to say to her, 'Like,
you can't hear it.'" — my nephew Austin Miller, whose sister Alexa is
100% deaf... But she can ride a unicycle!

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[unibiker]

GILD wrote:
> *it sounds similar to (i keep forgetting the guys name, he's going to
> smack me) the guy who cut the front wheel off a racing bike and rides
> a uni with 32 gears
>
> someone will remember his name
> and link to his pics *
smack!:D


--
unibiker - What is that thing anyway?

Jeff Baker

______________________________

Favorite comment (from a child) 'You can't do that. That's impossible.'
'Unibike Gallery' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albun01) --
'Unibike Thread Search' (http://tinyurl.com/v0x3)
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[keaner]

Don't deprive yourself of speed ,take your bicycle for a ride ,Munis
great but it's dreadfully plodding compared to a bike ride,I'd get fat
just riding Muni .Spice it up, ride your bike you know you love it too.
Wheel,wheels, there all fun.

K


--
keaner - unicycler
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[Mike McDermott]

My mistake. The crank will be only 20" off the ground.

"Richard Loxley" > wrote in message
news:3FCC916F.B33F34D8@RichardLoxleyDoesntLikeSpam .com...
> Mike McDermott wrote:
> >
> > The pedals will be 40" off the ground, and with the current gears,
> > should be equivalent to a 32" wheel.
>
> 40" off the ground! So kind of like a 6' giraffe? With an effective
> gearing almost as high as a coker!
>
> Just make sure you video your first ride!
>
>
> - Richard

[Mike McDermott]

O.K. Maybe I won't be able to keep up with bicycles, except slow ones, but
with my 20", I can't even keep up w/ joggers!
One use I am looking for is to be able to "pace" my friend who trains for
marathons. I'm not interested
in training for a marathon, and riding a bike at that speed would bore me.

I have a goal in the back of my head to uni the "Hilly Hundred" which is a
100 mile - 2 day bike ride in Southern Indiana.
They have about 5000 riders. I figure with that many, I won't be the
slowest.

-Kokomojuggler

"harper" > wrote in message
list.com...
>
> Mike-
>
> You sent me an e-mail a couple of days ago to which I was unable to
> respond due to mailer errors.
>
> First, the guy Gild is referring to is Jeff Baker and he goes by
> unibiker on these fora. Jeff has an incredible machine and quite a
> history getting there.
>
> Second, skip the 16" wheel for speed. The larger the wheel diameter the
> smoother your ride will be. Road irregularities love to sneak up through
> gear trains and bite you and small diameter wheels invite that kind of
> response.
>
> Third, Cokers are fast and smooth but they can't compete with bikes. I
> have passed many a bicyclist on Blue Shift but it's hard work all the
> way and it has to be on a smooth, level bike path. To maintain a high
> enough speed I am in full protective gear because when I go down at that
> speed I go down hard. I have passed few bicyclists on a Coker and those
> are almost exclusively during a climb.
>
> Please try to send an e-mail to me again. It may be a problem related to
> sending an e-mail on the first day you registered on RSU.
>
>
> --
> harper - Old dog, no tricks
>
> -Greg Harper
>
> B L U E S H I F T
>
> "I managed to get my missus riding a couple of yards before she got
> pregnant with Jenny, but she hasn't tried riding since. " - Danny
> Colyer
>
> "Sa da tay! Sepotown!" - Pootie Tang
>
> "Know thyself. Of course, try to know Claudia Schiffer and Salma Hayak
> but, failing that, at least know thyself." - Greg Harper
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/29180
>

[jagur]

Mike McDermott wrote:
> *I have a goal in the back of my head to uni the "Hilly Hundred" which
> is a 100 mile - 2 day bike ride in Southern Indiana.
> They have about 5000 riders. I figure with that many, I won't be the
> slowest. *
you wont be last at all if it is truly that hilly,unicycles rule on the
hills (uphills) .just get a 29er (unicycle with 700c tyre) and some
cranks of no longer than 125mm.you will pass hundreds with that
combo...i however wouldnt be able to endure that type of distance
riding.you must be in great shape.


--
jagur - Random Unicyclist

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-Forget_Your_Life-
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[Mike McDermott]

"jagur" > wrote in message
ist.com...
>
> Mike McDermott wrote:
> > *I have a goal in the back of my head to uni the "Hilly Hundred" which
> > is a 100 mile - 2 day bike ride in Southern Indiana.
> > They have about 5000 riders. I figure with that many, I won't be the
> > slowest. *
> you wont be last at all if it is truly that hilly,unicycles rule on the
> hills (uphills) .just get a 29er (unicycle with 700c tyre) and some
> cranks of no longer than 125mm.you will pass hundreds with that
> combo...i however wouldnt be able to endure that type of distance
> riding.you must be in great shape.

I'm not in that great of shape now, I have almost a year. The ride is in
October. It's only 50 miles/day. I'll be happy to complete each day in
10 hours. I rode a 24" uni for 5 miles w/o problems. I just have to do
that 10 times!

Where does one get tires for these odd size unicycles?

[joona]

Mike McDermott wrote:
> *It's only 50 miles/day. I'll be happy to complete each day in
> 10 hours.
>
> Where does one get tires for these odd size unicycles?
> *


Have you visited unicycle.com? Or unicycle.uk.com? Go to either of those
and check their road and commuting unis.

Then to that 50 miles/day. You need a realy good saddle for this.
Otherwise your sitting part of your body is mincemeat. You'll probably
want a KH saddle or an air saddle conversion.


--
joona - )-O <--Neat

Mad as a moose (or atleast Minimoose)
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[Naomi]

"johnfoss" > wrote in
message yclist.com...
>
> In my earliest days of riding I experimented with larger top chainrings
> on my Schwinn Giraffe. You can get more speed this way, but it is
> unlikely you will reach the equivalent of bike speeds.
>
> Same on a Coker. I was hoping to do rides with my wife on her new
> recumbent, and we will. But it will be up to me to keep up, and up to
> her to wait for me every once in a while... :)
>


I know it is naughty of me, and a revealing indication of my sorry state of
mind, but I cannot read that last paragraph without my imagination dragging
me off in what must surely be totally the wrong direction.

Naomi ;-)

[Borges]

When correctly viewed
everything is lewd.

I don't get it, but DON'T explain.


--
Borges - High impact cerabellum workout

"Getting caught wearing this helmet may result in death by hanging"
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