Motorized Unicycles – The Next Great Commuter Vehicle?

Motorized Unicycles – The Next Great Commuter Vehicle?
With the rising cost of fuel, many are trying to think of ways to save money. Have you ever thought of riding a unicycle to work? What if it had a motor? By Earl Hunsinger

Have you ever tried to ride a unicycle? Maybe when you think of unicycles, you immediately picture a circus clown riding around the big top throwing candy or buckets of confetti at the crowd. Believe it or not, occasionally real people also ride unicycles. Doing so is harder than riding a bicycle because you have to not only balance from side to side, but also from front to back. With that in mind, imagine attaching a motor to one.

That is exactly what several daring inventors have done. In 1999, Kerry Mclean turned the unicycle concept inside out. In his invention the rider sits on the inside of a large wheel. As he pedals, the wheel moves around him. Stationary and movable weights help the rider maintain his balance. He went on to create a motorized version called the Rocket Roadster. As strange as they appear to be, his designs are very similar to earlier monowheel vehicles. (A monowheel is a vehicle that allows a person to ride inside the circumference of a single large wheel.) The first of these was invented in 1869, and over the years various inventors have come up with both pedaled and motorized versions.

In contrast to monowheels, Trevor Blackwell’s idea was just to add a motor, and some electronics, to a unicycle. This is possible in part due to the same balancing technology that is used in the Segway. In fact, he first experimented with building his own version of a two-wheeled scooter. Then, with the idea that two wheels were redundant, he decided to build a motorized unicycle. Now, when most people look at a conventional unicycle, they may think that it is crazy to try to sit on a seat that is designed with the ability to rotate around the wheel. Maybe they’re right. It’s true that preventing this from happening is the hardest thing about riding a unicycle. Blackwell’s motorized unicycle utilizes electronics to provide some assistance with this. It uses a simple feedback loop between a solid-state gyroscope and the wheel motor to balance itself. When it detects itself tilting forward, the wheel is run forward to keep the unicycle, and rider, vertical. When it detects itself tilting backwards, the wheel is run backwards. The electronics allow 200 updates per second, making these adjustments virtually undetectable.

Trevor Blackwell’s success caused Ben Gulak to ask him for help with the balancing mechanism in his own invention. This 17-year-old was inspired after experiencing the pollution in Beijing during a family trip to China. He feels that his electric unicycle will help eliminate pollution and be easier to maneuver than a conventional two wheeler. According to Popular Science, which featured his bike on the cover of a recent issue, the wheel chair motors that he uses could allow speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, but so far he hasn’t tested it above 15 miles per hour.

With the current cost of fuel and, in some areas, the heavy traffic, maybe motorized unicycles are the wave of the future. It might take a somewhat adventurous (we’ll say) kind of person to try to ride a motorized vehicle with a singe wheel. After all, many people are afraid of motorcycles. While the gyroscope and electronics help to stabilize motorized unicycles, they still require some practice to operate. Just as with a motorcycle, there’s also an inherent lack of protection if an accident occurs at high speed, in comparison with the metal frame that surrounds you in an automobile. Of course, at present, motorized unicycles don’t go very fast.

If you would like to know more, or would like to build your own motorized unicycle, or two wheel scooter, Trevor Blackwell’s website provides more information, including a parts list.

Who knows, maybe in the future, rather than thinking of men dressed as clowns when you think of unicycles, you’ll think of your daily commute to work.