uni with gears, brakes and freewheeling hub [Archive]

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-13, 10:36 PM

for me half term is coming up and im going to have a week of school and i thought that it would be fun to make a freewheeling uni, i thought i could just lay into a bike with a angle grinder then weld up a uni, firstly i thought i could just weld the pedals straight onto th hub and keep the brake but now i realise its going to be a bit harder and i think i may end up doing it with a chain and maybe even gears, i will post some pics of it if/when i get round to making it and hopfuly some pics of me riding it, if you have and suggestions feel free to post them

I have attached a picture which i have (badly) edited to show the general idea of what i was thinking of

thejdw

2007-02-13, 10:37 PM

you may want to try and put the pedals bellow the axle ;)
looks good though

habbywall

2007-02-13, 10:39 PM

Or, try a smaller wheel, like 20 inches, just gear it up higher and it is like having a big wheel.

thejdw

2007-02-13, 10:43 PM

Or, try a smaller wheel, like 20 inches, just gear it up higher and it is like having a big wheel.
I was thinking of the balence issue ;)

kington99

2007-02-13, 11:28 PM

You can build a giraffe from an old bike fairly easily, espeically if you have welding skills. You can include the freewheel, or lock it out by welding/wiring it together. However the gears won't work if you try to pedal backawards, you'll have to remove the deraileur, pick one of the cogs on the wheel to use and shorten the chain appropriately. There have been several threads, with photos, of people converting old bikes to unis, try the search function to find them.

harper

2007-02-13, 11:31 PM

unibiker.

Hazmat

2007-02-14, 12:31 AM

onewheelinwierdo

2007-02-14, 12:33 AM

I'm not sure about the freewheeling hub though. :D Welder will fix that up good.

gordito8me

2007-02-14, 12:39 AM

Put a coaster brake on it

abbabibble

2007-02-14, 12:53 AM

unibiker.

*takes hat off.*

Most definately would've been the guy to talk to.

maximus unius

2007-02-14, 01:19 AM

Looks like a variation on a penguin uni. Report back in if and when you complete it. Looks interesting.

francisco

2007-02-14, 01:28 AM

damn!

first you can train a bit of "pen" tool...

monkeyman

2007-02-14, 01:40 AM

first you can train a bit of "pen" tool...
.I have attached a picture which i have (badly) edited to show the general idea of what i was thinking of

saskatchewanian

2007-02-14, 02:14 AM

how about a rohloff hub or something simmilar? internal gearing and freewheeling (and 14 speeds)

tunkie

2007-02-14, 02:43 AM

Heres my design:D

crud cant upload pic

tunkie

2007-02-14, 02:45 AM

Hopefully this pic works:confused: 17834
weird does anyone know how to put a pic directly on here

Hazmat

2007-02-14, 03:10 AM

Why not get one of these?? :D :D

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 07:04 AM

Why not save up to buy a Schlumpf Geared Unicycle. You said you wanted gears and a brake. I'm not sure about the freewheeling hub though. :D http://www.unicycle.uk.com/shop/shopdisplayproduct.asp?catalogid=734

it looks very nice but im just doing it for a bit of fun and so im on a small budget and £890 is too much im just going to use an old bike and maybe some old steel and just weld it all together

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 07:06 AM

I searched for a simalar thread but could not find any so feel free to post a link if u have one

Hazmat

2007-02-14, 07:15 AM

I searched for a simalar thread but could not find any so feel free to post a link if u have one
BTW the picture I've uploaded (see above) detaches into a unicycle. :D :D

Take care
Hazmat

kington99

2007-02-14, 09:19 AM

uniredneck

2007-02-14, 09:23 AM

One thing I have been thinking about, somewhat mentioned above, is making a shorter version of a giraffe, getting a geared hub (with welded cassette body to keep from freewheeling), laced to a 24" wheel. Attaching a Surly Singulator (does the chain tensioning job of a derailleur for single speed bikes) to some point near the hub would allow for many different gear ratios. Now, the rider would have to dismount to change gears unlike the geared hubs on the market, but this setup (built correctly) could offer many more gear options.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 09:48 AM

Try these:

http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50753&highlight=homemade+giraffe
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50114&highlight=homemade+giraffe
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36818&highlight=homemade+giraffe

thanks, I have looked at them all, what i am ameing to do is quite different my main objective is to make a uni with a free wheeling hub rather than a giraffe uni but as it is the part in the spoket that enables the back wheel of bikes to freewheel i think i may have to make a small giraffe uni for it to be able to freewheel. and for me putting gears on it will just be an added bonus as it will probably make it easyer to construct.

Jerrick

2007-02-14, 10:05 AM

thanks, I have looked at them all, what i am ameing to do is quite different my main objective is to make a uni with a free wheeling hub rather than a giraffe uni but as it is the part in the spoket that enables the back wheel of bikes to freewheel i think i may have to make a small giraffe uni for it to be able to freewheel. and for me putting gears on it will just be an added bonus as it will probably make it easyer to construct.

You can make it so its bearly taller than a regular you too.=p

Its all in the placement of the drive to the hub. You can have the drive short and close to the frame, and your seat bearly higher than that, and be about as high as you would be being on a coker.

Then again, you could make a longer frame, put your drive higher up, and your seat high, and be riding a 7 foot, free-wheeling giraffe. That sounds fun! :rolleyes:

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 10:09 AM

having not bin riding for long i have never tried a giraffe uni how much harder are they? and how hard is it going to be to get on it if you cant backpedal

Jerrick

2007-02-14, 10:40 AM

having not bin riding for long i have never tried a giraffe uni how much harder are they? and how hard is it going to be to get on it if you cant backpedal

Giraffes arent actually to much harder then riding a regular uni. But putting a freewheel on to one is just asking for trouble.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 11:11 AM

Hazmat

2007-02-14, 11:57 AM

thats kind of what i thought which is why i thought of using a 20 inch wheel or maybe 26 as a maximum so it would be easyer to ride and then maybe once i can ride it ok i may make it into a giraff or change the size of wheel
Well you have potential. that's a good thing :D Also the imagination can sometimes tell you to make a new invention like it's telling me.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 04:57 PM

im going to go out now and maybe make a start on it or asses exactly how im going to do it

onelesscar

2007-02-14, 08:36 PM

Hopefully this pic works:confused: 17834
weird does anyone know how to put a pic directly on here
well, it might help if you save it as a jpg instead of a photoshop file.

because, you know, not everyone has photoshop.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-14, 09:35 PM

i have photoshop so il save it as a jpeg for you, it looks quite gd, thnx tunkie

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-15, 07:42 PM

I have made a start on it now, i have grinded off the parts tht i dont need and taken off the cable to the gear change and break i need to find a tube for the seatpost which i will hopfuly find today then i will hopfully weld it all together tomorrow, here is a pic of what it is like now and what i would like to do so you can comment on it

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-15, 07:43 PM

here is what i am ameing to have by tomorrow

UniMOG

2007-02-15, 08:02 PM

can you ride it, how is it......:D

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-15, 09:42 PM

I will hopfuly be able to tell you that tomorrow i now have all the pieces and hopfully if i have enough time tomorrow i will weld it together and take it for a test drive :D

GhettoSmurf

2007-02-16, 01:43 AM

ha good luck welding directly to the bottom bracket and expecting to ride it.

habbywall

2007-02-16, 01:55 AM

Good luck with that. It looks really cool, but the frame sticking out like that might cause some balance problems.

Brian O.

2007-02-16, 02:55 AM

here is what i am ameing to have by tomorrow

How the heck would you mount that if it freewheels?

dunawan

2007-02-16, 03:01 AM

Hazmat

2007-02-16, 03:45 AM

I know I've posted this b4 but i just had to put it up again and yes i am aware of it having super long cranks. :D :D

James_Potter

2007-02-16, 04:02 AM

Ok first off a free-weeling unicycle is going to be very hard to ride...and on top of that its all out of proportion.......I dont mean to burst your bubble, but i dont think you will ever succesfully ride this thing
Psh, ye of little faith!! A free-wheeling unicycle isn't hard to ride at all. Well okay I've never ridden one personally so I can't talk...but I know lots of people have, and I've ridden a BC wheel which is basically the same only without a seat which should actually make it harder right?

dunawan

2007-02-16, 04:08 AM

Psh, ye of little faith!! A free-wheeling unicycle isn't hard to ride at all. Well okay I've never ridden one personally so I can't talk...but I know lots of people have, and I've ridden a BC wheel which is basically the same only without a seat which should actually make it harder right?

eh...well not really think about it...i dont know about you but 25 percent of the time i pedal back ever so slightly when i ride...and you wouldnt be able to idle and if a car was coming you wouldnt be able to stop...And you wouldnt be able to hop either

James_Potter

2007-02-16, 04:13 AM

Well yeah obviously it wouldn't be as practical as a regular unicycle, it would be just for novelty...just like a BC wheel. My point is that it would be not too difficult to be able to ride it, riding it through traffic on the other hand would just be silly.

skrobo

2007-02-16, 04:13 AM

it looks very nice but im just doing it for a bit of fun and so im on a small budget and £890 is too much im just going to use an old bike and maybe some old steel and just weld it all together
uhmm
isn't a KH less than that!

saskatchewanian

2007-02-16, 05:19 AM

eh...well not really think about it...i dont know about you but 25 percent of the time i pedal back ever so slightly when i ride...and you wouldnt be able to idle and if a car was coming you wouldnt be able to stop...And you wouldnt be able to hop either

except for idling you could potentialy use the break to acomplish all these things. it would take a lot of skill and finesse but i think its dooable.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-16, 06:55 AM

i think it will be possible and so long as its posable it can be done and i have a week to do it :D

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-16, 06:59 AM

welding the seatpost on shouldnt be a problem i have already cut the piece and it fits fine

I dont like the frame either but once i know it is possible to ride i mght modify it to look better

maestro8

2007-02-16, 09:37 PM

you wouldnt be able to hop either
can't hop while rolling on one freewheel? tell that to a trials biker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXApPXKzmDw).

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-18, 09:46 PM

i still havnt finished it :( its all ready to weld but were out of gas and cant get any untill tuesday, after then it shouldnt be long untill i will get some pictures of it and hopfully a video of my riding it

freewheeler

2007-02-19, 06:50 AM

thanks, I have looked at them all, what i am ameing to do is quite different my main objective is to make a uni with a free wheeling hub rather than a giraffe uni but as it is the part in the spoket that enables the back wheel of bikes to freewheel i think i may have to make a small giraffe uni for it to be able to freewheel. and for me putting gears on it will just be an added bonus as it will probably make it easyer to construct.

Hi there. I am new to this site. I noticed you are trying to build a freewheeling hub for a unicycle. I made one 20 years ago by taking 2 freewheeling chain sprockets and welding 2 plates with holes to them for the spokes.
It works amazing. You hear the clicking from the freewheeling just like on a normal bike when not pedaling. It was really simple to make but it is a real b**ch to ride lol. Here is a pic. btw I recommend putting a hand held brake via cable so your arms are free to help keep you balanced.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid224/p7562c67a6e0cd34dd170e7a259b9c39e/eaa1f219.jpg

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-19, 09:53 AM

freewheeler

2007-02-19, 02:40 PM

i cant quite see how that works, I origanly thought of using 2 freewheeling sprokets but they only fit on one side and if i could get 1 for each side i thoght i would mean that both the pedals would be able to spin backwards independant of eachother.
I would like to see more pictures of your freewheeler to see exactly what you mean, thanks for your post

I used two freewheel sprockets by welding them on the axel facing the same direction. I was lucky to have a unicycle that the axel was easily removable with an allen key otherwise I would not have been able to use my design the way I did. I originally wanted to drill holes through the prongs on the sprockets for the spokes but the metal proved to be to hard to drill through. I got around this by attaching plates with holes to each sprocket for the spokes. I hope these pics are a little more clear. I don't know if they still make unicycles with the allen key removable hub. I bought mine around 25 years ago and converted it to a freewheeler around 20 years ago. Good luck building your freewheeler and even more luck trying to ride it.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid224/p031a7df2137dedc7171583403863f14c/ea9dc28b.jpg

brendan

2007-02-19, 10:28 PM

lol the first freewheeling unicycle! thats pretty awesome!

yeah i think a brake will be a needed accesory as for soem good padding for falling on to.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-02-20, 12:25 PM

I see now, nice job :D
If/when the one i am making proves to be to hard to ride i might grind up some more bikes and see if i can make something like what you have done but i think i will add a break

tobbogonist

2007-02-20, 08:25 PM

came across this (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=439), it says it freewheels? see if you can contact who makes these hubs?

I have not read any of this thread and saw this pennyfarthing and thought it might be some help.

habbywall

2007-02-20, 10:01 PM

I'm pretty sure that in that thing by freewheel they mean you can pick your feet up off the pedals and still go, but I'm not sure.

Jerrick

2007-02-20, 10:04 PM

I'm pretty sure that in that thing by freewheel they mean you can pick your feet up off the pedals and still go, but I'm not sure.

This nostalgic high wheeler is no ordinary bicycle. It's the Wheelman! It combines vintage styling with today's technology. The free-wheeling front axle enables you to coast or pedal like like your modern-day bicycle.

Im pretty sure it means you can just stop pedalling and continue going.

kington99

2007-02-20, 10:06 PM

I'm pretty sure that in that thing by freewheel they mean you can pick your feet up off the pedals and still go, but I'm not sure.

No the coker wheelman has a freewheel hub, notice how big the hub is compared to a normal unicycle hub. One of these would work perfectly for a coasting uni, you just might have trouble sourcing one on its own.

Jerrick

2007-02-20, 10:10 PM

No the coker wheelman has a freewheel hub, notice how big the hub is compared to a normal unicycle hub. One of these would work perfectly for a coasting uni, you just might have trouble sourcing one on its own.

Those cranks look rather long for a smaller wheel too. =p

kington99

2007-02-20, 10:31 PM

Those cranks look rather long for a smaller wheel too. =p

Then swap them out for some shorter ones, they're a standard square taper.

Jerrick

2007-02-20, 10:41 PM

Then swap them out for some shorter ones, they're a standard square taper.

I should of used :rolleyes: instead of =p.

kington99

2007-02-20, 11:21 PM

I should of used :rolleyes: instead of =p.

Ah sorry, didn't mean to insult your intelligence.

sp4rky-m4rky

2007-03-11, 09:46 PM

i decided to make it into a girrafe uni insted so i now have a 7.5 ft giraffe uni, i think it may have been posible but it would have been extremly hard and i thouhgt it would be better to make and ride a giraffe uni than to spend ages trying to ride somthing that may not be possible to ride