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

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]

Originally posted by Mike McDermott
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

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]

Originally posted by Mike McDermott
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.

[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.

Steve DeKoekkoek has a geared giraffe 2:1 with a 20" wheel that gives a very nice ride. It is very difficult to both mount and dismount. There is a photo of me riding this giraffe in the TRY THIS thread.

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.

[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

[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...

[unibiker]

Originally posted by GILD
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!

[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

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

"Richard Loxley" <news@RichardLoxleyDoesntLikeSpam.com> 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

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" <harper@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:harper.xtj9f@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.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
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/29180
>

[jagur]

Originally posted by Mike McDermott
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" <jagur@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:jagur.xuwci@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.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]

Originally posted by Mike McDermott
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.

"johnfoss" <johnfoss@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in
message news:johnfoss.xtyjk@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.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 ;-)