New Hour Record

[GizmoDuck]

Wow! Awesome stuff Pete. I'm so glad you've done it. It's an awesome achievement. I hope you get a chance to be in the next edition before someone has a go at the record.

As far as records go, the most difficult part is the amount of paperwork you have to do, and submitting it to Guinness etc. The riding itself is the easy part (for me anyway).

I know that there are several people who can, have gone, faster than Petes record, but unless they go through the effort of putting together the necessary paperwork, it will only be recognised as unofficial records. For instance, I was averaging slightly over 25km/h for my first/second hours during my 24hr record attempt, and the 100mile record has an average speed of 23.8km/h. The late Unibiker posted a time of about 25km/h, as did Ken Cline. Christian Hoverath and Frank Bonsch both did about 1hr 40min for a 42km marathon.

I agree it would be nice that the official unicycling body (IUF) set's it's own record rules- much as how Guinness goes to the UCI (Bicyclings official body) to get their records. But unfortunately at this point I don't think the IUF rules are adequate for Guinness to accept. Until such a time, I'd rather be working on Guinness' rules than the IUF's.

Anyway, keep these records coming! It's great for the sport.

Once again, well done Pete!

Ken

p/s I have some videos from my 24hr record ride. How do I compress them?

[Honka_Horn]

Congradulations! What a stunning job. Purple Phase must be inordinately difficult to ride.


I have two comments.
1. Guinness Records and paper work are irritating BUT it is designed to be as fair as possible, so for the next contender, where ever the location, there are at least some standard guidelines to follow. I've dealt with Guinness Records for Solar Car racing (http://www.midsun.uwaterloo.ca/tour). The paper work is time consuming, currently ongoing, but a necessary element in order for any governing body to assume some form of consistency. The Solar Car competitions also have an active governing body to help insure consistency. Its rules and regulations are what Guinness Records chooses to follow.

2. The IUF does need to come to terms with geared and non-geared unicycles. For geared unicycles it looks like only a small number of people will be able to afford them; whether they build prototypes or purchase soon to be available models. Acquiring standard unicycles is far easier and cheaper, thus more accessible for everyone.

It really comes down to what’s desired. Pushing the sport with gears is a great idea. Progress, Advancement, Technology, Human Achievement, you name it, there are lots of great reasons, but I would hate for those reasons to come at too high a cost where the average rider can never compete because the records are financially inaccessible.

[HardcoreCokerRider]

Originally posted by TonyMelton
What do you mean? David Stone just said that at least five other unicyclists have done 16 miles in an hour already on standard non-geared Cokers!

Well then I suppose Pete's current record could be challenged on a non-geared uni... but the point that I'm trying to make is that having a completely unique custom geared uni (with a gear ratio higher than anything else that's been built recently)... puts Pete at a MAJOR advantage over anyone else who attempts to break the record on a non-geared uni (or even a geared uni with a lower gear ratio... such as Harper's geared 36er).

Once the unicycling community has easy access to geared uni's (with equal or similar performance capabilities as Pete's amazing design)... then and only then will we start to see serious attempts to challenge the record.

In my opinion, any attempt to break the record on a non-geared uni isn't really a serious attempt at the record... because if that same rider (or a rider with equal talent) had access to a geared uni... they would destroy the (non-geared) uni speed record.

You could be the fastest spinner in the world, but without the ability to build or borrow a geared uni... I doubt even the fastest spinner in the world will hold on to the record for too long... probably just until another decent spinner comes along and attempts the record on a geared uni!

Since 36" geared uni's are not currently in production, it seems that Pete (or another rider with similar geared uni building talent) will most likely hold on to the record for a while.

[U-Turn]

Congratulations, Pete! A fine job. Now that you've made one attempt, I'm sure you will improve just with practice and the newly-acquired experience.

[unisk8r]

Thanks all very much for your support & encouragement! Just attempting the hour record was hard work, and riding at 15+mph for 57 minutes was a 110% effort for me. I now give even more respect to riders like Christian Horvath and the like.

But I must "say my peace" to counter Stone's opinion. I said in my first post that all I wanted to do was to bring attention to the racing aspect of unicycling and to encourage others to try this. Whatever the official record is, that's what it is. But to say that mine should not be the record just because there are better riders in the world defeats the whole notion of an official record.
Take the bike world for example. The hour record is revered despite there being "better" riders than the record holders (eg Lance is arguably a better cyclist than Chris Boardman). But if those arguably better riders never make an official record, then it stands as is. You can argue all day long that Chris' record shouldn't count because Lance did a point-to-point time trial faster. But Chris did it under the then-prescribed standards. That's how records work. Not by arguing about it informally.
Technology is certainly an issue in all this. But for us unicyclers, why should a world record not be open to all wheels? Yes, we should have certain standards for comparison. But not little things like crank length. I understand that access to geared wheels is currently limited. But that will change, and quickly.

Tom pointed out the progress made by the juggling world in regulating their records. I too want to see that for us. So, the bottom line is a call to action for the IUF to develop regulations that reflect the modern day racing world. For now, though, I will submit my record and we'll see what Guinness says, OK?

[steve0we]

Congradulations on the fantastic ride. I would be proud to say I stayed on my uni without a UPD for 1 hour let alone pedal it at a very high rate of speed. Keep up the good work, and lets see a 24 hour push!

PS... Did you "P" in the cup, I dont want this to get blown out of control like baseball. Not only was he on a gear'd UNI, but I bet he was on the JUICE......

I bet the first guy to fly a jet plane in the speed record ran into the same problems......" that thang didnt have a propeller!"

Congradulations... best wishes

Steve0we

[HardcoreCokerRider]

In my humble opinion, Pete has accomplished several MAJOR accomplishments in his attempt to “bring attention to the racing aspect of unicycling”… accomplishments that go way beyond his stated goal.

First and foremost, Pete’s imagination to conceive of his “jackshaft” geared design and how to build it (somewhat) cost effectively… and his technical/engineering abilities to bring the design to fruition are extremely impressive. (I assume Pete was inspired to come up with his design because he was not content with the limitations of the internally geared hub.)

Next, Pete mastered learning how to ride his machine quite well and assumed the role of “test pilot” and chief engineer… and further improved his design.

Finally, Pete set out to break the official world record - which he did in spectacular form - and deal with the hassles of submitting it to Guinness… which is probably the most effective thing he could do to spotlight unicycle racing and gain more attention for this niche of the sport – which was his initial intention.

Pete is a true innovator in the sport… and a skilled rider who is pushing the sport forward by leaps and bounds. I think the history books will remember Pete’s huge contribution to the sport – with or without an “official” world record!

[jagur]

Originally posted by HardcoreCokerRider
First and foremost, Pete’s imagination to conceive of his “jackshaft” geared design and how to build it (somewhat) cost effectively… and his technical/engineering abilities to bring the design to fruition are extremely impressive.

lets see if i get my head cut off again.

the "jack shaft" was originaly invented in abouts 1884 on what was called a
Kangaroo

[gbarnes]

Don't flame me for asking...


How does distance work on a velodrome? Is the inner painted line the official distance? Do you have to be *outside* this line (which means being on the banked portion of the track)?

Do hour records have do be done on a velodrome track?

[unisk8r]

Jagur, you are correct! Tommi Miller gave me a video of the history of cycling, which had a brief image of that exact cycle. I was mesmerized...it was so simple in concept and appeared to hold the key to external gearing. But, it had chains on both sides of the wheel, which I realized caused binding issues with the chains. I believe some folks have discovered this same phenomenon trying dual-chained giraffes. It somehow doesn't work as smoothly as you'd think. So I decided to combine both sides into one by using the jackshaft. The cycle pictured really doesn't have a jackshaft, it uses twin direct-drive systems which is different.
Another issue was the pedal axis. The IUF has a rule that says the pedal axis must be the same as the wheel. So I incorporated that concept into my design. Plus it solved the practical problem of making the crank attachments shown below the wheel axle sturdy enough.
Recall too the guy that made the over-the-wheel jackshaft (pic is on John Foss' site). That was good in principle, but was far too complicated for a simple power transmission.
So yes, I borrowed alot of different ideas, but I feel that mine is unique enough that if I wanted to patent it, I could have. But all that matters is that it is capable of being manufactured, which may be sooner than we think...

[HardcoreCokerRider]

Just curious... how high up the banking were you able to get at the velodrome?

Also... what top speed have you hit on that machine?

[unisk8r]

Originally posted by gbarnes
How does distance work on a velodrome? Is the inner painted line the official distance? Do you have to be *outside* this line (which means being on the banked portion of the track)?
Do hour records have do be done on a velodrome track?

To the best of my information, according to Guinness, official hour records have to be done on either a closed course, or an out & back course. A velodrome is not necessary. But the logistics of using an out & back course are alot more difficult to prove & document to the decimal distance.
On the track, I had the officials measure the inside edge of the apron surface 3 times, and take the average. It was not possible for me to have even ridden this line, as it was defined by a grass-to-pavement edge. So yes, I was quite a bit outside that measured line on the turns, being in the center of the apron width. To use the banking on that track, you'd have to go at least 20.

[HardcoreCokerRider]

Originally posted by unisk8r
So yes, I borrowed alot of different ideas, but I feel that mine is unique enough that if I wanted to patent it, I could have. But all that matters is that it is capable of being manufactured, which may be sooner than we think...

While other designs obviously inspired you... your design seems quite unique and ingenious... and most importantly, you have gone about designing and building the 21st implementation of this type of technology on the latest, greatest unicycle (for speed)... and have tested and proven the design!

Hey, Pete... this is your second reference to this technology being manufactured ... a change of heart or some new developments, perhaps? Either way... that's GREAT NEWS for unicyclists worldwide! I can't wait to hear more...

Your doing an amazing job - keep up the good work! You are a major asset to the unicycling community!

[GILD]

Originally posted by unisk8r
I said in my first post that all I wanted to do was to bring attention to the racing aspect of unicycling and to encourage others to try this.

and judging by the three pages of discussion so far, this part of your ride was quite a success as well


well done

[BraveSirStupid]

One question i have for Pete and Ken relates to the effect that their closed-course path length has on their performance, e.g. does the relatively tight radius of curvature at the velodrome or cricket field make their riding more difficult? Does the relatively narrow pavement increase the difficulty of your ride? Does the repetitive nature of orbiting such a short course cause you to become mesmerized?

thanks,

.max