A monowheel or uniwheel is a type of one-wheeled,
single-track vehicle
A single-track vehicle is a vehicle that leaves a single ground track as it moves forward. Single-track vehicles usually have little or no lateral stability when stationary but develop it when moving forward or controlled. In the case of wheeled v ...
. Unlike the
unicycle
A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is prac ...
, a monowheel consists of a large, hollow wheel that loops above and around the driver. Monowheels are typically powered by an engine as with a
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
, with a
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
securing the steering, driver's seat, and propulsion mechanism to the interior of the wheel.
Hand-cranked and pedal-powered monowheels were patented and built in the late 19th century; most built in the 20th and 21st century have been motorized. Some modern builders refer to these vehicles as monocycles, though that term is also sometimes used to describe motorized unicycles.
A world speed record for a motorized monowheel was set in 2016, at 98.464 km/h (61.18 mph).
Stability
Similar to bicycles, monowheels are stable in the direction of travel, but have limited horizontal stability. This is in contrast to unicycles which are unstable in both directions.
Monowheels have also been found to have a lower speed required for stability when compared to unicycles.
A monowheel remains upright due to gyroscopic effects, but its lack of stability makes it highly dependent on forward momentum and the balance of the rider, who must maintain stability while steering. Over the history of the monowheel, various stability enhancements have been tried such as support struts (Green & Dyer, 1869), skids and propellers (D'Harlingue Propeller-Driven Monowheel, 1914), as well as gyroscopes, fins, and rudders (The McLean V8 Monowheel, 2003).
Many riders choose to control stability when at a stop by putting their feet on the ground, similar to bicycles and
motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
.
Variants and related vehicles
There have been many proposals for variants or uses, such as a horse-drawn monowheel
[ or a monowheel ]tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
.
An electric monowheel called Dynasphere Dynasphere may refer to:
* Dynasphere (vehicle)
The Dynasphere (sometimes misspelled Dynosphere) is a monowheel vehicle design patented in 1930 by John Archibald Purves FRSE (7 August 1870 – 4 November 1952) from Taunton, Somerset, UK.
...
was tested in 1932 in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
In 1971, an American inventor named Kerry McLean built his first monocycle (aka monowheel). In 2000, he built a larger version, the McLean Rocket Roadster powered by a Buick V-8 engine, which subsequently crashed in 2001 during the initial test run. McLean survived and proceeded to build over 25 different variations of his version of the monocycle, from pedal powered models, 5HP models, all the way up to V8 powered models. In 2010, Nokia used two of McLean's monocycles in their commercials promoting the new Nokia SatNav smartphone.
One variant called a RIOT wheel
A RIOT wheel is a one-wheeled vehicle, or monowheel. A motor and counterweight are housed inside a giant wheel, while the driver sits on a platform that extends out in front of the device. This is in contrast to the more typical monowheels and th ...
was presented at Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...
in 2003. It involves the passengers sitting in front of the wheel and being balanced by a heavy counterweight inside the wheel. Rather than the typical ring drive, this vehicle is powered through a sprocket
A sprocket, sprocket-wheel or chainwheel is a profiled wheel
A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the whe ...
attached to the spokes.
A company in the Netherlands began taking custom orders for a monocycle variant called the Wheelsurf in 2007.
A related vehicle is the diwheel or the dicycle
A dicycle () (also known as a diwheel) is a vehicle with two parallel wheels, side by side, unlike single-track vehicles such as motorcycles and bicycles, which have two wheels inline. Originally used to refer to devices with large wheels and ped ...
, in which the rider is suspended between or inside of a pair of large wheels placed side by side.
See also
*
*
*
* Star Wars wheelbike
References
External links
Video of Guinness world speed record
*"Speedy New Motor-Hoop Amazes Italians", ''Popular Science
Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...
'', December 1924, page 40
scanned by Google Books
*"Amazing New Motor-Driven Hoop May Be Car of the Future", ''Popular Science'', May 1932, front cover and page 63
scanned by Google Books
*"War Tank on One Wheel, Operated by One Man", ''Popular Science'', November 1933, front cover and page 47
scanned by Google BooksCycle World: Circle CycleImpact Lab: History of the World’s Craziest Invention - The Monowheel
{{Human-powered vehicles
Cycle types