I've just subscribed to the list and I'd like to introduce myself. My name's
Bob Knight and I think I've been unicycling for about 15 years. I was reading
through the archives on the unicycling homepage and I found a couple of
references to things I've built over the years, A lot of you may have
seen them at the UK conventions in Manchester and Norwich.
Manchester was the year I made the 3 speed baby giraffe. The heart of this
monster was a 1951 sturmey archer ASC three speed *fixed* hub. This thing was
truly a challenge to ride, I'll give more details if people are interested.
The following year was Norwich and the debut of the geared up racing unicycle.
This was constructed using two independent drive chains on either side
of the unicycle, with the effective crank centre about 4 inches below the centre
of the wheel, it uses a 27 inch wheel geared up to 48 inches. Incredibly hard
to ride slowly and very dangerous to ride fast - what fun. Sam my younger
brother (a very experienced unicyclist) fell off at about 20 mph and broke his
arm ! trouble is you can ride it faster than you can run...
I'm in the fortunate position of having a Father that takes great delight in
constructing weird and wonderful bikes all the time, He's made about 30
custom unicycles for various people ranging from miniscule ones to tall
giraffes, also on the list is replica Penny Farthings (I take great delight in
riding this as a unicycle), recumbents and a bike for a three legged man, with
the cranks at 120 degrees rather than 180... OK the middle leg was a dummy one
bolted to the pedal and you had to wear a long coat to hide the join. It was
amazing how many people never noticed anything strange.
The latest project is a tandem unicycle for Sam and myself to ride (or attempt
to ride) its not finished yet but I'll keep you posted.
I was based in Bedford UK and belonged to the Bedford Circus Ring but now live
near Reading, Berkshire UK (are there any active unicycle groups near Reading ?)
I also spend time working in Boston MA several times a year.
If anyone wants anymore details of these toys, or indeed has an idea for
something unusual to build, please let me know, we're always on the lookout for
the next challenge
cheers for now
Bob