Someone reinvented the wheel... very cool

I found this today on digg.com (a news site - similar to
slashdot.com):

"When you sit down to reinvent the wheel, people think you are crazy.
When you succeed you get something that is visually stunning as well as
technically advantageous."

So I followed the link and browsed the site for a few minutes.
A French guy has been working on this wheel design for years.
Basically, it's a wheel with no insides... just the rim and tire. It's
wierd to explain, so let me just give you the links.

http://www.osmoswheel.com/pages/avantages.asp

That is probably the coolest page I found. It shows why this wheel
works better than tradional ones. And most importantly, it has cool
photos showing the wheel on different vehicles. Check out the bicycle
at the end!

Main website: http://www.osmoswheel.com


It would be interesting if a unicycle was built using this technology.
Although I can only really see a use in a mini-giraffe. I dunno.

Imagine a giraffe 3-wheeler with hollow wheels. Now THAT would be
visually stunning.

Later,

Jess

P.S. I hope this hasn't been posted before.


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dude those are sick pictures, its weird how the bike works tho, without
a chain and stuff. Anyways great find on that and i agree that a 3
wheeler would look sick.


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Cool, but like 'THE TWEEL' (http://tinyurl.com/3kb34), it seems
impractical for unicycles.


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There is a picture somewhere (perhaps on teh cool unicycles page of
unicycle.org?) a picture of a 'hoop giraffe', which is a really snazzy
looking uni with a ring attached as the wheel. It is perhaps one of the
most amazing unis I've ever seen, and I want one. :P


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flyer wrote:
*There is a picture somewhere (perhaps on teh cool unicycles page of
unicycle.org?) a picture of a 'hoop giraffe', which is a really snazzy
looking uni with a ring attached as the wheel. It is perhaps one of
the most amazing unis I've ever seen, and I want one. :P *

There is a picture of the hoop wheel giraffe in 'this thread'
(http://tinyurl.com/8lcfs). The photo is by Lars Lottrop. The rider is
in a Chinese acrobatic troupe. Lars did have that photo on his web site
in a gallery but I can no longer find that particular gallery.


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Catboy wrote:
*Cool, but like 'THE TWEEL' (http://tinyurl.com/3kb34), it seems
impractical for unicycles. *

I can see the hubless wheel being used for a geared unicycle similar to
the Purple Phaze or the 'Outta Phaze'
(http://livewireunicycles.com/Outta%20Phaze.htm). It would still be
possible to suspend the pedals in the center of the wheel so it would be
like a standard unicycle. There would be some sort of drive mechanism
(probably a chain) going up to the rim where it would drive the wheel.
There are gearing possibilities there. It would make for an interesting
uni.

One problem with those wheels for a unicycle or bike is how do you keep
the wheel from flexing. There are no spokes to add strength and
structure to the wheel. The wheel would taco easily. The rim would
have to be so overbuilt to add strength that you'd end up with a heavy
wheel.

Similar hubless wheels have been used on custom motorcycles. They
actually work in the real world. Anyone with the money could buy a
custom motorcycle with that type of wheel.


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How about having the drive system at the bottom self contained with the
cranks? so the cranks are only just inside the rim, something like this.
It'll only work if the wheel is large and the cranks are short enough
not to hit the floor, but it would make for a more compact 36"+ uni. And
it can include gears or brakes in the lower 'pod'.


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john_childs wrote:
*I can see the hubless wheel being used for a geared unicycle similar
to the Purple Phaze or the . It would still be possible to suspend
the pedals in the center of the wheel so it would be like a standard
unicycle. There would be some sort of drive mechanism (probably a
chain) going up to the rim where it would drive the wheel. There are
gearing possibilities there. It would make for an interesting uni.

One problem with those wheels for a unicycle or bike is how do you
keep the wheel from flexing. There are no spokes to add strength and
structure to the wheel. The wheel would taco easily. The rim would
have to be so overbuilt to add strength that you'd end up with a heavy
wheel.
*


actually I have been toying wih such an idea since last year. My real
problem was that, not being a mechanics ,I do not know how to build a
big ring around which the wheel turns.

basically my idea is an hybrid between a classic wheel and such a hollow
wheel . the hollow part being around 35cm in diameter and the rest being
a "normal" wheel with spokes. so it's just as if you had a big hollow
hub.

why this? because then you can built your gearing mechanism "inside"
that big hollow place (for instance something build using chains)

another point I was considering (but not sure) is that the axle of
pedals might not be exactly at the axle of the wheel....

makes sense?


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Not a bad idea LooseMoose, but tight turn would almost be out of the
question. One of the bicycles on that site had the front wheel attached
at the bottom, which doesn't seem to give it much clearance. Those
designs look cool just for cool factor, but seems like they sacrifice
too much strength and practicality. When you're attached to the rim at
the bottom, all you have for clearance is the thickness of the tire. I
have enough trouble hitting my pedals on the ground with my trials uni.
Your design looks cool, and would be good for parades or something, but
those turns could be tricky.


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OK this isn't really a re-invention of the wheel, despite the name
http://www.theriotwheel.com damn cool tho.


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