Uni-engineering!

Holy cow! I just joined this list and I can't believe the ****-COOL
stuff you guys are doing!

Gearing, shifting, building your own frames, seats rolling right on the
wheel, the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Besides the incredible moves now being performed (by amazingly talented
riders) in freeriding and muni, what really intrigues me is the
discussion around the gearing for high speed, and how unicycling may be
at a crossroads.

I want to propose an idea, a principle that might help. It seems that
Q-factor is a limit for high-speed riding, even on a geared uni. What
about counterweights? Would a flat counterweight to the mass of the
pedal reduce or eliminate q-factor?

Again, I'm a newby. Has this been discussed?

See attachment...


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paul_g
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I dunno about q factor... I thought it was the angle the cranks stuck
out from the hub?

That looks like it would do *something* to how riding worked, but I'm
not sure what the affect would be.


--
Fuego - Definetely no brain.

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Another Paul, Paul Royle ( i think) has already came up with this, its
main application was for hocky, as the wheel tends to go much faster
than normal playing hocky. it was meant to stop the wheel shake from the
weight of the cranks and pedal. he only mentioned it to me once and i
dont think hes posted about it, and im not sure if hes done anything
about designing/making anything either, he might reply if he reads this
thread,

iain


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gingerfreek - unicyclist of mass destruction.

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I have thought about counterweights, as you mentioned, many years ago. I
think the theory will work. The downside, of course, is all the weight
you'd have to add to the unicycle. I have always assumed the extra
weight would more than cancel out any performance gains you'd get from a
straighter line.


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johnfoss - More Moab Fun

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johnfoss wrote:
*The downside, of course, is all the weight you'd have to add to the
unicycle. *


The extra weight and something fairly massive swinging aroung to clip
your ankle every once in a while. Ouch!!

And Q-factor is the distance the pedals are from the centerline of the
wheel. A wide hub and cranks that angle out from the hub equals a high
Q-factor. Narrow hub and parallel cranks equals a low Q-factor. In
theory the closer your feet are together (like when you're walking) the
better. But, narrow hubs mean weaker wheels, so there's always a
trade-off. Bicyclists are always looking for a low Q-factor for reduced
knee and ankle stress.


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underdog - level 1 rider

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I was thinking of this the other day; this could be a cheap way to have
more than one crank length on a single unicycle; have 125mm on one side
and 170mm on the other (or whatever)! If you keep the Q-factor low it
probably would be OK for leg clearance, and you could work it out so
that when you're on the shorter side, at least, the weight of the pedal
would more or less balance out the weight of the longer side of the
crank.


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tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
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Oh, I like this idea. Could this also be done with weights on the rim
itself? That would stay out of the way no matter what.
Plus then you could use those nice machines for car tires :-)


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shapr - 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle

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I like the idea of having it on the rim, and with direct drive, there
will always be alignment. But how can you get it to fit with the
spokes?

e39m5


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e39m5
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I believe the addition of an Escher Bracket to each crank could allow
for an "adjustable-q-factor"...
[image: http://scipp.ucsc.edu/~jheimann/assembly.gif]


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maestro8 - Mad Scientists for World Domination

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Id like to look at that diagram but its making me dizzy. I think you
messed up drawing a line somewhere.

e39m5


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