Introduction

The Unicycle

Balancing

Equilibrium

Rotational Motion

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Construction

The basic design of the unicycle remains the same today. A saddle (1) sits on a seat post (2), which slides into the seat-tube on the frame (3), which is attached to the wheelset (4). The wheelset consists of a tire, tube, rim, hub, spokes, 2 crankarms, 2 pedals and 2 bearings.

Equipment Improvements

In recent years with the increased popularity of unicycling and the specialization of skills, general riding equipment has been greatly improved upon. For freestyle, parts are lighter and stronger.

In touring and commuting parts have become lighter and stronger. There are now many options for brakes, handlebars, and seats, but most of all parts are more readily available now. It used to be very dificult to find such abnormally sized parts.

For muni/street/trials, there have been even greater improvements. Seatposts, frames and saddles are stronger and handles have been added to the saddle. Even bigger improvements have been made in the wheelset.

Fat cushiony tires, with a deep tread for roling over obstacles, absorbing shocks and gripping obstacles have come along. They are being put on wider, stronger, rims. Wider rims are better because they can displace the forces exerted on them more efficiently. Overall the biggest improvement has been to the hub/crankset. They are now being manufactured in splined patterns as opposed to the old square taper kind. Because of the greater surface area on the splined axle it is better designed to take large amounts of stress therefore they are many times stronger.