Of course he crashed. He wasn't properly secured with an anally-inserted flexi-grip...

training wheels... training wheels.

ouch, hope the guy is ok.

And thanks for the flexi-grips link LOL. I remember that episode LOL

http://www.thebikergene.com/custom-bikes/video-mclean-monowheel-inventor-nearly-killed-by-his-own-machine/

Despite the eye-grabbing headline, he was not seriously injured in the crash. The top comment on this site it dead-on though:

"How many times has this concept been tried, and failed? These guys (monowheel enthusiasts) always seem to have a good grasp of engineering, but damn little understanding of physics.

A single wheeled machine will never be able to accelerate as hard as a two wheeled machine, nor brake as hard (the only torque that acts to counteract the acceleration/braking forces is caused by gravity acting on the occupant and power system - if these are not sufficient, the rider begins to roll with the wheel, with all the resultant loss of control). Emergency braking is out of the question.

A single wheel can never turn as well a two wheeled vehicle - the one wheel is very stable, and resists leaning. Without any way to introduce a force that will force this big gyroscope to precess (which counter-steering does in a motorcycle), quick turns are impossible. Slight turns can be accomplished by shifting the weight of the occupant/engine to the side, or by the rider dragging his feet - not so safe, as we see in the video.

I fail to see what, if any, advantage this arrangement has that keeps bringing people back to it. Poor acceleration, poor braking, slow turns, and a need to drag your feet through intersections - now that I think of it, this would probably appeal to a lot of the cruiser crowd as is."

Oh, I'm sick of 'scientists' telling me what I can and can't do. Science is the new religion.

Whatever - it sounded great, looked very cool, and apart from accelerating and (especially) braking, it was a complete success!

I give it four and a half stars. Margaret?

Excerpt from the press conference prior to the demo:

Doubter: I hear those things are awfully loud.
Biker: It floats as gently as a cloud.


Apu: Is there a chance the wheel could bend?
Biker: Not on your life, my Hindu friend.

I suspect it's largely aesthetics that draw people to it. It's got a certain geometric appeal that a two-wheeler can't match.

Damn, the whole video, I was thinking, "What's the crash going to look like? That thing can't crash well." It was worse than I thought...

The crash reminded me of a rolling coin when it stops rolling and starts precessing. The extra 1:15 of running footage at the end was a real tease though -- why leave that in without including footage of the damage?

And I agree that the monowheel concept is totally impractical, but it sure looks cool!

Well, it beats taking the airlines.

I find it amusing that they stuck a license plate on the back of it. As if that would make it street legal.

Actually, it kinda does.
>> ^entr0py:
I find it amusing that they stuck a license plate on the back of it. As if that would make it street legal.