this retro-inspired self-balancing unicycle defies imagination

it may challenge perception but this self-balancing unicycle is all real. the mega hub motor electric unicycle, as it is dubbed by its creator john dingley, might be compact but its also jam packed, with impressive specs, design elements and according to dingley, can be mastered by riders in just 5 minutes.

all images courtesy of onewheeled

it is built around a 3,000 w brushless hub motor within a 17-inch wheel and boasts a motor controller designed to be used in electric boats and a jet intake from an old aircraft. topping it all off, a 1950s ural motorcycle headlamp pod accents the bike, containing all the self-balancing components necessary to capture attention.

‘the steering system … looks as if you are shifting your weight left and right by turning the handlebars, but actually, this is not true,’ he described in one of the previous videos. ‘you are the heaviest part of the machine, and so when you turn the handlebars, the wheel leans over onto one edge of the tire because the hinge joint at the back between upper and lower parts of the frame is not vertical but angled, and you stay more or less where you were before. the tire contact patch is now curved and so will start you turning to one side.’

the bike forms part of dingley’s 2018 mission to create a monster unicycle an electric motorbike, documenting the build in a new series of videos under the name unicycle garage. according to description of the video showing dingley ride the unicycle, ‘you can learn to ride it in 5 minutes, which will be subject of another video.’