April 21st, 2008

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Designer Ben Wilson has produced a monowheel - a cycle where the rider sits inside a large, spokeless wheel.

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The cycle was commissioned for the XXIst Century Man exhibition at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo.

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“As part of the exhibition the 21st century man (showing at 21-21 tokyo midtown until july) I was comissioned to create a new piece of work,” says Wilson.

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“Ever since cycling for the first time without stablisers I have been fascinated by human propulsion. Over the years the myth of the monowheel has become an equal fascination.”

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“Since the 1860’s many patents have been filed in the monowheel’’s name and today there are even rumors of a production monowheel in China, but as it stands there is nothing currently available. As we couldn’t buy a monowheel we made one.”

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“We don’’t suggest for one moment that a functioning human powered monowheel could ever provide an improvement on the modern bicycle. Instead its value comes from the discourse and ideas generated as a result of this research.”



Posted by Marcus Fairs

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23 Responses to “Monowheel by Ben Wilson”

  1. yung Says:

    Can it really work? I think he is leaning the bike against the wall…

  2. Daniel Brown Says:

    South Park!

  3. aktu1 Says:

    so.. you cannot actually ride it?
    dissappointing, cause it looks so good

  4. Originl Monowheel Says:

    […] an amazing concept […]

  5. Chris Says:

    The bike looks good but it’s totally impractical: there’s nowhere to put a shopping basket!

  6. Josh Says:

    i want to see him ride it without falling over.

  7. Davide Says:

    but, is it comfortable???
    anyway, check out the one which is currently exhibited at the Triennale, in Milan, in the exhibition about italian design… designed a few years ago

    check http://www.triennaledesignmuseum.it/

  8. pieterjan Says:

    This is the best new (concept)bike i’ve seen in years!
    keep on rollin’..

  9. lewisquinn Says:

    can we see a video of it in action?

  10. Ettore Schioppa Says:

    Yes, a video is the only thing that can help. Anyway it’s still far away from the traditional bicycle perfect concept

  11. john graham Says:

    how does it turn?

  12. Crusty the Clown Says:

    Monowheels have been around and around. See here for video of a better functioning design:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui4kI-RHS1Q&feature=related

    There are also monowheel motorbikes which can be difficult to ride at first.

    The above design is nice and clean, but seems like you would scrape your ass on a hard turn…

  13. William Says:

    all the loose change would fall out your pocket if you sit like that!

  14. tiffany Says:

    wow roll on….

  15. Chad Says:

    He is leaning against the wall so they can take a photo - I suppose they wanted a good photo, so they didn’t want the fuss of getting him at just the right moment while he’s moving. Dunno - that’s just what I thought.
    And yes, assuming the bike itself (mechanisms) actually works, then he could easily ride it without falling over. Essentially it’s a unicycle with the center of gravity lower than the axle - which makes it easier to ride than a unicycle.

  16. Dan Says:

    Wouldn’t want to have to slam on the brakes!

  17. em Says:

    I agree with Daniel: all I can think of is a South Park episode!

  18. Xtevan Says:

    Kerry McLean has been building them for years

    http://www.bikerworld.co.uk/monocycles/kerry/index.html

  19. zYleo77 Says:

    very interesting。。。 this design

  20. Név* Says:

    It! :D

  21. Clive Rogers Says:

    Suggest moving the hand grips closer to the centre to avoid scuffing.
    Clive R.

  22. Caesar Says:

    No chance of riding it with that gear ratio!!

  23. Binky Says:

    And the point is what?

    No luggage capacity, no way of staying dry in the wet, how do you stop quickly without rolling head over heels?
    Visibility of the road is terrible, visiblity from other road users is poor, how can you fix lights?

    A solution looking for a problem I think…..

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