Monocycles

While looking for some stock pictures for a new adventure I'm writting for next summer, I came across an interesting picture from 1931 (though the design dates back to the 1860's):<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/d_the_motorized_unicycle_by_paudraic-d5xiyuo.jpg" alt="1931 Monocycle" height="768" width="975" /><br /><br />This monocycle was supposedly able to travel at about 90 mph. I've found a few examples of more modern monocycles of this same basic design, but they all seem to have stability and handling issues (avaxnews.net/appealing/Kerry_McLean_And_His_Monocycle.html). Most of the ones I found weighed between 45-50 kg and topped out at about 25 mph.<br /><br />Gamewise, what I was looking for was a compact vehicle design that I could tuck into a tiny compartment in a jetcopter so that the jetcopter could be landed and the smaller ground vehicle utilized in rugged, off-road conditions.<br /><br />Further searches uncovered some other interesting designs that I thought I might share. Don't know if I'll actually use any of this in-game, but it was pretty fun looking around the web at all this stuff.<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/Uno-Cycle-2.jpg" alt="Uno-Cycle" height="338" width="600" /><br /><br />Now that little beauty is collapsible - looks nice and compact. Not sure how rugged it'd be though.<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/562a84b1a71a6f818d2efa61f9cca9cc.jpg" alt="Dicycle" height="420" width="600" /><br /><br />That is a pretty neat concept - it's called a dicycle and uses two wheels with a cockpit suspended between. That solves the stability and handling issues of the monocycle but it looks pretty frail and bulky - not what I was looking for.<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/riot-wheel.jpg" alt="RIOT Wheel" height="550" width="384" /><br /><br />That is called a RIOT Wheel and also solves the stability and handling issues through the use of counterweights. This is a very robust solution though; making this machine weigh around 1,200 pounds! <br /><br />So after a few hours of looking I did finally find something that I think would work for what I was looking for - provided I decide to use the idea.<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/t-one-wheel-superbike-liam-ferguson-sideview.jpg" alt="Hornet" height="300" width="600" /><br /><br />That is called the Hornet. But it uses two wheels instead of just one (it's sort of hard to tell, but you can see them both in the first image there) so it solves the stability issues of the monowheel. It looks pretty hearty and with those fat tires it should handle rough off-road terrain fairly well. As well, it weighs about 60 kg (+/-) so it should tuck away nicely in a smaller compartment and provide the PC with a secondary vehicle when space is a limiting factor.<br /><br /><img src="/files/u8498/ba16fa45b629d6d35ae6f5a64cf75572.jpg" alt="Monocycle1" height="350" width="600" /><br /><br />I also liked the looks of this one. It's a monocycle - but It seems like it would be more stable than the other design in which the pilot is seated inside the wheel. I never found any stats on this one - it may even just be a concept model. Regardless, in the SF setting this one might be do-able and though it doesn't look as compact as the previous one, it does still seem fairly compact.