- #36
jrmichler
Mentor
- 2,306
- 3,153
bob012345 said:Turned by coordinated leaning? Seems like the big wheel would provide a lot of angular momentum making turning harder.
There's a more fundamental problem. Checking this concept against the laws of physics, we see that the sociable monocycle gets its driving torque by moving the center of mass of the riders forward of the axle when they pedal. Notice that the center of gravity of the riders (roughly top of the hip bone) is only slightly below the axle centerline. When they step on the pedals, they will spin themselves around. If they accelerate slowly enough, they could ride on a level road, but that machine will never climb any significant hill.
Just because something made it into print, or even into a patent, does not mean that ever worked. When looking at new ideas or patents, it is always a good idea to check the concept against the laws of physics.