project minigiraffe

Ive got a couple of other little things in the pipeline. Ive actually made a start on 2 of them, but one went on the backburner when Fat Bastard went kaput. Im fast-tracking my next 24" Muni now and Im actually doing it properly! By that I mean Im making jigs and the like so I can do it all over again, which is lucky, cause I already have an order for another! The one on hold will be a bit of a monster when its done. Im not too sure how useful it will be, in fact Im sure it will be completely useless, but it looks too cool to resist. Ive decided that a minigiraffe will be the way to go. If youve never seen a minigiraffe, here is a pic of one.

Basically, its a tiny little go-kart wheel and tyre that is chain driven to a set of cranks not unlike those found on a 12" kids bike. The gearing up of the final drive brings the drive up enough so that it feels the same as riding with a 16" tyre.The whole thing is shorter than a standard 20" unicycle, but you can add a taller seatpost (as I will) to bring it up to the height of a standard uni so that it is easier to ride. Only problems I forsee is that the chain will add some resistance akin to riding up hill all the time, and the wheel will stop every time you hit any little bump because of its size. Other than that, it will be very easy to make, and a heap of fun to ride! I already have the wheel I am going to use. As you can see, it isnt very big! I have made a bit of a start to the project. I acquired a 12" bike that nobody wanted and chopped it up. Ive worked out what parts I want to use off it, and what parts can be thrown away. I will have some pics up as soon as I take them.

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