Forums > Social Chat > Worlds tallest unicycle record attempt

Login/Join to Participate

onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Apparently Sem Abrahams is preparing his attempt to break the world record by constructing and riding a 115 ft unicycle: -

https://semcycle.biz/record/


Non-Https Image Link

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
That's amazing. But, I couldn't help but think it would be cool if it was a monkey on the unicycle. wink tongue
Cheers!

Astarmember
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.


Posted:
Holy crap, that's like 70 feet higher then the stilts record attempt. It seems to me a unicycle is more difficult then stilts at extreme heights since you only have one point of contact with the ground to protect from side to side leaning.

Bender_the_OffenderGOLD Member
still can't believe it's not butter
6,978 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
omfg ima terrorfried of heights and of bone breakage.
and possibly B&W photos... nah they're ok. ubbcrying

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always


[Nx?]BRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,749 posts
Location: Europe,Scotland,Both


Posted:
ROFL @ Bender ubblol ubblol ubblol ubblol ubblol ubblol

that some crazy [censored].

T wave

This is a post by tom, all spelling is deleberate
-><- Kallisti


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Quote:

Holy crap, that's like 70 feet higher then the stilts record attempt. It seems to me a unicycle is more difficult then stilts at extreme heights since you only have one point of contact with the ground to protect from side to side leaning.



I don't ride the taller unicycles but those who do say that they're easier to ride than low ones; it's because you stay on a uni by manouvering the wheel beneath your centre of gravity and, the taller the uni the more time you have to do this.

That's why most unicycle club passing is done on giraffes (tall unis).

However, that applies to normal tall unis of maybe 6-8 feet high, I expect that with a 115 ft uni there's going to be a lot of issues- one i've heard mentioned is the fact that the chain is so long that there's a really long delay between turning the cranks, and that force being transmitted to the wheel.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


Astarmember
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.


Posted:
how is there a delay? If I tie a rope onto an object and pull it, the object will move instantly in response to my tug (assumeing the rope (iF taught) if the string is 3 inches or 20 feet. (well I suppose there is the matter of stretching being more exagerated in a 20 foot rope, but im pretty sure the effect of this would be nearly immesurable)



And a metal chain stretches a lot less then a rope.



And wouldn't tall unicycles have more difficulty with controlling your balancing from side to side then a short one? I realize the effect of moving on a wheel combats side to side lean, but the distance from the rider and the wheel also amplifies it.



With stilts when you start to lean to the side you can push down harder with the foot on the same side as you are leaning and shift your body weight. On a unicycle you can only shift your weight and peddle faster.



Now I realize everything happens slower the longer the object you are balancing, but it also takes a greater amount of force and more range of movement to counter act off balances.

DomBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,009 posts
Location: Bristol, UK


Posted:
Holy Towering Uni's Batman - that thing's huge! eek

Quote:

Holy crap, that's like 70 feet higher then the stilts record attempt. It seems to me a unicycle is more difficult then stilts at extreme heights since you only have one point of contact with the ground to protect from side to side leaning.




Stilts have the problem that you need realy big muscles as you have to lift up and control the stilts, which when they're 40 foot tall probably get quite heavy, regardless of what material is used.

DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
Quote:

how is there a delay




The chain can't be completely taught, there must be slack or the friction through the various sprockets to keep it in place stopping sideways motion (copounded by a hullova lot of weight from what must be 230ft+ chain) will overide the ability to turn the crank and probably snap the chain too.

Gotta wish him luck on this, if anyone finds a link to the video of him doing it they goota post it here.

GOOD LUCK UNICYCLE GUY!! wave

Let's relight this forum ubblove


oliSILVER Member
not with cactus
2,052 posts
Location: bristol/ southern eastern devon, United Kingdom


Posted:
Quote:

how is there a delay? If I tie a rope onto an object and pull it, the object will move instantly in response to my tug (assumeing the rope (iF taught) if the string is 3 inches or 20 feet. (well I suppose there is the matter of stretching being more exagerated in a 20 foot rope, but im pretty sure the effect of this would be nearly immesurable)





im not so sure about that...

i dont know... but you saying that got me thinking. rolleyes i mean imagine a really long rope, from the usa to the uk, now this rope is taught and totally inelastic, (we talking theory here).
now if a man standing in the usa pulls the rope, a man holding the other end of the rope surely cannot feel the tug instantly.
as nothing can travel faster than the speed of light? and even light takes a little while (less than a second, but not instant) to cross the atlantic.

hmmm... im sorry about that, i know its not important. (and off topic) but it just got me thinking, its not something ive thought about before.
of course i could be wrong here.

and a 70ft unicycle is surely the most crazy thing in the world, and there should be some law of physics that prevents this kind of thing being possible...
good luck that bloke on a long pole smile

Me train running low on soul coal
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
They shouldn't do that no no no


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Quote:



Gotta wish him luck on this, if anyone finds a link to the video of him doing it they goota post it here.





On the site there's links to his past videos, i downloaded his 70 ft one and felt a bit sick with vertigo watching it!

It's here: -

https://semcycle.biz/record/movies/21mweb.mov

a 2.4 Mb quicktime movie, lowish quality byt well worth a look.

I think when he tries the 115 ft one it's going to be pretty scary to watch.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Quote:

how is there a delay? If I tie a rope onto an object and pull it, the object will move instantly in response to my tug (assumeing the rope (iF taught) if the string is 3 inches or 20 feet. (well I suppose there is the matter of stretching being more exagerated in a 20 foot rope, but im pretty sure the effect of this would be nearly immesurable)

With stilts when you start to lean to the side you can push down harder with the foot on the same side as you are leaning and shift your body weight. On a unicycle you can only shift your weight and peddle faster.





As someone else mentioned, relativistic effects made a perfectly rigid object impossible i.e. pushing or pulling at one end cannot propagate to the other faster than the speed of light.

However, as they also pointed out, that's not the main factor here. Probably better is to use the example of a tight rope.

A tight rope is not just a rope or cable between two posts, the set up requires some complex engineering to make the cable tight, otherwise it would be a slack rope which requires a different set of skills to walk on.

For a uni chain of 100+ ft length to have any hope of transmitting the pedal force to the hub at a speed aproaching instantaneous, it would have to be as tight as a tight wire- that would require an unfeasible strong chain and a very complex tightening mechanism.

As for stilt/unicycle comparisons. i suspect that the methods used to maintain balance are as different as between a slack and a tight rope.

I'm not a stilt walker so can't comment on how you stay up on them, but with a unicycle you're literally constantly falling over, you stay on by moving the wheel underneath your center of gravity.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


oliSILVER Member
not with cactus
2,052 posts
Location: bristol/ southern eastern devon, United Kingdom


Posted:
watching that video was deeply surreal. when he was actually pedeling it reminded me of some really messed up surreal psycadelic cartoon kinda stuff. kinda 'yellow submarine' style.

peace biggrin

Me train running low on soul coal
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
They shouldn't do that no no no


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Quote:

how is there a delay? If I tie a rope onto an object and pull it, the object will move instantly in response to my tug (assumeing the rope (iF taught) if the string is 3 inches or 20 feet. (well I suppose there is the matter of stretching being more exagerated in a 20 foot rope, but im pretty sure the effect of this would be nearly immesurable)

And a metal chain stretches a lot less then a rope.





But it does stretch and there is contact between the links to account for, especially with reversals of direction. And over 115 feet, there will be at least a half-second delay. And with 115 feet of unicycle under you, that's going to make it difficult to keep the wheel under you when you need a much faster response.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


Astarmember
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.


Posted:
Lets see him do some free style and muni.

general spinmember
52 posts
Location: England


Posted:
Someone should tell him about the kneepads and breakfalls that NYC got told about somewhere on this board
Non-Https Image Link

LurchBRONZE Member
old hand
929 posts
Location: Oregon, USA


Posted:
remember with a 115ft unicycle you're going to have 230ft of chain. So yes I would probably guess there would be a nice bit of delay in there, not to mention it would take a hell of a lot of force to be able to work it

#homeofpoi -- irc.newnet.net Come talk to us we're bored frown

Warning: Please Do Not Jump On The Seals


DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
OMG! I just watched that vid, sheesh, to think that the new attempt will be 45 feet higher that's one helluva ride!! I hope he remembers to attach his safety rope properly!!

Let's relight this forum ubblove


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
It's happening tonight! looks like 11 pm- 12pm and they're putting up a webcam link on their site so you can watch it live.

Here's a link to the relevant post: -

https://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=188030#post188030

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
I'm sooooooooo gonna watch this ubbrollsmile

Let's relight this forum ubblove



Similar Topics

Using the keywords [world * tallest unicycle record attempt] we found the following existing topics.

  1. Forums > Worlds tallest unicycle record attempt [19 replies]

      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more...