As we noted back in 2018, monowheels are "kind of ridiculous, largely pointless and far from a practical way to get around." So would our minds be changed if crazy builders Make It Extreme swapped out an 1100cc engine for electric drive?
As we look to clean up our transport act, the world is slowly moving towards an electric future. This means that, although the Make It Extreme guys say they've had "great and fun times" on their ICE-powered monowheel, they need to get with the program.
Enter Project 149, not a teardown and rebuild of the previous contraption but a fresh look where the build procedures were pretty familiar but tweaks and improvements were made in order to create "a more functional and advanced vehicle." The whole creation process is fascinating to watch, as you can see for yourselves below.
As before, the outer wheel, inner chassis and components were all made from scratch. The 145-cm (57-in) outer wheel was wrapped in a tire mashed together from three motorcycle tires. The two motors were "stolen" from a hoverboard and rehoused in a go-kart tire that's positioned under the banana seat, with coil shocks providing some bump-soaking.
The motorized go-kart wheel turns the outer wheel to zip forward. Motor controllers are connected to a throttle for "explosive torque." And the battery pack is mounted in a frame to the front of the seat and below the handlebar, which is home to a Shimano brake lever as well as the twist throttle. The guys have even installed a side kickstand for an easy park.
So has this fresh build changed our minds about the ridiculous and impractical nature of the monowheel. Nope. Sure it looks super cool, but it's also nasty to control and bloody dangerous to ride. Despite all that, I still want one.
Plans are expected to be added to the team's archive shortly, should you wish to create one of these oddball rollers yourself – assuming you have access to a similar arsenal of machinery and tools.
Source: Make It Extreme
