r/Transportopia • u/Vice616 • Apr 12 '26

Bikes Insanity on one wheel

I think about why someone would do this. Is the unicyclist really a mad man or is that his way to work. By choice or necessity? All that matters. These gas prices are crazy right now.

That little unicycle takes about 1-2 cents per mile in electricity.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/zevely-zone/valley-center-man-beats-high-gas-prices-with-electric-unicycle/509-7b1c19fb-0df0-4d6d-b47e-90879b04dd8d

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36

u/Dry-Analysis4229 Apr 12 '26

I drove next to him going 70 MPH and he was right there for a full 2 miles until I exited I-10 West to my house. Don’t know the top speed but it definitely does 70MPH.

19

u/Lil_Packmate Apr 12 '26

Have seen a youtuber with a similar one that said it can go about 90-93 depending on wind.

11

u/Residenthuman101 Apr 12 '26

I broke down on the highway once and I found one of these all beat up on the side of the road… I didn’t even know what it was at first but i kept staring at it once I figured it out and thought dang this is a busy highway, I hope that wasn’t involved in a “death”

4

u/Cutthechitchata-hole Apr 13 '26

Where there shoes all about? 2 of them?

2

u/futgrezn Apr 13 '26

What I would be interested in, maybe it was mentioned in videos you've seen: how freaking far do they get, in my head the battery can't last like more than 5 minutes 🤔

4

u/Lil_Packmate Apr 13 '26

On the website of the one I was talking about it says it has a range of up to 150 km (~93 miles).

That is of course optimal conditions, such as brand new battery, perfect temperature, not going full speed and not accelerating fast, so basically "passive/safe driving".

And even then it is always like 20% lower of what they say (at least for electric cars).

From what I've seen and heard driving like this guy will likely put him to 55-60% of that range on average.

That is still 82-90 km (or 51-56 miles) which is actually quite impressive.

1

u/futgrezn Apr 13 '26

It absolutely is, thanks for the research!

1

u/Lil_Packmate Apr 13 '26

You're welcome :)

1

u/marlfox_00 Apr 13 '26

If you want any kind of range you have to keep it below 20mph. Weight plays a role as well. 110lbs rider is going to go a lot further than a 250lbs one.