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Building and Riding a Unicycle

Learning to ride this fugitive from the circus is becoming an increasingly popular modern day exercise

By HAROLD P. SMITH

A USED or even wrecked 20 or 24-in. bicycle will supply most of the major parts needed to make a unicycle, and you can build it for one-third the cost of a new one.

We chose 24-in. bikes for parts to build the unicycles shown in Fig. 1. If you are picking up a used or wrecked bike for parts, select one with a good front wheel fork and rear wheel. And, if possible, one having a New Departure Model D or Bendix 13 coaster brake because these types have rear wheel hubs that are identical in size and shape at both ends, a feature that simplifies the making of the axle adapters.
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FRENCH BICYCLE HAS SMALL FRONT WHEEL

Returning to the design of an old-fashioned bicycle, a French inventor is producing one with a small wheel in front and a large one behind. The small wheel steers, while the large one drives. Handlebars are at the rear of the cyclist. The inventor claims his machine embodies scientific principles of balance and structural design. Its rider sits in a comfortable erect position, instead of crouching, so obstructions are unlikely to throw him.

Body Sway Drives Eccentric Bicycle 15 Miles Per Hour

CALLED the simplest self-propelled vehicle in the world, a radically new type of bicycle, entirely without pedals, is driven by body motion alone.

The rear wheel of this “x-ercycle,” as it is called, is eccentric; the rider stands on a springy footboard and swings his body in rhythm with the up and down movement of the frame to produce forward motion.
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Is there a radio on that bike? I could hardly tell. It’s so small!

A Radio on Your Bicycle Makes Riding a Pleasure Trip

PUT a radio on your bicycle and enjoy your favorite programs while riding. The job is easily done. The full equipment is shown in the picture on the right. Attach a small radio set to a board fastened to the handle bars of the bicycle. To construct the antenna supports use bus bar or heavy wire fixed to the top of the radio set. The antenna and lead-in wire are plainly visible in the photograph. The battery supply is attached to the frame of the bicycle.

The radio equipped bicycle made its appearance in Hollywood where movie stars have made a fad of bicycle riding.

I would hire this guy to sharpen my knives in a heartbeat just for the joy of seeing him put-put up the street.

Motorized Trailer Pushes Bicycle

An itinerant knife grinder has devised a “cart-before-the-horse” rig to ease his labors on long-distance bicycle journeys. When he tires of pulling his trailer, with its motor-driven grinding machinery, he hitches the motor to the wheels and the trailer pushes him.

What happens if he snagged a big fish? The center of gravity on that boat seems awfully high.

Fisherman Uses Water Bike for Deep-Sea Angling
Consisting of a bicycle mounted on pontoons, an odd-looking craft is being used for deep-sea fishing by Barney Fry, California sportsman. The water cycle is propelled by a paddle wheel. Its speed in rough water is about ten miles per hour.

U. S. Makes New Bike Shift
This new three-speed transmission gives a bicycle as many forward gears as an automobile. Made by the New Departure division of General Motors, it is designed to fit any bike having a New Departure coaster brake and can be installed in 20 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Two Pedal but Only One Steers on Bike with Rumble Seat
Rumble seats for bicycles—a new version of the “bicycle built for two.” It is an Australian’s idea. The “aft” seat was mounted low for the junior member of the family, who can help pedal but has to let dad do all the steering. The diameter of the rear wheel is only half that of the front.

Pedaling Peddler Sharpens Scissors
Both transportation and power supply for his work are furnished by the bicycle of the British scissors grinder pictured at the left. For the rear wheel of the bicycle that rolls this sharp-witted grinder from house to house in search of jobs also whirls the grinding wheels on a shaft mounted on the handlebars. A belt connects shaft and rear wheel.

I don’t know how well this worked, but I love the idea of just tacking an engine onto the side of the wheel.

Bike Power Unit will convert any bicycle into an honest-to-goodness motor bike in 15 minutes. It attaches to the front wheel as shown. Its single-cylinder, three-horsepower air-cooled engine provides 100 miles to a gallon. Fuel tank is at top. American Brake Shoe, Rochester, N. Y.

Amphibian Bicycle Can Travel on Land or Water

A hybrid among vehicles, an amphibian bicycle that can travel on land or water, was demonstrated by its French inventor at a recent Paris exposition. Its wheels are hollow, bulbous floats that, with the aid of four smaller globes on outriggers, sustain it in the water. All of the floats revolve freely like wheels, resulting in a minimum of drag. When the rider pedals across the water, fins on the rear wheel serve as paddles to drive the machine forward. For a ride on dry land, the outriggers supporting the outer floats may be folded up clear of the ground. Proof that the floats would be sufficiently buoyant to support the rider was given when the inventor navigated his device, without difficulty, across a large swimming pool.

This bike seems like it’s a little more complicated than it needs to be.

Supergeared French Bike Gives Cyclist Choice of Several Speeds
There’s a weird assortment of sprockets and chains incorporated into a supergeared bicycle invented in France. The chains appear to run at random all over the framework of the bicycle, but the arrangement gives the rider a choice of several gears. The bicycle has two-wheel brakes.