Video: McLean Monowheel inventor nearly killed by his own machine
Kerry McLean’s Buick-powered V8 monowheel contraption is an engineering marvel, supporting its rider in the centre of its rotating wheel. Completely road-legal in the USA, McLean’s had it up to a clocked 53mph on the public road.
It’s not the sprightliest handling machine in the world - steering seems to be a hit and miss, feet-down proposition, and because the interior has to rotate freely as the wheel is driven, you can’t really use all the power that V8 engine has in store if you don’t want to flip over.
But it’s the brakes the brought McLean undone on a recent road test of the machine, when despite having both feet planted on the ground he was unable to pull the contraption up before it developed a nasty wobble, which intensified before the machine smashed down on the road, dragging its inventor with it.
We’re pleased to discover that he was lucky enough not to be seriously injured in the crash and wish him all the best in the future with his crazy motoring alternatives.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
How many times has this concept been tried, and failed? These guys (monowheel enthusiasts) always seem to have a good grasp of engineering, but damn little understanding of physics.
A single wheeled machine will never be able to accelerate as hard as a two wheeled machine, nor brake as hard (the only torque that acts to counteract the acceleration/braking forces is caused by gravity acting on the occupant and power system - if these are not sufficient, the rider begins to roll with the wheel, with all the resultant loss of control). Emergency braking is out of the question.
A single wheel can never turn as well a two wheeled vehicle - the one wheel is very stable, and resists leaning. Without any way to introduce a force that will force this big gyroscope to precess (which counter-steering does in a motorcycle), quick turns are impossible. Slight turns can be accomplished by shifting the weight of the occupant/engine to the side, or by the rider dragging his feet - not so safe, as we see in the video.
I fail to see what, if any, advantage this arrangement has that keeps bringing people back to it. Poor acceleration, poor braking, slow turns, and a need to drag your feet through intersections - now that I think of it, this would probably appeal to a lot of the cruiser crowd as is.
March 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
The wheel is also directly in the operator’s line of sight, which increases cross-traffic hazards depending on which side the operator is looking out
September 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I have to admit it was really cool looking until the “event” occurred. Glad to hear K.M. wasn’t too messed up. The fact that it can be built with one wheel and an engine in no way supports the notion that riding an incomplete vehicle (a mono wheel) is safe . You’d at least need a peripheral support system such as outrigger style suspension and wheels that counter all of the forces which would occur under all conditions during any given ride. The driving wheel would then be the main weight bearing and powered wheel assisted by multiple contact and steering wheels around it. You might get by with two shock loaded steering wheels front or back which could be raised for straight road riding on the freeway but would flip down at the touch of the brakes or a sudden lean event.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
If you or your viewers are interested… I made a website for Kerry which has pictures and videos of his monocycles and other neat items. I was the cameraman on that unfortunate day and it was a miracle from God that Kerry wasn’t killed as a result of the crash. Kerry later found what had caused the crash and made a number of design changes. He completely rebuilt the wrecked monocycle and has since spent his efforts refining the smaller models, which are obviously much safer and fun to drive. The site is http://www.mcleanmonocycle.com. Thank you for your interest.