When I started this project, my initial goal was merely to create a penny farthing bicycle. As I let that concept marinate for a while, the goal was refined to include two items:
After spending over $200 on the rim and $70 on shipping, I was just as crushed as the rim. Roger from www.unicycle.uk.com came to the rescue! He processed a claim with DHL, found a better way to package the rim, and sent a replacement for FREE. Great customer service. The new rim arrived a few days ago.
To aid in the packaging, I had them add two solid rubber tyres (these are from the UK) to the shipment and wrap them around the rim. I still haven't figured out how to permanently apply these tyres on the completed wheel.
- Use the big wheel / small wheel architecture
- Utilize as many modern materials and components as possible
That led to some early decisions such as using aluminum rims, disc brakes, an aluminum frame, and a freehub front rim. I am already regretting some of these choices. For example, the rims were difficult to find (no, I didn't want to fabricate my own). I did eventually find rims for sale on a UK website for unicycles (http://www.unicycle.uk.com/penny-farthing/rims.html). Everything seemed fine until DHL delivered my overseas package. The unsupported aluminum ring was overloaded in transit and arrived with a nasty crack starting in a spoke hole.
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| Cracked aluminum rim |
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| Rim #2 with a tyre |
