Cars with people sitting on wheels were born more than 100 years ago

In 1869, French inventor Richard C. Hemmings created the first patented monowheel, which looked like a giant wheel with a seat inside. However, the car actually has two wheels. Under the saddle is a second, smaller wheel. The driver will pedal to make the small wheel move, causing the big wheel to move as well. At that time, one-wheeled vehicles were considered a difficult to use and impractical means of transportation for ordinary people.

By the early 20th century, inventors were experimenting with unicycles powered by real engines. Some designers even build vehicles with airplane propellers on the front to aid movement. None of these designs went into mass production.

In the 1930s, scientific magazines began introducing designs for one-wheeled vehicles that resembled cars with a metal frame and could carry several people.

The most famous design of this strange vehicle is probably the one created by Dr. JA Purves in 1932. This motorized vehicle is called Dynasphere, and can reach a maximum speed of 25 – 30 km. /H. Purves believes that unicycles are the simplest possible means of motorized transportation. However, Dynasphere was never as successful as he expected. It was not a stable vehicle, could only carry one passenger and the driver, and had many insurmountable design problems.

Monowheels differ from unicycles because the rider sits inside the wheel, not on top or outside of it, and operates like a giant ball bearing. The driver and motor anchor the inner wheel, while the motor pushes the outer wheel forward.

The Monowheel can be held upright thanks to the same principles as a gyroscope. As long as there is an external force creating motion, in this case the engine (although some cars are pedal-powered), the car will run.

Controlling monowheels to change direction is difficult because they do not have the support of other wheels and their somewhat odd design also makes handling difficult. Drivers often want to keep their feet close to the ground to keep the vehicle from falling over.

In addition, if the vehicle is equipped with a powerful engine, it is difficult to maximize the engine’s power with this design. The lack of stability when not moving forward makes braking extremely difficult as well.

Overall, there are many inherent problems in the design that the inventors need to overcome such as obstructed visibility, lack of stability, difficulty in steering and the “gerbil” phenomenon. This phenomenon can occur when the driver accelerates or brakes too quickly, causing the force applied to exceed gravity keeping the driver at the bottom of the wheel. At that time, the driver is at risk of spinning inside the wheel like a gerbil – a type of pet – when it suddenly stops running but the wheel is still spinning.

Finally, monowheels were never popular. Today, people still build and test drive this type of vehicle, but usually only for entertainment.