The wheel
The wheel is the heart of the unicycle and therefore the part that should be of
particularly high quality. A high quality wheel always has a metal rim made of
aluminium. Plastic wheels are rather inexpensive, disposable products that
cannot be repaired when damaged. 36 spokes are mandatory for a wheel
from 20“ on. For the small sizes from 12“-18“ fewer spokes are also
ok, since only people with a low body weight ride on these. 48 spokes
are used especially for unicycles with extreme loads. The high
number of spokes gives the wheel a high stability and relieves
the rim. They are also popular in hockey because no ball gets
through the wheel.
Rim
:
Steel rims are heavy, do rust, and are not as strong as
aluminium rims: those are rustproof and weigh less. Dou-
ble-walled rims are best: they combine weight reduction with
maximum stability - that‘s what the cross-section looks like:
Tyres:
Unicycle tyres can be very different depending on the area of
application, one differentiates:
Touring tyres - This is basically a normal bicycle tyre suitable for
most surfaces and purposes. Indoor / Freestyler tyres: these are
tyres that allow a higher air pressure and should have a light colour for
indoor use. Muni / Trial tyres: this type of tyre has a sturdy tread pattern
for better traction. The larger the tyre volume, the better the damping and
rebound, especially in trial and off-road conditions.
Hubs and Axles
Unlike a bicycle, there is only one hub on the unicycle, which is also the drive. This is
where particularly high loads occur. The axle has to carry the whole load of rider
and propulsion. Extreme loads, for example, are particularly high when
jumping. The normal unicycles are equipped with a square axle, like the
bicycle bottom bracket. This type of axle is sufficient for normal use.
Axles which are made of a higher quality steel, e.g. CrMo, or
which have undergone a special heat treatment during produc-
tion, have a higher load capacity. Since this is not immediately
apparent, QU-AX hubs are colour-indexed The black and
silver hubs of QU-AX unicycles are normal square-taper
axles. We use hardened steel for the red and yellow axles.
The red and yellow hubs are the extremely resilient QU-AX
hubs with hardened axles. The red anodized Q-Axle hub
combines stiffness, low weight and an extra portion of sta-
bility! Optional with disc brake mounting. On the ISIS axles,
the crank is not attached to a square-taper but 10 splines
ensure more clamping surface. The Q-axle hub axle is even
larger in diameter and has even more clamping surface than
ISIS and square axles due to an even finer toothing.
The ISIS was an established system in the bicycle industry. The
Q-Axle system is the evolution of what has been learned from
ISIS axles.
QU-AX unicycles have 36-48 spokes on professional unicycles and an
optional disc brake mount. Particularly loaded unicycles have off-centre spoke
bores which allow for an even more stable wheel.
