Eccentric-hub scooter / bike (no pedals)

Tim and Gael want to build a Hula bike .

Main Problem : how to easily displace the hub from the center of the wheel ? Play around with spokes ? No ! way too painful . But Tim is a carpenter and has access to a router . 

So They decided to craft it out of plywood planks . Quick, easy,  strong enough, not that awful, and works fine.

Step 1: Wheel building .

For this step, we used a router to cut two planks into circles . We cut them in two parts, at 1/3 of the edge to be able to put them around the hub. The hub being wider on its extremities, we couldn't simply drill a hole and slide it onto the hub . We took care to alternate the cutting directions , so the wooden assembly stay strong .

Also, we checked the 1/3 rapport was good enough to allow the wheel to spin without rubbing against the frame . It was a wheel from a smaller bicycle .

Comments

[randomray]

Right , now I don't plan on building one of these , but I was wondering how I could build wooden wheels and still have rubber tires . I thought this method might work , but hadn't tried it yet . Thanks for proving the idea for me . Saved me some time . Great job guys .

[e1ioan]

That's awesome!

[woodstockbirdy]

Wait. What is the point?

[joshfromga]

1. just because, or
2. I saw one built for a man with dwarfism. regular bikes didn't fit his proportions.

[woodstockbirdy]

Yah, but why do you need to make all the parts out of wood???

[Hazzard2theworld911]

Simple and easy to prototype with. cheap, and easily replaceable, too!

[Hamzah]

awesome

[wthit56]

Pretty cool... "Pogobike"!

[LegoBrickMaster7]

Cool project!

I think you should add the terms "eccentric-hub scooter" and (or) "whymcycle" to the search terms, or maybe even the title.

Hula-bike is a specific product made by a company, much like the Ingo-Bike in the 1930s.

Wikipedia - Eccentric-hub scooter

[Gael - Tim]

Thanks a lot for the advice, I'm changing the the title and adding the terms you suggested.
I'd only heard of the hula-bike as a commercial version of this type of bike but I find the Ingo-bike you evoked much cooler!
Once again thank you for the tips.

[Jhokur]

Awesome project Gael - Tim! When I was a kid my grandparents had a "Kangaroo Scooter" noted in the Wiki LegoBrickMaster7 noted, and I always wanted to find one when I got older - now I can make one out of my busted bike!

[Gael - Tim]

Cool! If you need any help in the process of building yours, go ahead and ask questions, I'm glad to help!

[AVE DE FUEGO]

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM SPEED IN THAT BIKE ?

[Gael - Tim]

You can go at a reasonable speed but the faster you go, the more it shakes aroud and eventually if you go too fast (downhill for example) you'll get thrown off the bike ...

[vincent7520]

Beautiful South of France … 
How come do you have such a nice weather ?...
It's supposed to be raining all over the country !

Great project too !!!...

[Gael - Tim]

Yeah, South of France. We're lucky...

[rickpaulos]

I built 3 similar bikes last year.

But I calculated the spoke lengths needed to rebuild wheels,
I did both front & rear wheels,
I used a standard coaster brake hub, cranks, pedals and chain.
yehaw!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nisn6lmi9tQ

rick

[Gael - Tim]

Nice video and above all, real nice job!
We considered using spokes too but it felt a little too ambitious so we went for the easy way... However I have to agree that spokes look way cooler than big planks of wood :-)

[Gael - Tim]

Disc brakes would look extra cool on one of your bikes!

[rickpaulos]

I thought of disc brakes, briefly. It would be easier to use a disc brake bike to start with. Maybe in a future build when I find a suitable doner bike. Discs are an alternative because a rim brake won't work, well not as you might expect.

Thanks, rick.

[rickpaulos]

I like the wood! They just need finishing. Stain & Varnish or some eye popin' paint job.

[vincent7520]

Et avec les deux roues excentrées ??…

[rickpaulos]

I like the way you added that extra odd shape of board to reinforce at the hub. Kinda shaped like a Wankel engine rotor. Add some pop-art paint in some psychedelic pattern! Wuuuuw doooood.

[mwm341]

I get ideas about this thing powered by steam...

[dasgemuse]

(removed by author or community request)

[jakobus9]

that's hilarious!
brilliant, but hilarious!
if you ride this to work you'll have a tons of muscles is a matter of weeks :D

[diyer8]

@theyesman I would think that making the axis closer to the center would reduce the effort required and increase speed - albeit providing less torque & making uphill more challenging.

=> here's an idea, make the equivalent of a gear box by making the distance of the axle to the center of the wheel adjustable while riding!

[theyesman]

That is awesome, i want one! Does it take a lot of effort to use it?

[Gael - Tim]

Yeah it's quite tiring, it's definately not made for distance and you don't want to come upon a hill (either going up or down). :P
Thanks for the comment!

[Metafire]

That motion reminds me a lot of this instructable.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Fly-a-Human-Powered-Hydrofoil---the-Aqua/

[fozzy13]

That's pretty sweet. I like it : )

[rimar2000]

Very interesting, congratulations.

[Gael - Tim]

Thank you, Sir!

[Kiteman]

Bike bounce, make Kiteman smile!