Fire Unicycle

A lot of things get combined with fire and become very cool. Even silly things become awesome when lit on fire.
you can do a lot with fire just as an example:
- you can juggle with fire (with torches as well as balls)
- you can jump burning ropes
- there are fire diabolos
- and so on and so on
What I thought was why isn't there a fire unicycle. After surfing the web I only found sparklers strapped to an unicycle wheel and I found this.

This video gave me the inspiration for making my own fire unicycle.
wrapped some Kevlar wick around the spokes and secured it with some screws.
Here my video of me riding it.

it's really fun riding a fire unicycle. I wont recommended doing this as a beginner because you can't stop paddling (it get's hot when you stop).
I've now got a new video of my unicycle!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIAXqT66OA

Comments

[woofboy111]

How well does the tire and spokes hold up to repeated burns? Have you had any problems with melted rubber or the spokes weakening? Also, any thoughts on the position of the wicks? I see you have both wicks opposite of each other, while it looks like your inspiration video has the wicks below the pedals when they're parallel to the ground.

[theexternaldisk]

I've had no prblem with the tire or the spokes at all. The spokes and wheel will be covered in ash after using it for a while.
The only thing you have to keep in mind when the wicks are on fire is to keep the wheel moving, either by cycling or by spinning it with your hand.
I placed the wicks parallel to the paddles to keep them as far away from me as possible. I don't think it makes alot of difference if you place the wicks like they did in the video or like me. In the video they only used one wick (wich is probably enough).
If you want to make a fire uni, I advice you to use smaller wicks then mine because they burn for a long time.
Thanks for the interest in my instructable, show me what you come up with.

Theexternaldisk

[woofboy111]

Thanks for the reply! I have a couple more questions for you (sorry). How thick is your wick? Do you have multiple layers, or is it just the one?

Do you ever put the wicks out before they burn out on their own for safety or performance reasons? I imagine snuffing the flames out with a towel/fire blanket with how the wicks are attached would be pretty difficult.

I'm debating whether to convert one of my unicycles into a fire unicycle like this with the fire on the wheel, or to attempt another design that I initially thought of, but I've seen nothing similar to on the internet. Still in my R&D process...

[theexternaldisk]

The wick on my unicycle goes around the spokes about two times, one time will probably enough.

you need to put the wick out before the fuel runs out. The flame will get smaller or even go out by itself. With the amount of wick I use it can be pretty difficult to snuff the flame. The best way I found is to let the wick burn its fuel and then blow out the flame (damp towels also work).