A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is practiced professionally in circuses, by street performers, in festivals, and as a hobby. Unicycles have also been used to create new sports such as unicycle hockey. In recent years, unicycles have also been used in mountain unicycling, an activity similar to mountain biking or trials.
An electric unicycle is a self-balancing personal transporter with a single wheel. The rider controls speed by leaning forwards or backwards, and steers by twisting or tilting the unit side to side. The self-balancing mechanism uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, and a magnetometer. In 2020, suspension models were introduced by three major manufacturers: Begode, Kingsong and Inmotion.
The impossible wheel, also known as the BC wheel, represents the most basic type of unicycle, consisting of a single, spoked wheel with pegs extending from the axle. The rider mounts the wheel by jumping onto the pegs while in motion or by putting one foot onto one plate or peg and pushing along like a skateboard.
Kris Holm is a Canadian best known for riding a unicycle in off-road conditions. He has ridden since 1985 and is considered one of the pioneers of off-road unicycling, and is the world's best-known unicyclist. He is the founder of competitive unicycle trials and was the 1999 North American, 2002 World, and 2005 European unicycle trials champion. He also held the unicycle sidehop world record from 1998-2004, and performed trials demonstrations with the Norco Factory Trials Team from 1998-2006.
Corteo is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 21, 2005.
Circus Smirkus is a non-profit, award-winning, international youth circus founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin. Based in Greensboro, Vermont, the mission of Circus Smirkus is to promote the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus and to inspire youth to engage in the circus arts.
Rob Mermin is the founder of the award-winning international touring youth circus Circus Smirkus.
Ride the Lobster was the world's longest unicycle race, held in June 2008. This 800-kilometre international relay race around the roads of Nova Scotia, Canada, was conceived by Edward Wedler. He gave the race its unusual name because he thought the roadways around Nova Scotia resembled a lobster.
Nikolas Wallenda is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, and is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. Wallenda walked 1,800 feet (550 m) on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest walk, on March 4, 2020.
The Uno is a novel self-balancing electric motorcycle using two wheels side by side. The Uno III adds a third wheel that allows it to transform into a tricycle.
Ben Gulak is a Ukrainian Canadian inventor best known for creating the Uno, an eco-friendly, electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized unicycle. The vehicle had its first public unveiling in 2008, and was awarded a Top-10 prize on Popular Science's list of 2008 Invention Awards. Gulak founded the Massachusetts-based company BPG Motors, which has also developed a design for the DTV Shredder, a portable all-terrain vehicle with the handlebars of a Segway and treads similar to those of a tank.
Koozå is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of Nouvelle Expérience. His experience as a clown and his time with Switzerland's Circus Knie and Germany's Circus Roncalli informed his work on Koozå.
Totem is a touring show by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal on April 22, 2010. It was written and directed by previous collaborator Robert Lepage (Kà). Cirque du Soleil describes Totem's theme as the evolution of humanity from its primordial, amphibian state toward the aspiration of flight, taking inspiration from many of humanity's founding myths. The show was awarded the 2013 New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.
The Bay Area Circus Arts Festival was an annual 3-day event in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, held by the Berkeley Juggling Collective. It featured workshops, casual instruction, and mini-competitions in various types of circus arts, including unicycling, hat-tossing, whip cracking, tumbling and multiple styles of juggling. The event was free for everyone and many people learned to juggle or unicycle at the festival.
Yvonne Tousek-Renne is a retired artistic gymnast who competed for her native Canada in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
The Asia-Pacific Unicycle Competition is a regional unicycling games event that is held biennially, in alternative years from the Unicycling World Championships Unicon. The event has typically been held over a weekend where competitors from around Asia-Pacific gather in various unicycle games.
The Unipiper is a Portland, Oregon unicyclist, street performer, bagpiper and internet celebrity.
Volta was a touring circus show by the Cirque du Soleil and was based on extreme sports; the principal character is a game-show host named Waz.
Rong "Krystal" Niu is a Chinese American acrobat who performs under the stage name Red Panda. Her act involves riding a 7-foot (2.1 m) tall unicycle while catching and balancing multiple ceramic bowls on her feet and head. She is known for her performances during halftime shows of National Basketball Association (NBA) games. She also appeared in season 8 of America's Got Talent.
Theodore Jorgensen was an American unicycle hockey player, the president of the world's first unicycle hockey club, and a bicycle shop owner-operator. He was the biological father of e-commerce magnate Jeff Bezos.
