Wheelsurfer

June 15, 2005 4:49 AM

Imagine rocking down to the shops on this thing. The Wheelsurf is a motorised monocycle powered by a chainsaw engine. Designed by Brazilian engineer Tito Lucas Ott, the rider sits inside the turning wheel, and steers by leaning the whole machine into corners – hence 'surfing'. The wheelsurfer takes practice to master and you need to be relatively well coordinated. Weight distribution, body balancing and throttle all play a part in a successful ride. See images. Via Beyond Tomorrow.
posted by sjvilla79 (36 comments total)

Monowheels are nothing new. They have been around since the mid 19th century.
posted by bap98189 at 5:01 AM on June 15, 2005

I'll take ten! Very cool, I wonder if it's street legal (DRTW)

BTW, I loved Beyond 2000, haven't seen it's new incarnation.
posted by zardoz at 5:01 AM on June 15, 2005

Spot the nerds in the photo gallery.


I'd personally die before I got in one of those things, but purely as part of my time-saving ethic.
posted by NinjaPirate at 5:07 AM on June 15, 2005

I love that video on the images page--really shows some of the aspects that make it so "thrilling" (like spinning head-over-heels inside it while you're riding, and that hilarious sequence where it gets away from the guy and he has to sprint after it down the beach).
posted by LairBob at 5:21 AM on June 15, 2005

This beats Segway to all hell, anyway. Wonder what the range is on that thing in real-world use.
posted by Busithoth at 5:22 AM on June 15, 2005

Hard to see straight ahead, surely?
posted by IndigoJones at 5:25 AM on June 15, 2005

Get it up to 40 kph, then slam on the brakes and see if the forward motion gets it to rock up over those two stupid little idler wheels -- it might be fun flying @$$ over teakettle.
posted by alumshubby at 5:31 AM on June 15, 2005

Didn't Mr. Garrison invent this on South Park a few years back? Or does this model not feature mouth- and ass-mounted controls?
posted by caution live frogs at 5:35 AM on June 15, 2005

Can this be far behind, then?
posted by Busithoth at 5:35 AM on June 15, 2005

Instead of the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, their video would be a lot better with Benny Hill chase music.
posted by wfrgms at 5:45 AM on June 15, 2005

That thing is the future. I want one.
posted by OmieWise at 6:10 AM on June 15, 2005

So then, couldn't I just order one that works without going in and out of my ass and mouth?

Mr. Garrison: Well, I... guess you could.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:20 AM on June 15, 2005

the riot wheel looks like it would be more dangerous to pedestrians and thus more fun.
posted by freq at 6:31 AM on June 15, 2005

wfrgms, just about everything is better with benny hill chase music. It certainly makes rush hour far more enjoyable.
posted by lowlife at 6:41 AM on June 15, 2005

Cool way to kill yourself.
posted by homodigitalis at 6:49 AM on June 15, 2005

Where would I put the shopping basket?
posted by asok at 6:58 AM on June 15, 2005

freq: That RIOT wheel is so cool I'm getting an ice cream headache. But I don't quite understand how you'd steer it. Leaning?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:21 AM on June 15, 2005

I have to say this immediately brought to mind that South Park episode.
posted by fire&wings at 7:48 AM on June 15, 2005

Yeah, the RIOT wheel is cool, but it was made for Burning Man. Ew.
posted by OmieWise at 7:53 AM on June 15, 2005

Funny, they chose to call it the Wheelsurfer over the Concussionator?

The RIOT wheel is cool and incredibly scary to ride on, I'm sure.

leotrotsky, steering is for people who care where they are going. Let the RIOT wheel steer you to where it wants to go. Maybe its a zen thing?
posted by fenriq at 8:17 AM on June 15, 2005

LairBob writes "that hilarious sequence where it gets away from the guy and he has to sprint after it down the beach"

Actually it seems the guy let it go on purpose to show how the contraption balances itself.
posted by clevershark at 8:30 AM on June 15, 2005

Hey, it's Steamboy!
posted by linux at 9:08 AM on June 15, 2005

I can't wait for all the kids in my neighborhood to get the cheap knockoff versions of these, especially dangerous cheap knockoff versions. It's like the whole motorized scooter thing 2 years ago...
posted by chibikeandy at 9:10 AM on June 15, 2005

RIOT Wheel >> wheelsurver > everything else.
posted by delmoi at 10:57 AM on June 15, 2005

Huh?

burning man is made out of people different than the ones on tv and in movies
posted by Satapher at 11:08 AM on June 15, 2005

Satapher writes "burning man is made out of people different than the ones on tv and in movies"

Burning man is made out of people who wish they were different than the ones on tv and in the movies.
posted by OmieWise at 11:15 AM on June 15, 2005

Lets be honest, this Wheelsurf thing is really only marginally cooler than it's dweeby and recessive cousin, the Segway...
posted by Jon-o at 11:17 AM on June 15, 2005

Burning man is made out of people who wish they were different than the ones on tv and in the movies.

dont be a moron. yes we are all made in the image of one god, we all sleep, eat, shit, bleed and fuck...

but the guy who invented the Riot Wheel is much different than the cubicle working, rum and coke drinking, will and grace watching, boring as fuck american manchild.
posted by Satapher at 11:30 AM on June 15, 2005

Satapher, wait a minute, people actually watch Will and Grace? Damn, I just pause it and think about messing on Debra Messing.

I think the point about Burning Man is that it used to be cool when it was waaaay fringe. A friend who went last year said it was just about ruined by the busfull of asshole frat looking guys out to party, party, party and ogle the nekkid hippy chicks.
posted by fenriq at 12:28 PM on June 15, 2005

Meanwhile, General Grievous is suing over patent rights.
posted by gottabefunky at 12:32 PM on June 15, 2005

wfrgms: Instead of the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, their video would be a lot better with Benny Hill chase music.

That would be Boots Randolph's signature tune, "Yakety Sax."
posted by retronic at 12:49 PM on June 15, 2005

Burning Man is just a Trek Convention for people who consciously TRY to be "weird, different, subversive, etc," instead of just being themselves as opposed to the many cool people in the world who actually ARE weird, different, subversive, etc, merely as a byproduct of truly being themselves. It's as they say out here in the West, all hat, and no cattle.
posted by stenseng at 2:44 PM on June 15, 2005

that said, the wheelsurfer is :coal:
posted by stenseng at 2:45 PM on June 15, 2005

I've been wondering how long it would be before somebody mentioned General Grievous.
posted by alumshubby at 5:26 PM on June 15, 2005

I think the point about Burning Man America is that it used to be cool when it was waaaay fringe. A friend who went last year said it was just about ruined by the busfull of asshole frat looking guys out to party, party, party and ogle the nekkid hippy chicks
posted by Satapher at 8:46 PM on June 15, 2005

Have any of you guys even been to Burning Man? I thought it was fun, though you know me, I'm the sort of person people go to Burning Man to get away from.... I like the big wheel.
posted by jessamyn at 4:21 PM on June 16, 2005