Unicycle Piles

These are unicycle collections, unicycles at conventions, and just some plain old big piles of unicycles!

 My garage, 1996, in Roseville, CA. Some are for show, some for go. Many are part of a "collection", of different brands and types, so they don't get used.

The ghosts of George Peck, riding along the American River in Auburn, CA. Not really, these unicycles belong to Brett Bymaster, Craig Milo Rogers and myself. Doesn't your unicycle have a kickstand?

Riders from Bottrop, Germany at the "Unicycle Store" at UNICON VIII, 1996 in Guildford, England. A classroom at the King's Manor School was a showroom for Semcycle and DM Engineering. Carlho Abrahams (Sem's dad) can be seen in the rear. As is often the case at unicycle conventions, the riders are fascinated by those things with two or more wheels. Why?

Unicycles and their shadows, at an elementary school in Tokyo. I was brought there by JUA officials on a visit to Japan in 1987, to see one of Japan's early schools to adopt unicycles. They had about fifty, including a few giraffes and handlebar units. The ground surface was smooth dirt, and the kids rushed out at recess, in bare feet, to ride them. It was a chilly November day.

Peter Rosendahl of Sweden and a few props, circa 1984. Peter was the first World Champion of Freestyle unicycling, also in 1984. He performs professionally around the world, including at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. He is currently listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with several unicycle records, including the smallest wheel unicycle (1") and the coveted 100 meter sprint. Photo courtesy Peter Rosendahl.

When Peter Rosendahl sent me the picture above, it prompted me to do one of my own. That's me & my toys in 1985. My vehicle was called the Unibus. It had the name painted into the stripe on the side, and a special emblem on the front. Most of these were cycles I used in shows.

Where do unicycles come from? They don't grow on trees . . . "Unicycle Tree Troll" Tommy Miller planted the fruits in this tree at Syracuse University in 1984. It was UNICON I, and the 20 member Japanese team had gone for lunch, asking us to watch their unicycles. After they'd left, Tom looked at their unicycles, neatly parked along a wall, and said "You know, there's something I've always wanted to do . . ."

These unicycles belong to Cirkus Changhigh of Copenhagen, Denmark. Most were custom built by the Juno Cykler bike shop there. Jean Ascher and his group perform in Denmark and Israel on these and others like them. Photo courtesy Jean Ascher.

Andy Cotter of Minnesota stands behind a fully packed van that he helped load at UNICON VIII in Guildford, England in 1996. What you can't see is the pouring rain, which was the reason for loading the cycles even though we weren't finished racing. There are nearly 100 unicycles in there!

This is my van, loaded with MUnis at the 1996 California Mountain Unicycle Weekend. All those dirt covered 24 and 26 inch wheels were being readied for the afternoon's ride down the Stagecoach trail in Auburn.

This is what indoor unicyclists use in Germany. In the foreground is a Langenberg. Behind it are a bunch of unicycles from Imholz, and in the rear are some older Bauers. Look at those leather racing bike seats! You will also see 26" wheels with "indoor", tubular tires and rubber ended indoor pedals. This picture was taken in 1986 at the Bundespokal Einradfahren (Federal Cup of Unicycling).

Big wheel pile. This pile of big wheels, all built by Tom Miller of the Unicycle Factory, were parked at the 1983 National Unicycle Meet in Syracuse, NY. Most of them are 40" wheels, and the big one is my 45".

This picture appeared, exactly as seen above, in the Unicycling Society of America Newsletter in 1984. Notice anything strange? Nobody said anything then, either. Can you name all the unicycles in this picture?*

Look close in the center of this picture to see the smiling face of Constance Cotter, editor of ON ONE WHEEL and President of the Twin City Unicycle Club. Twas the night before driving down to the 1996 NUC in Chariton, Iowa, and 52 unicycles, plus equipment, awaited loading into the TCUC trailer. This pile included giraffes up to 10 feet tall, and even a zig zag!

Ever wonder what an air traffic controller has nightmares about? These are some of the same unicycles from the previous picture. It's the Twin City Unicycle Club at the 1996 NUC in Chariton, Iowa. They won first place in the Club Show event, partially for completing this maneuver without mishap!


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Answers - Left to right: Schwinn Giraffe, 24" Concord (with RTUC streamers in the wheel), 24" Schwinn, 24" Oxford from Bill Jenack's collection, 26" Langenberg indoor unicycle (Germany), 24" Schwinn "Track" uni, with drilled-out frame and seatpost, 24" Miyata Deluxe, 20" Pro, 24" Schwinn "Excessory Cycle" with everything on it. What's wrong with the picture? It's upside down! That's my 45" big wheel at the "top".