Anywhere, anytime, Enicycle!

Wednesday 15 April

Ah Italy. The home of the Colosseum, Ferrari, Pasta. But you can forget all that, I’ve come out to re-acquaint myself with an old skill – unicycle riding. Okay, it’s not quite a unicycle, rather it’s the Enicycle – a motorised unicycle!

With only two in existence I thought I’d check out my circus credentials and hop on one of the single-wheeled modes of transport. The beauty behind the Enicycle, though, is that it’s much easier to ride than a unicycle, thanks to a clever system of gyroscopes, embedded processors and a 1,000W hub motor.

The mini gyroscopes measure the vertical angle of the bike at a rate of 100 times a second, then feed the data to the processor, which drives the motor and in turn keeps you balance. Sounds complicated? Well, all you have to know is that you just lean forward to go and steer with your feet. Easy. To see just how easy, check out the vid…