No matter how you spin it, unicycles look utterly goofy. And it’s one of the biggest reasons why it hasn’t seen widespread adoption in its entire lifetime. The other reason? It’s really not that easy to ride, with balance and stability being major sticking points. The Uno Bolt Electric Unicycle wants to change that.
Equipped with the outfit’s “Gyro Force Stabilizer,” the unicycle boasts “the quickest-responding gyroscope to be put into a one-wheel machine.” That’s quite a confident thing to say, especially with a number of similar one-wheeled rides using their own gyro-based self-balancing system both out in the market or in the prototype stages. For now, though, we guess we’ll have to take them for their word.
Since the Uno Bolt takes care of balance and stability on its own, all the rider has to think about is operating the unicycle to navigate the roads. To accelerate, simply lean forward to get the ride moving while leaning backward slows it down and puts the ride into reverse. The onboard motor packs enough power to push the unicycle uphill at angles of up to 45 degrees, so this should navigate most city roads and walkways without any problems. For steering, you simply lean into whichever direction you want to go, with the air in the tire auto-adjusting to prevent overextending even when you get a little too anxious on the lean.
A top speed of 22 mph allows it to provide a satisfying riding pace, while a 25-mile range should make it sufficient for everyday commutes. The best part? The darn thing can fully charge in just 45 minutes, so you can plug in at work if the ride to work is long enough to drain the battery dry.
Unlike traditional unicycles, the Uno Bolt comes with handlebars for better balance and stability, all while giving you the perfect place to mount the LED display, the push-activated horn, and the brake lever. The display panel, by the way, shows the battery percentage, speed, distance traveled, voltage usage, and the surrounding temperature, while the brake lever offers a quicker alternative to leaning back to put the ride to a halt.
It has a wide-profile saddle that provides excellent comfort even for extended riding sessions, with a cell foam that contours around the shape of your body to encourage proper circulation. For nighttime riding, it comes with an intense LED headlight that floods the road with 1000 lumens of illumination, while two LEDs in the rear ensure your visibility from behind.
While you can lean the Uno Bolt on the wall to park it, it also comes with stands right behind the seat that you can use to keep it steady when leaving it behind. The whole thing weighs just 45 pounds, so you can carry this to the office if the security guard is giving you the stink eye due to your dirty tires, all while accommodating up to 280 pounds.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Uno Bolt. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $999.