Gates Carbon Drive

Dual drives are increasingly popular on unicycles, or “unis” as riders call them. Why? A single drive can cause the seat tube to twist. Dual drives also balance the torque applied to the bottom bracket. This is especially true on tall unis, called giraffes. This double-belted wooden giraffe was created by Jay Kinsinger, an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Cedarville University in Ohio. “It’s the only one I know of in the world,” says Kinsinger, who makes wooden bikes under the brand Sojourner Cyclery when not teaching. “The Gates Carbon Drive is a quantum leap smoother than the old chain drive I was using.”