Is this an optical illusion or a real bike? (Image source: The Q)
Who from the Ukrainian two-wheeler mechanic »The Q« Expecting ordinary bicycles, he doesn’t know Sergii Gordieiev.
The bicycle with square wheels, the bicycle with triangular wheels or the bike with no wheels at all are just two of the crazy but functional designs that the hobbyist and inventor with an obsession for two-wheelers feed his YouTube channel.
One of the most curious inventions from Sergii’s construction stable is the “bicycle with one wheel and two halves.”
We’ll explain what that means below.
The bicycle with one wheel and two half wheels
At the front, this bike is quite ordinary: Wheel, handlebars and fork. Crazy things happen on the back of the vehicle. There are two half wheels installed there.
The basis for this construction is a simple, mathematical equation: 0.5 + 0.5 = 1. If “a wheel” equals “a wheel,” then two half wheels must work as a whole, right?
At least that’s what Sergii Gordieiev must have thought when he once again hit the workbench to delight the world with another crazy velocipede.
Or, as the man himself says in the accompanying YouTube description:
»This is how normal mathematics works. So that should also work in bikematics.«
Is The Q right with his equation?
How to build a half wheel bike?
But how do you cut a wheel in two without damaging the inner tube? Sergii’s answer: “Not at all!”
Instead of a hose, The Q uses a PVC pipe. An unusual, albeit practical, solution that could be detrimental to driving comfort.
The rear of the two half wheels is powered by a chainring mounted on the disc brake.
But does the one-and-a-half bike actually work?
It works.
After demonstrating how he put the vehicle together for just under six minutes, he finally gets on the saddle – and: rolls and kicks, and kicks and rolls. And the bike rides faithfully on the asphalt. It helps that the two rear half wheels are cleverly attached: at least one of the half wheels is always in contact with the ground. The two halved wheels behave synchronously with each other. In this way, Sergii even cycles down a curb.
But see for yourself:
Link to YouTube content
Safe, practical or suitable for everyday use is something else. However, we could never accuse The Q of a “lack of sparkling inventiveness.” The man from Ukraine is unbeaten in this discipline.
This “Leonardo da Vinci of two-wheel mechanics” may not change how bicycles work, but he is astounding people around the world with his crazy designs. Before that, even Lance Armstrong would take off his bicycle helmet.
By the way: Perhaps the craziest bike idea came from Germany ten years ago – without pedals!
What do you think of the equally crazy and crazy bicycle designs of the man from Ukraine, who is rich in ideas? Do you have any other ideas for even more unusual bikes? With which invention will this bicycle magician soon outdo himself? Feel free to write us your thoughts and construction plans in the comments.
