Hubless Monster Motorcycle, Nulla bike and Orbitwheels

Hubless Monster Motorcycle Says Amen To Zero Spoke Design

The motorcycle design geniuses at Amen have constructed what is quite possibly the coolest looking ride I have ever seen. Called the Hubless Monster, it is essentially that - a monster chopper with incredible hubless rims that a child could literally crawl through.

The hubless wheels seem to function beautifully (video below) and work by fixing a rotating tire, internal brake ring and bearings to the outer side of a fixed hubless rim, which in turn is secured to the forks (front) and swingarm (rear).

The wheels are otherwise known as Orbital Wheels, originally designed by Dominique Mottas as an improvement on the earlier invention by Franco Sbarro. Advantages to the orbital wheel design include less weight, more accurate steering and better braking, due to the brake being considerably closer to the rim.

The Hubless Monster project began back in 2004 and upon completion achieved a number of firsts. The team claim that this mean ride is the first fully double hubless motorcycle, the first custom bike to have the world’s largest motorcycle tire, as well as the first custom bike to be built without the tires being in existence - the team had to develop the monster 360mm x 18mm (14.17″ x 0.70″) rear tire especially for the bike.

The wheels on this ride make me think of the Honeycomb Tire, with its hollow hexagons that allow bullets to pass through. The monster rear tire on the other hand…Gunbus anyone?

Nulla bike

Nulla bike is a minimalist bike concept. Nulla is one way of saying “nothing” in Italian. Bradford Waugh named it that way for lack of central hubs or chain-drive, giving it a very minimal visual weight. “Ditch that fancy car and buy a stylish bicycle”, this is what you are going to say once you have this one with you. With such a clean, simple and sleek look, this bicycle is surely going to change your mind whether to buy a car, or bike or bicycle. This futuristic bicycle provides deep coverage, good appearance and comfort perfect for riding and skating. However, it is not sure whether you will have a safe riding with this kind of seat on a bicycle.

Orbitwheels, the monowheels you can wear

I've always been a fan of monowheels, the hubless design that has a certain ascetic simplicity. So I was psyched to see that some folks had decided to take that concept and make monowheels for your feet. The Orbitwheel skates are just two monowheels (okay, so there's a bit of a contradiction there) that you step in to and then move around on by making an s-pattern with your feet. When someone is good at it (as the guy at ToyFair is) it's actually very graceful, like a figure skater.

When learning, as I was, it's not exactly quite as graceful. Well, at least there's no chance of gerbiling like in a real monowheel. Available from Inventist.com for $120. – Nate