The impossible wheel, also known as the BC wheel (after the comic strip B.C.), represents the most basic type of unicycle, consisting of a single, spoked wheel with pegs extending from the axle. The rider mounts the wheel by jumping onto it while in motion or by putting one foot onto one plate or peg and pushing along like a skateboard.
This device has no drivetrain, so when forward inertia runs out due to gravity and friction, the ride ends. Newer BC wheels use plates which hang below the axle instead of pegs in line with the axle. This makes them easier to ride since the center of gravity is lower.
The unicycling community favors the term BC wheel because the device is not actually impossible to ride; proficiency can be gained with a few hours of practice. Tricks, such as hopping, drops, grinds, and spins, are possible.
Famous quotes containing the words impossible and/or wheel:
“Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it is impossible to be warned.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“The audience is the most revered member of the theater. Without an audience there is no theater. Every technique learned by the actor, every curtain, every flat on the stage, every careful analysis by the director, every coordinated scene, is for the enjoyment of the audience. They are our guests, our evaluators, and the last spoke in the wheel which can then begin to roll. They make the performance meaningful.”
—Viola Spolin (b. 1911)