Unicyclist this time! 50 people help lift bus

[Langweilig]

GadgeS3C said:

Langweilig said:

From the Belfast Telegraph

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/crowd-li...

Sorry, but riding a unicycle on a public road cannot possibly be legal. A unicycle is not a road legal vehicle. What a stupid, irresponsible prat the unicyclist is.

You're wrong. Unicycles were specifically added to the definition of pedal cycles in 1994 so are covered by the same rules.

Oh bloody hell. The world's finally gone mad.

[Benbay001]

FourWheelDrift said:

That video is being played in reverse.

But just to confirm, crowd drops bus on unicyclist?

[Langweilig]

Benbay001 said:

FourWheelDrift said:

That video is being played in reverse.

But just to confirm, crowd drops bus on unicyclist?

Couldn't they just have used sarcasm instead?

[funkyrobot]

Langweilig said:

Benbay001 said:

FourWheelDrift said:

That video is being played in reverse.

But just to confirm, crowd drops bus on unicyclist?

Couldn't they just have used sarcasm instead?

It's like a PH meet.

[Beknown]

How heavy is a double decker?

I'm surprised the crowd were able to raise it more than the travel in its suspension.

[SmoothCriminal]

Beknown said:

How heavy is a double decker?

I'm surprised the crowd were able to raise it more than the travel in its suspension.

The unladen weight of that bus is about 11.5 tonnes.

[FourWheelDrift]

SmoothCriminal said:

The unladen weight of that bus is about 11.5 tonnes.

European or African?

[ChemicalChaos]

Benbay001 said:

FourWheelDrift said:

That video is being played in reverse.

But just to confirm, crowd drops bus on unicyclist?

They can often be cruel, these post-accident crowds....

[funkyrobot]

ChemicalChaos said:

They can often be cruel, these post-accident crowds....

[funkyrobot]

FourWheelDrift said:

European or African?

[ApOrbital]

And cc very good

[750turbo]

ChemicalChaos said:

They can often be cruel, these post-accident crowds....

Matt, just for once you have posted something funny!

[Beknown]

SmoothCriminal said:

Beknown said:

How heavy is a double decker?

I'm surprised the crowd were able to raise it more than the travel in its suspension.

The unladen weight of that bus is about 11.5 tonnes.

Lighter than I expected but I'm still surprised their efforts weren't futile!

[Impasse]

Beknown said:

Lighter than I expected but I'm still surprised their efforts weren't futile!

Don't worry too much. The bus will be back in service in no time at all.

[kev1974]

Beknown said:

SmoothCriminal said:

Beknown said:

How heavy is a double decker?

I'm surprised the crowd were able to raise it more than the travel in its suspension.

The unladen weight of that bus is about 11.5 tonnes.

Lighter than I expected but I'm still surprised their efforts weren't futile!

I would guess that the rear wheels with all the engine weight stayed pretty much where they were and maybe just turned a bit, as the crowd lifted the front and were able to push the front of the bus sideways a bit, so rotating it a bit rather than lift and carry the entire thing. As otherwise what can normal, average, non-olympic weightlifter people, each lift? Peak of 50kg or so maybe, which would be a very very heavy suitcase, more than airport baggage handlers are allowed to lift? So 50 people x 50kg is only 2.5 tonnes. Even if they all developed super human strength for a few seconds or there were 75 people around the bus not 50, you're still far short of 11 tonnes lifting capacity.

Still some questions for Mr Unicyclist though I think, since it appears he was trapped on the drivers' side of the bus and in the middle of a busy crossroads, so not a case of the bus overtaking too close while going along a straight road, what was the guy doing in the middle of the crossing that allowed the bus to hit him. Well most TfL buses are covered in cameras exterior too these days, so it will have been recorded.

[hairyben]

kev1974 said:

I would guess that the rear wheels with all the engine weight stayed pretty much where they were and maybe just turned a bit, as the crowd lifted the front and were able to push the front of the bus sideways a bit, so rotating it a bit rather than lift and carry the entire thing. As otherwise what can normal, average, non-olympic weightlifter people, each lift? Peak of 50kg or so maybe, which would be a very very heavy suitcase, more than airport baggage handlers are allowed to lift? So 50 people x 50kg is only 2.5 tonnes. Even if they all developed super human strength for a few seconds or there were 75 people around the bus not 50, you're still far short of 11 tonnes lifting capacity.

Still some questions for Mr Unicyclist though I think, since it appears he was trapped on the drivers' side of the bus and in the middle of a busy crossroads, so not a case of the bus overtaking too close while going along a straight road, what was the guy doing in the middle of the crossing that allowed the bus to hit him. Well most TfL buses are covered in cameras exterior too these days, so it will have been recorded.

They're not dead lifting 11 tonnes though, they're pivoting it against the opposite wheels so the actual force required will probably be less than half that.

A healthy man can lift far more than 50kg- I've carried 80+kg coils up several flights of stairs and I've never seen the inside of a gym- plus in the right position you can force far more than you can simply lift- 6 of us can manoeuvre a 1.2 tonne drum of cable through a factory without making excessively hard work of it.

[Eighteeteewhy]

^^^
I listened to an interview with a witness at the scene on radio 4. At first they were rocking the bus but soon realised this was hurting the guy more than helping. Then they all lifted together "as one" and he managed to get free.

[Finlandia]

GadgeS3C said:

You're wrong. Unicycles were specifically added to the definition of pedal cycles in 1994 so are covered by the same rules.

Are they legal to use on the roads? On another thread the discussion was about fixed gear bikes not being legal, unless fitted with an additional brake, as the law requires bikes to have two separate brakes. I know nothing about unicycles, but do they have two sets of brakes?

[Some Gump]

I'm pretty sure that people have unicycled lands end to John o Grots for charidee before - so presumably legal?

[GadgeS3C]

Finlandia said:

GadgeS3C said:

You're wrong. Unicycles were specifically added to the definition of pedal cycles in 1994 so are covered by the same rules.

Are they legal to use on the roads? On another thread the discussion was about fixed gear bikes not being legal, unless fitted with an additional brake, as the law requires bikes to have two separate brakes. I know nothing about unicycles, but do they have two sets of brakes?

Yup - road legal. No need for brakes as wheel rotation is fixed to the rotation of the pedals and there is no free wheel.

As for bonkers on the road, there are people that play unicycle hockey and a couple of guys did LEJOG recently.

That's not to mention this guy - Kris Holm