Thanks for posting the pictures.
My first 9' giraffe I got from Tom was bent in an escalator accident
here in Toronto 3 months after getting it at the 1985 N.U.M. (National
Unicycle Meet) at Eastern Michigan University.
(The meets changed names to NUC and are now called NAUCC.)
I rode in the Toronto Santa Claus parade and then had is crushed in the
subway on my way home. It got jammed between the roof and the moving
stairs and was destroyed. I made a mess of the subway too ripping the
sheel metal ceiling as the unicycle was being pushed by the stairs.
The seat cover, base and foam were bent and ripped, the seat post and
frame were bent big time and the wheel tacoed at a 45 degree angle.
I was able to reuse the crank set and chain.
I called Tom and told him the story. He got another unicycle ready and
I drove to The Unicycle Factory to get it. He used the two parts I was
able to salvage and I paid for the rest of the unicycle.
The whole point of mentioning this is because 1/2 of the first frame is
still leaning up in his back yard after it being there for 21 years
!!!
You can see it in the photo numbered DSC01067
It is the bent lower half of a blue 9' giraffe upside down in the
picture.
The whole frame was there for a long time until I went back years later
and he cut off the top of the frame below the hub and gave it to me to
keep. He wanted me to make another frame with the top but I never did.
Yes, I do still have the top piece he cut off and gave to me.
I have got many unicycles and other custom things made at The Unicycle
Factory over the last 21 years and still ride and treasure them all.
Some include:
9' giraffe - 5 wheeled stacked Penta wheel - 6' giraffe - Tennis shoe
wheeled Shoe-n-cycle - 36" and 40" big wheels - Off-Centre bicycle -
Custom chopper bike - 8" mini wheel unicycle (like the chrome one
pictured in the photos / John, they were 750.00 US in 1985) - and lots
more.
I wore TUF T-shirts in all the colors available everyday for years.
They said... The Unicycle Factory - Where Dreams Become Ridable
That was the case for me and all the other unicyclists all over North
America
for many, many years.
I'm proud to own the unicycles Tom hand made one at a time and
recommend his work to anyone who wants a custom made unicycle. His
giraffes are the best available and worth the price he charges.
If you want to contact Tom, call: 765-452-2692
I plan on stopping by for another long overdue visit to The Unicycle
Factory this year.
Darren
--
Darren
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