A Brief History of the Marque
Manufactured: 1904
Perhaps the first monowheel (Dynasphere, or sfera mobile) was the Garavaglia of 1904, powered by a vertical single-cylinder engine with belt drive to the wheel. It appeared at the 1904 Turin Salone, and possibly also at the Milan Show of that year.
With a diameter of two metres, everything is contained inside the wheel - engine, steering, drive mechanism, pilot's seat and the rider.
"The picturesque machine shown below was shown at the Milan Exposition by the House of Garavaglia. It was, it appears, a genuine success. The principle is easily understood by examining the figure. The big tyre with its rim fitted internally with ball-bearings, upon which the fixed frame sits, which supports both the driver of this strange vehicle, and the petrol engine; the rim of the tyre is moreover toothed on the side, and engages with the pinion of the engine; this can be seen at the bottom right of the picture. In sum, the mobile tyre rolls around the built fixed engine."
From "La Vie de l'Automobile" 1904, p260
See also Cislaghi and Spagthorpe
Sources: MC Storico Conti, et al.
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