For a deep dive into all things bicycle, I always recommend Sheldon Brown's delightful knowledgebase, which started in the late 90s:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/

(sadly Mr. Brown is no longer with us, but his web archive lives on)

And there's always Bicycling Science for the serious nerds among us

https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-Press-Gordon-Wilson...

> The thing about riding a unicycle is that you don't think of staying on top of it, you think about keeping it underneath you. Falling forwards? Pedal faster to bring it back under you. Falling backwards? Stop pedalling so you catch up.

Sounds vaguely like track standing on a fixed gear. It's more like balancing a broom on your finger than trying to balance yourself on a rail.

I really love bikes of all varieties, but I've never messed with a unicycle. They seem fun. My friend has one; I'll have to try his sometime.

Because you mentioned torque and such, if you never have, check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-David-Gordon-Wilson/...

I picked it up expecting to read a chapter here and there and ended up cover to covering it. Great read

And even if you can't find it online, it's usually not that hard to stumble into a university library and troll through some peer reviewed journals for giggles, or find good books on amazon that are a click and a few days away.

One of my favorite books on cycling: http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-David-Gordon-Wilson/...

Not much practical in that, that I remember, but tons and tons of random articles on odd-ball bike stuff. One of the few books I've purchased and randomly read most of a few times. Really great book.

Handpower delivers about max 20W per hand to a bike with both hands. With electromechanical efficiency, 20W per hand comes out to around 1-10W per hand, depending on hand speed and generator efficiency. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-David-Gordon-Wilson/... [2] http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/69801

If this kind of stuff interests you there is an excellent book on the physics of bicycles http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-David-Gordon-Wilson/...

I'm not sure if it's the book to which the author was referring (he doesn't give any references), but I've found Bicycling Science by David Gordon Wilson [MIT Press] to have a very informative treatment of human power generation. It also includes an entertaining introduction concerning the evolution of the modern bicycle.

http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-David-Gordon-Wilson/...