General Cycling Discussion - The Segway Strikes (Out?) Again

As a stunt to show how great they are, a SHT (Segway Human Transporter) climbed Mount Washington. It only took the SHT (can I buy a vowel?) 2 1/2 hours and six sets of batteries. Plus three 'drivers'.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1451/4066385.html

And it took Tom Danielson just a hair over 51 minutes on his bike.

Saw one in my neighborhood last weekend. The apocalypse draws nigh.

I need to read Sitchin's books again.

LOL, what a peice. It could be worse. At least one has to stand up under his/her own power on these, which makes it healthier to use than one of those personal mobility carts. Those are the ultimate in lazyness...ummmm, lazyness.

What a sad piece of junk that is.

Hey tink I'll sell you an I cheap!

huh?

:rolleyes:


Bikes still Rule!:beer:

How much do they cost? Someone at work told me $25,000.00 I cannot imagine very many people buying them at that price.

they're $4950

go buy yours at amazon today!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007EPJ6/ref=amb_center-1_3438/103-2105699-6496603

To the extent that it can displace automobile trips, particularly slow, polluting, inefficient ones in central business districts, I am all in favor of the Segway. Although it may indeed be the proverbial solution in search of a problem or product in search of a market, it is a brilliant piece of engineering.

On Friday morning, I sprained my ankle while jogging to the train station to go to work. Fortunately, my injury responded rapidly enough to rest-ice-compression-elevation (RICE) therapy to enable me to complete a 35-mile / 60km group ride this morning, but I was barely able to walk for the first 24 hours. If I had done more serious damage to my ankle, a Segway would have come in handy during my initial recovery. A coworker's daughter broke her ankle and had to wait 3 weeks to get a walking cast. She might have been able to Segway during that period. (She can't use crutches, because she also cracked her wrist during the same incident.)

Are these things using the sidewalk or the road?

You can buy a few nice bikes for that kind of money and you will have much less operating costs and a longer range!

I'm thinking about getting a skate board. It takes up a little less space than a segway.

I'm also familiar with a technology know to the ancients, whereby people would don tight shorts that were too small for them and wear bright colors. Those peculiar devotions aside, it appeared quite practical, because they then attached rotational bearing to their feet and achieved upright balance in a way similar to the Segways by using a natural form of the gyroscope located in the inner ear region of all human beings. Furthermore, they could recharge the motiv power for these devices (known as skates), during the time when they need them least, in their sleep. Kinda makes the Segway seem a little less novel if you ask me. Not to mention, it's kind of big. Robert Heinlein would not be very impressed compared to his envisioned unicycles.

John E, you are right. For people with mobility problems, injuries, or heavy burdens (there is a HD version of the SHT that will carry up to 350#), these beasts can be a boon.

What gets me up on the soapbox is that they are being touted as the next great thing in urban transport. Check the specs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007EPJ6/ref=segway_tn_left/103-2789268-0868643) in heavy stop & go traffic, with elevation changes, the beast is only good for 5 miles! Also note that that there are three speed settings, with an intermediate ( 8 MPH) speed being designated 'Sidewalk Operation'. I'll bet a Merlin against a WalMart Schwinn most SHT's will be running full blast. SHT's are not legal for sidewalk operation in many major USA cities, although Segway is lobbying to get this changed.

What would you want coming down the sidewalk at you: some 85# electric dingus, controled by what amounts to body english, or a bicycle with postive brakes and controls? What would you want to ride in traffic?

Wow, thanks for letting me get this out of my system. A good rant soothes the soul.

"... coming down the sidewalk at you: some 85# electric dingus, controled by what amounts to body english..."
worse, pilotted by George Bush:

Yep, Dubya forgot to turn the silly thing on..........

The scooter costs just a mear $4,950.00! I think I'll go out and buy one tomorrow. NOT!

I've seen some people using this machine including the NYPD. It draws LOTS of attention where ever you go and that's the problem. You can't park this thing ANYWHERE as you would be out of your mind to do so.

Basically this toy is just to show off to everyone that you have money to burn. That's all what it is folks. It's not about transportation at all in my opinion.

I'd rather have a Megway (http://web.0sil8.com/episodes/megway/home.html)

Bush should stick to running.... in fact he looks like he's dressed up for his usual morning run!

Great link, Allister. I would take Megway over Segway anyday.

Lets hope the Segway dies a horrendous and public death. Then, hopefully all of those little motorized skateboards will likewise disappear. Yeah, right...