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New So that one's $1600
So what? They start at about £300-£400.

This one, from the same website, is $549.

I've explained why a Segway can't share a bike lane. It's too slow. Remember, 12MPH is its top speed (of a regular Segway, not the cut-down thing up there, which tops out at 10MPH), not its regular speed, which will likely be somewhere between half and two-thirds of that. Even unfit lazy people like me can reach 15MPH on a bike without dying horribly and regular bike commuters do 20-25MPH as a matter of course. And how do you stop one in an emergency? If you have to slam on the brakes at 10-12MPH, how do you not faceplant? (An emergency stop at 5MPH - a brisk walking pace - is probably less dramatic)

Your last point is weird. So what if the bike design is from a hundred and thirty years ago?

More choices are good, if the choices are good. Hoverboards (hahaha! they're no such thing!) and Segways are just toys.
Expand Edited by pwhysall July 13, 2016, 10:42:08 AM EDT
Expand Edited by pwhysall July 13, 2016, 10:43:25 AM EDT
Expand Edited by pwhysall July 13, 2016, 10:43:49 AM EDT
New So you're planning on shorting Ninebot then? :-) We'll see.
Virginia law:

"Electric power-assisted bicycle" means a vehicle that travels on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground and is equipped with (i) pedals that allow propulsion by human power and (ii) an electric motor with an input of no more than 1,000 watts that reduces the pedal effort required of the rider. Operators must be at least 14 years old or be under the supervision of someone at least 18 years old. An electric power-assisted bicycle shall be considered a vehicle when operated on a highway.

[...]

“Motorized skateboard or scooter" means every vehicle, regardless of the number of its wheels in contact with the ground, that (i) has no seat, but is designed to be stood upon by the operator, (ii) has no manufacturer-issued vehicle identification number, and (iii) is powered by an electric motor having an input of no more than 1,000 watts or a gasoline engine that displaces less than 36 cubic centimeters. The term "motorized skateboard or scooter" includes vehicles with or without handlebars, but does not include "electric personal assistive mobility devices."

An electric personal assistive mobility device is a self-balancing two-nontandem-wheeled device that is designed to transport only one person and is powered by an electric propulsion system that limits the device's maximum speed to fifteen miles per hour or less. Such devices must be equipped with a system that will enable the user to bring the device to a controlled stop. These devices may be operated on highways with a maximum speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less if no sidewalk is provided or if use of the sidewalk is prohibited. Operators must be at least 14 years old or under the supervision of a person who is at least 18 years old. An electric personal assistive mobility device is considered a vehicle when operated on a highway.


The laws can (and will) be changed as the technology improves.

Bolt can run at 28 MPH. There's no physical reason why something like a Segway can't be safe running that fast, but the problem is obviously much simpler at lower speeds.

We'll see.

Just to be clear, I think this Segway thing is an interesting toy. Even though home is only about 11 miles from work, I wouldn't even consider one of these things for commuting now. In 10 years? Who knows.

Cheers,
Scott.
New Re: So you're planning on shorting Ninebot then? :-) We'll see.
There's no physical reason why something like a Segway can't be safe running that fast, but the problem is obviously much simpler at lower speeds.

The only way you could make a Segway safe at 25MPH would be to fully enclose it in a roll/crash cage and harness the rider. This is only for the rider's safety; you would have to go through a whole different process to arrive at a design that maximised pedestrian safety.

At which point it's a different device entirely.

Unless you have an idea for a scenario in which a Segway rapidly decelerates from 25-0MPH in a short space of time without chucking the rider at the scenery and/or pavement.

Some things can't be made safe in a practical way. A 25MPH Segway falls into that category, I think.
New Bolt doesn't stop instantly either. ;-)
55 mph electric skateboard (4:24)

Yeah, a safe 30 MPH electric scooter/self-balancing thing would be challenging. Maybe instead of 2 or 4 wheels, it'll have 1. Who knows.

Cheers,
Scott.
New That's just dumb
One pebble or crack in the pavement and you're down. Much worse, a kid steps off the curb in front of you and you've got effectively no brakes.

This isn't like the introduction of cars, where people weren't used to judging speed. We now teach our kids to look both ways, and we learn to judge how fast they're coming and when it's safe to step in front of them. These things are up against laws of physics: They're so top-heavy you can't brake or turn aggressively without going down.

They can't share space with cars because the roads aren't smooth enough, and they can't share space with pedestrians because they can't maneuver.
--

Drew
New It's apparently not that bad in the real world.
http://phys.org/news/2016-06-segway-hoverboard-la-streets.html

They'll only get better over time, but it might not be a linear progression.

Cheers,
Scott.
New I had one of these for a while
http://www.nycewheels.com/ezee-forza-electric-bike.html

Max speed was about 21 MPH before human assist. So I topped out about 25 MPH. Acceleration beat most cars from lights. Shocked those drivers. Went about 10 miles between charges. Highly recommended.

Gave it to my daughter for that critical final year in high school. Too soon to trust her with a car, yet it gave her a bit of independence, that 1st taste of freedom that was critical for her development.
New Neat. Thanks for the pointer.
New Seconding that experience, via a Whizzer™ motor-bike
I quite remember showing up at a house ... with $50 USD; next to return-self to Pacific Beach (S.Diego area) via A POWERED bike! == Freedom!!

And it was; you got that exactly right.
(I almost talked my mater into allowing me to tackle Palomar Mt./the 200" Hale telescope, then largest evah.)
Still unclear if it could have made the grade ... there's probably lots of data re that climb though, and was then. They had to get that mirror delivered. (I then had no idea I'd soon be in a place where the original drawings were on the mech-drawing-class wall. Synchronicity-before-Jung, yet.)

Anyway, a car was out of question for a 14 yo HS Jr. Then. But that experience launched me later, onto a Lambretta--the Work-of-Art model--and n+1 bikes.


(And, unless I've been inhabiting a space-warp near a worm-hole, it seems that I survived them all; may your daughter acquire similar survival skillz, early on!)
     Interesting gizmo for sale on Prime Day at Amazon - (Another Scott) - (31)
         A Segway you can sit on? -NT - (pwhysall) - (8)
             That's what I thought ... look at the second product image -NT - (drook)
             It looks like you "steer" it with your knees. - (Another Scott) - (6)
                 Don't forget what the Segway started out as - (drook) - (3)
                     Good point. - (Another Scott) - (2)
                         Arduino.. - (Ashton) - (1)
                             :-) People are doing lots of neat things with them. There are lots of similar controllers, too. - (Another Scott)
                 I think George would still fall off... -NT - (scoenye) - (1)
                     rofl. :-) -NT - (Another Scott)
         Segway: a solution looking for a problem - (pwhysall) - (21)
             Maybe. - (Another Scott) - (13)
                 You're both completely missing the point - (malraux) - (1)
                     D'Oh! -NT - (Another Scott)
                 It doesn't have a tiny footprint, though. - (pwhysall) - (10)
                     Dunno about cheap. - (Another Scott) - (9)
                         So that one's $1600 - (pwhysall) - (8)
                             So you're planning on shorting Ninebot then? :-) We'll see. - (Another Scott) - (7)
                                 Re: So you're planning on shorting Ninebot then? :-) We'll see. - (pwhysall) - (3)
                                     Bolt doesn't stop instantly either. ;-) - (Another Scott) - (2)
                                         That's just dumb - (drook) - (1)
                                             It's apparently not that bad in the real world. - (Another Scott)
                                 I had one of these for a while - (crazy) - (2)
                                     Neat. Thanks for the pointer. -NT - (Another Scott)
                                     Seconding that experience, via a Whizzer™ motor-bike - (Ashton)
             Integrating with the current infrastructure - (drook) - (5)
                 Cars were rapidly *massively* better than carriages - (pwhysall) - (2)
                     Agreed - (drook) - (1)
                         I want the conveyors from Caves of Steel. -NT - (mmoffitt)
                 Interestingly, for a while in between there, as bicycles replaced horses for riding... - (CRConrad) - (1)
                     My first encounter with København.. - (Ashton)
             Nope, wrong: That one is apparently ideal for at least some disabled people. - (CRConrad)

So, what we gonna do tonight, Bwain?
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