Airwheel – electronic thingamy some Sydney residents are using to get about
smh.com.au
smh.com.au
It was a ton of fun but I did not end up using it in real life because of the low range and unsure legal status. I still miss having one though and might buy a newer model later to give it another go, it was so much fun to ride.
Double or more, the gotway 680 is advertised for ~40 miles/70km (on flat ground anyway)
Some guy showed up to the first meetup asserting that it was a "bc wheel", which I later learned is from the old B.C. comics strip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_wheel
I used to love those comics with cave people riding on wheels. Maybe that's why I like these things.
With regards to practice, it took me 2 weeks to learn well enough to travel a few blocks around the neighborhood. Other people learn faster. Many people come to the meetup and go a few feet on their first day.
-- epitaph
It seems to make up the relatively steep hill I live on, but I've never seen him use it to go down the hill. Guessing it gets bit sketchy fighting gravity.
The big risk is going too fast: because the wheels use balance (forwards/backwards) to know whether to accelerate or slow down, if the wheel goes beyond a certain speed it tends to behave somewhat oddly, some models will lock and stop, others will "freewheel", either way the user will likely end up eating pavement.
IIRC the latter is the behaviour of the interviewee's rockwheel, it starts beeping (in several increments) when closing in to maximum speed, then the systems just shut down and you get a completely unmanaged unicycle (without electronic stabilisation). Other wheels will try to forcibly rebalance the user, but again it's fairly easy to defeat, not much the wheel can do if you just lean forward despite its best effort… and you eat pavement again.
Aside from that, acquaintances who've tried/used them tell me they're fairly fast to learn and very enjoyable and convenient.
Sure. But there is a higher risk on losing control on downhills, and if you do the only brake is to bail.
The government apparently pledged to make Segways (and then presumably all these self-balancing 2 wheel electric scooters) legal but never actually did.
[1]: http://www.legalisesegways.co.uk/ [2]: https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules
https://www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs...
In particular as you need to register them which seems pointless and antiquated.
It could be, I don't know, people find them fun and like to have fun? I know, crazy, but just consider it.
I ride an e-bike. After I got it, my physical shape deteriorated rapidly as my primary means of exercise was reduced. Now I make a conscious effort to turn off the assist once in a while to get some exercise.
Indeed. But you're making a point that pivots from the point the OP made and I replied to.
The OP suggested that because they witnessed people utilising these devices, that these devices inherently exist to support our (as a group) sedentary lifestyle. That argument is weak simply because it ignores any other value these devices could provide to a user (like enjoyment, faster movement, etc).
It is essentially taking a new concept and looking at it from the most negative viewpoint imaginable, while ignoring the fact that these electronic alternatives offer mountains of improvements to the user and society at large.
Plus if we want to talk about sedentary, what is more sedentary than sitting in a car or on public transport? Certainly not a device where you have to shift your weight around to maneuver it.
I guess it depends on how you ride it and what kind of exercise. For me, I found that I was doing more endurance training, as I would cycle 100+km, which I never did before I got the motor. However, I lost a lot of strength training as I no longer really had to fight with the numerous steep hills around here, and I found that I could no longer bike them after a month on the motor.
So now I occasionally turn off the motor before a really nasty hill just to force myself to really push it once in a while.
How does a device whose whole purpose is to move around "help live a sedentary lifestyle"?
sedentary, adj. 1. characterized by or requiring a sitting posture: a sedentary occupation. 2. accustomed to sit or rest a great deal or to take little exercise.
So, sedentary refers to not getting enough exercise. If you replace walking with one of these, your lifestylie is more sedentary than it was.
And if you replace driving or sitting on a bus with one of these then you're less sedentary/getting more exercise.
See the glass can be half full too.
No, in both cases you are being moved by an external power source, so they're equally sedentary.
Had a go on it myself. Found it a little tricky getting on, given that you have to put one foot first and it has a tendency to start moving when you take the other foot off the ground. I was wondering if there was a way to tether it to an app with a big stop button you'd keep pressed until both feet were on (although not sure how feasible that would be if the balancing thing requires forward or backward motion).
I'm always concerned I'll see them hit an unexpected pothole or raised lip at speed and absolutely bite it into traffic.
Then again that is here in the "suburbs", can't remember having seen any of them in the city where I work. (I did see a longboard on my way to work just the other day though.)
The are pretty fast in my opnion but when I checked also very expensive. (+/- 2000k)
In cities where you get a a decent but "not reaching your home" metro(subway) this thing is very handy.
Governments want people to keep buying petrochemical cars - it's wildly profitable for them - and why else would anyone be in government other than for personal profit?